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Nope, I'd say 90% of developers globally would not know lambda calculus. And in non-functional languages when was the last time you had to consider the differences between Beta and Eta conversions/reductions when writing a Django SaaS? Or a Java Swing GUI?

Software engineering != Computer science

i wouldn't say that lambda calculus or turing machines have ever been part of my programming toolkit (i do know what they are), and i wouldn't expect say a new programming hire to know much at all about them. FSAs are a bit more useful, but you can get an awful lot of development work done without direct knowledge of them.

Why do you assume that all developers have studied CS?

Most developers have never even heard of lambda calculus.

I got a bachelor's in CS and never learned lambda calculus.

Same. Turing machines and FSA yes, lambda calculus no.

sigh

Do you really think this or are you just projecting elitism?

Lambda calculus is not a required class in my university in either CompEng or CompSci..

Formal theory of computation (finite state automata etc.) was also a higher level elective that depended on your concentration.