Learning/teaching is a valuable benefit of pair programming. Higher quality code is another. Being able to finish a critical section of code faster is the last

Learning/teaching is a valuable benefit of pair programming. Higher quality code is another. Being able to finish a critical section of code faster is the last benefit. Slower development is a cost. Less enjoyable development is a cost. The work required to engage a junior dev is a cost. Being required to code at the same times is a cost. There isn’t a one size fits all solution to every problem. I can mentor a junior by reviewing her pull requests carefully, on my own time schedule, and send her the notes. It’s more effective if we pair the fixes, cause she can ask questions more easily and we can have more wide ranging discussions. But I’d quit if I had to pair with her every day, trying to read code off her tiny, dirty laptop screen and constantly having to corral her impulse to instantly apply every suggestion I make, before I’m even done saying it.