My First Year in FP - Monica McGuigan | Lambda Days 2024

CodeSync · April 23, 2025, 1:00pm

This talk was recorded at Lambda Days in June 2024. If you’re curious about our upcoming event, check https://lambdadays.org

Abstract
Navigating the world of functional programming as a beginner can feel quite daunting and intimidating. Over a year ago, I was thrown into the deep end of learning Scala.

I started my FP journey as a junior developer at a bank, after graduating with a degree in Physics. So, not only did I have the challenge of learning functional Scala from scratch, but I also had to apply these concepts to a domain I had no prior knowledge of.

Initially, I experienced a lot of confusion and frustration, having come from an OOP background. However, with the help of senior engineers on my team, I learned both Scala and how to think functionally, quickly and effectively enough to start contributing production-level code in my first few months.

Hopefully, after listening to this talk, other newcomers will feel less alone and more optimistic about diving into the exciting world of FP, and experienced developers will understand how to best help their juniors learn and grow.

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