As a programmer, I've found far more uses for linear algebra than for calculus. It shows up in robotics, in machine learning, in game development, and in many other cool subfields.
I didn't get very much out of my university linear algebra course. (It was pure theory with nearly zero applications.) I don't think I really developed a good intuition for linear algebra—and why it's so useful—until I read Jim Hefferon's free textbook:
I didn't get very much out of my university linear algebra course. (It was pure theory with nearly zero applications.) I don't think I really developed a good intuition for linear algebra—and why it's so useful—until I read Jim Hefferon's free textbook:
http://joshua.smcvt.edu/linearalgebra/ (GFDL license, LaTeX source available)
(I get nothing out of recommending this open source textbook other than the joy of sharing a book I loved.)