If you want to work as a computer scientist, then you have to understand algorithms. Leetcode is just algorithms. Most SW devs do not need to understand this.
So long as SW devs realize simple things such as maps are faster for lookups (rather than looping over a list) and use them when needed, that's about all they need to know to get the job done.
I would also say that everyone ought to be able to come up with the brute force (slow) solution to the algorithm problems (at the very least) and then offer another solution that's still correct and somewhat faster. If you can do that, then most places will hire you (even if you can't think of the ideal solution in 20 minutes).
So long as SW devs realize simple things such as maps are faster for lookups (rather than looping over a list) and use them when needed, that's about all they need to know to get the job done.
I would also say that everyone ought to be able to come up with the brute force (slow) solution to the algorithm problems (at the very least) and then offer another solution that's still correct and somewhat faster. If you can do that, then most places will hire you (even if you can't think of the ideal solution in 20 minutes).