Pairing at Dev Bootcamp is one of the most crucial parts to the development learning process. Pairing teaches you how to work with others and to write better code.
In the beginning, pairing was a bit intimidating, but after a few times pairing, I realized how rewarding and productive it can be with such a motivated group at DBC. I also think it's a fun twist to coding, you get the chance to bounce ideas off of each other and take a break from the keyboard, if you're the one navigating. Let me explain. There are two roles when pairing, the driver and the navigator. The driver types and the navigator tells the driver what to type.
In addition to being a change from the "normal" coding experience, I time and time again see the benefits of pairing from a technical standpoint. Sometimes when pairing I find myself making basic mistakes related to syntax, but with a pair, they more often then not catch my mistakes or vice versa. This can make a big difference when creating an intricate program that could have a lot of issues if your syntax is off, having a pair limits the margin of error by having another person looking at your code at the same time.
I can only speak for myself on this one, but having multiple pairing sessions per week keeps me extra motivated to be on top of the material before going into a pairing session. When pairing, if one person is behind, you both will be behind, or one person will be pulling up slack for the other person. I find it very important for both people to come to the session prepared and caught up with the material that will be covered in the challenge in order to make the most of the time spent pairing.
Overall, pairing has been nothing but a positive experience.
-Scott