My First Year in Functional Programming

This conference talk from Lambda Days 2024 follows Monica McGuigan's journey as a beginner in functional programming, specifically learning Scala. Discover how she transitioned from a physics degree to becoming a junior developer at a bank with no prior functional programming experience. Learn about the challenges she faced coming from an object-oriented programming background, and how she overcame initial confusion and frustration to contribute production-level code within months. Gain insights into the learning process for functional programming newcomers and understand how experienced developers can effectively support junior team members in their functional programming journey. Perfect for beginners feeling intimidated by functional programming and for senior developers looking to mentor effectively in FP environments.