> Focusing on data structures, architecture and algorithms is what competency in programming has looked like since forever

yes, being able to bang out leetcode hard from head on an interview on paper matters so much... oh wait. it does not.

in the real world, outside of interview questions, it hardly matters. when it comes there, I'll optimizite it, but getting the first system up and running in a way I want is way more fun & challenging. need a lock free ringbuffer? I'll look up what's the latest way to build it. or just ask my AI.