I recently had a discussion with my son who was going through doubts about his degree course (Entertainment Technology) and felt it did not relate to the real world. I explained that degree courses are to show your ability to learn the theory and are a necessary ticket to the world of practical work.

My own computer science course some thirty years ago fitted this model with focus on such gems as Turing machines, AI and simulation, none of which I have directly used again. However the indirect benefits are there every day - an ability to switch between languages readily and design and develop using basic concepts amongst others.