Week 1, Day 3 of bootcamp.
To get us used to working in industry standard practices this afternoon we coded a form (yes, it was basic but the content wasn't really the point of the demo, and hey, I'm only three days in) with a partner.

Now, that would be stressful enough given that I've only known my partner for three days and yesterday I thought he was someone else (oops) - but we're doing this through perspex. Thank you, Covid. Turns out as well as being spit-proof it is surprisingly soundproof. We bellowed at each other for quite a while before lapsing into a sort of poor quality sign language. What we produced was adequate, but neither of our finest works.

My immediate reaction to the concept of pair programming is horror. The beauty of coding is in not having to deal with other people, right...? Wrong. Turns out I can't just hang up my social skills on the way in the door. I can see that two heads can be better than one. I get that. But is the pay-off worth the process? Does anyone have any stories about how this goes in their workplace?

Do you pair sometimes, on certain projects, or more frequently?
Do you always pair with the same person?
Do you CHOOSE the person you pair with?
Have you paired with someone who was lazy - or a smartass?
Does it ever stop being fundamentally awkward sitting very close to a colleague and reading over their shoulder?
In your opinion, is it a good practice and one you'd seek out in a new job?