Pair Programming for the Win

Andrew Senner
Jul 24, 2017 · 2 min read

I’ve always flown solo when it comes to writing code because none of my closer friends were ever into “programming” or “technical stuff.” When I joined viking code school, I discovered pair programming. This was totally new to me, and took me a couple sessions to really take note of why it can be so important.

With approximately five years experience under my belt, most of it self-taught, I knew I could create software or a web application on my own. I thought: “Well, I understand that two minds are greater than one, but wouldn’t only half the work get done?” The answer is no. I realized that recently after being paired with about 5–6 different people in my cohort.

When you put two minds to work on the same assignment, not only is work faster, but less mistakes are made. I can remember times when I would write a few hundred lines of code, spending a day or so making it all work, piecing it together in a nice organized way. I’d finish my work and be nice and proud of it, only to discover some way of doing it better, in less code, or in a more efficient way. I’d basically wasted 8 hours.

During all of my pairing episodes, I noticed a few key things happening. Whether I was driving or navigating, it didn’t matter, we were able to get the work done and: less mistakes were made, errors/bugs were caught before they became lodged in the abyss that is source code, logic paths were more thought out and specific, and last but not least, (This part is important.) I had a lot more fun.

In the end, you have to enjoy what you do, or you’ll never be happy. Money, benefits, perks are all great, but none of it matters if you’re empty inside. All of the most accomplished scientists, artists, athletes (etc) in the history of man-kind all loved what they did more than anything. I wonder what they’d say if they were asked “Did you have any fun during your time?” It would be interesting to hear their responses.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little bit of insight here. Remember, seek out what you’re passionate about in life. Also, keep in mind that you might have to look in places you don’t expect because you never know what you might discover.

Happy coding,

Andrew

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