When I started working through my first Algorithms, I was really scared of speaking to strangers. What would this person think about me?
Would I even be able to write good code with someone watching me?
Now, some weeks later I've pair programmed and reviewed code with more than 40 campers and let me tell you: it's not as scary as it seems. It's perfectly normal to feel that way. Most of the campers that I've talked to agree that they were nervous too.
Here are a few good reasons to try pair programming (I wish I knew this when I started...):
You can...
- Build your professional network
- Meet new friends - develop a support group
- Improve social skills
- Get motivation and encouragement from fellow campers
- See other's coding styles
- Learn from each other
- Strengthen your strengths and get help finding and improving your weaknesses
- Pair with more experienced dev to improve your skills
- Pair with less experienced dev to test your knowledge
- Gain a new skill that will be useful for interviews and employment down the road
With the right person, pair programming is one of the best ways to learn at the same time as you make new friends! You might also want to know how you could be a good pair programmer!
// Samuel (gr33n) with help from Ryan (rsprice)