Pair programming is a great way to learn! And doing it well is an art, rather than a science. So next time you’re stuck, why not pair with an experienced expert like David (that’s me!)?

I believe that a great pair programmer will have a few traits:

1. They’re patient. Rather than making you feel dumb when you don’t know things, they’ll patiently walk them through with you.
2. They’re knowledgeable. Ideally, both you and your pair will have some familiarity with the tech stack. Rubber duck debugging is fine, but if that’s the biggest value of your pair, you may want to look elsewhere.
3. They’re available at times that work for you. I say this knowing how obvious it may seem. But because pairing is a synchronous activity, it’s important that schedules align. Because of our connected world, it’s possible for a Japan-resident to pair with London-resident or a a Chicago-resident. But that does require someone works non-standard work hours.

Interested in pairing with David? (Yes, it is weird to write in the third person. ;p) Email thoughtfulcode@davidbhayes.com to set up a time. I’m world-class at PHP, WordPress, and differences in programming paradigms. I speak and write very regularly about those topics. I’m also good at JavaScript (all dialects) and shell-scripting. I’m interested to learn about everything else, if you’re game to teach.

This is a *free* offer to pair with David, for now. If we pair once or twice and it’s valuable to you, I’ll likely need to start charging to continue. And if I start being flooded with free appointments, I may have to rescind the offer’s free-ness. But for now, let’s (virtually) meet and get some code working better 🙂