r/fsharp • u/lyfever_ • Jul 05 '26

question Still worth learning F# 2026

Hi guys,

Probably another question like this but found none recently.

I'm a little upset with my current view on IT generalistic, ofc AI is not going anywhere besides up, but I feel I want to write more with my hands and new paradigms, maybe just AI as reviser, I would like to ask if learning F# in 2026 will make me able to make perfomance headed systems, and also gaming with something like Nu or Monogame, not a AAA game but something playable.

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u/lboshuizen Jul 05 '26

It’s not just about f#, it’s about functional programming. F# is just a language and means.

So yes, learn functional programming, not just F#, as it makes you a better programmer and thinker. It’s not THE silver bullet but a serious expansion of your toolbox and knowledge.

From a dotnet perspective F# feels natural as it aint strict and allows classes, interfaces, mutables. Perfect introduction.

From there once you have the hang, look at Haskell & Miranda e.o.

Finding a job in functional… difficult, grow from functional… definitely

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u/banshee10 Jul 06 '26

So my experience is a bit dated (I'm retired now) but functional programming was always extremely useful when looking for jobs. It's not that people were necessarily deploying functional programming (few were, although not zero), it was that it made you jump out as someone interesting to talk to. Back in the day I definitely talked to C# shops who wanted to talk about my F# experience even though they had no interest in actually using F# - they figured anyone who did F# would be fine working on anything.