A comprehensive list of reasons why pair programming sucks – The Next Web

This article was originally published on .cult by Mynah Marie. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world.

I fell in love with programming because of the feeling of losing myself in ideas and concepts while being completely alone for hours on end. Theres just something about it, you know?

When I decided to enroll in a coding Bootcamp, I thought it would give me the opportunity to meet other people just like me. Little did I know, I was about to meet my nemesis: pair programming.

There are a lot of things I like about Agile development. I even do, now, believe in the power of pair programming. But its not because I can see the benefits of this technique that I necessarily like it. In fact, I deeply hate it. Not because I think its not effective, just because, in my case, it took all the fun out of programming.

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Here are some benefits of pair programming that I personally experienced:

After a few days of Bootcamp, I had my first traumatizing pair programming experience.

We were solving basic JS challenges. I was the navigator and he was the driver. Even though I hated the fact of not being able to type the code myself, I tried to make the most out of the exercise by asking a lot of questions:

At some point, without any warning, my partner got up and left the room leaving me to my puzzlement. Turns out, someone asking loads of questions every two minutes is pretty annoying to most people.

And there started my long descent to hell.

Goodbye, the good old days when Id program for 18 hours straight from the comfort of my bed.

Goodbye, the peaceful moments with myself when Id spend days, sometimes weeks before thinking of talking to another human being.

Goodbye, the joys of working on ideas of my own.

One day, while I was at an emotional all-time low, I confessed to one of the instructors and told him that, literally, I hate pair programming.

His answer couldnt have surprised me more: Oh! yeah pair programming is horrible.

Finally, my aversion was acknowledged!

Im not against pair programming. In fact, I really do believe its great for some people. I even think it couldve been great for me if I wouldve been paired with more experienced pair programmers. But since we were all learning, most students made horrible partners (me included).

I know there are other people like me out there, who suffered at the hand of this technique and never dared to speak up because, in some cases, it can close doors to potential jobs.

But Im not looking for a job anymore, so I dont care.

So for your entertainment, heres a comprehensive list of the reasons why I hate pair programming:

Agile, I love you. You taught me the value of working in teams and learning from one another. The experience was horrendous but meaningful nonetheless.

Im now a freelancer. Back to peace, working for hours on end from the comfort of my home, with minimum human contact. The reality which became a dream is now my reality once more, with the added benefit of financial rewards.

I think I found my path.

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A comprehensive list of reasons why pair programming sucks - The Next Web