Disclaimer: I come from America, so what I am saying may not be applicable to other countries<p>I would say that the mathematics taught before college is incredibly useful in day to day life. Without knowing how to add&#x2F;subtract&#x2F;multiply&#x2F;divide, life becomes much harder. Life without algebra is not as much of a loss, but I use algebra for daily task. I would say calculus is not a big deal (unless you are in a science), but once in a while I will find it to be helpful.<p>To me, programming is roughly on the level of calculus; for some professions&#x2F;people it is critical. For others it may only be useful once in a while.