I think there is a difference in setting. Pair coding is a useful exercise but demands a degree of trust that the two of you are working together on a solution rather than one of the pair judging the other.
I don’t agree at all. I’ve definitely been in lair sessions where the other person has been assigned to babysit me to the correct answer. It’s just an experience that mostly happens with juniors. I’ve babysat juniors to the solution myself.
There can also be zero trust between colleagues forced to pair, especially in debug sessions. I have worked a lot of jobs, so maybe it’s just my experience, but I would not say that if categorized every single pair session I’ve had in my entire career anywhere near half involved two colleagues who trusted each other and didn’t judge.
I’ve definitely been judged as a senior for dumb dumb moments and that’s okay. If you care about people’s opinions too personally as a software engineer, I’m not sure this is the career for you. It’s a career that involves a lot of negative feedback even as an experienced professional.
There is a difference between reviewing code and the feedback when you have the job and during an interview when trying to get a job. I’m not saying you should never expect to be pulled up on mistakes just that an interview experience is very different to the work experience.
Maybe there are ways to ameliorate the stress during the interview to get a better view of how a candidate will perform once hired but I think it’s a tricky balance to strike.
I think there is a difference in setting. Pair coding is a useful exercise but demands a degree of trust that the two of you are working together on a solution rather than one of the pair judging the other.
I don’t agree at all. I’ve definitely been in lair sessions where the other person has been assigned to babysit me to the correct answer. It’s just an experience that mostly happens with juniors. I’ve babysat juniors to the solution myself.
There can also be zero trust between colleagues forced to pair, especially in debug sessions. I have worked a lot of jobs, so maybe it’s just my experience, but I would not say that if categorized every single pair session I’ve had in my entire career anywhere near half involved two colleagues who trusted each other and didn’t judge.
I’ve definitely been judged as a senior for dumb dumb moments and that’s okay. If you care about people’s opinions too personally as a software engineer, I’m not sure this is the career for you. It’s a career that involves a lot of negative feedback even as an experienced professional.
There is a difference between reviewing code and the feedback when you have the job and during an interview when trying to get a job. I’m not saying you should never expect to be pulled up on mistakes just that an interview experience is very different to the work experience.
Maybe there are ways to ameliorate the stress during the interview to get a better view of how a candidate will perform once hired but I think it’s a tricky balance to strike.