I thought I would hate pair programming, but it turned out to be, BY FAR, the best thing that ever happened to me professionally.

That said, it really isn't for everybody. But you may want to give it a chance.

You also need somebody good to pair with. It can be really infuriating to have to deal with someone who can't keep up but on the other hand if you work with someone you respect, it's great.

Yeah, pairing is a learned skill!

If you put two random programmers together and ask them to "pair program", you'll very likely end up with two annoyed people at the end of the day.

I was lucky in being mentored into it by some very seasoned pros, and I learned the tricks of the trade that way.

IME anyone is able to pair, given the right conditions and being paired with the right person.

However, it's like therapy: being forced to do it instead of doing it by yourself will result in a terrible experience.

I was skeptical too, before I joined Pivotal Labs, but I love it. It's worth noting that it's a skill, or rather a collection of skills, that are much easier to learn from an experienced pair.

At the moment I have been on a solo allocation for about 6 months. It has let me go down a lot of rabbit holes, which can be educational. But I miss pairing pretty badly on days when I am working on straight regular development.

Don't forget the 9:06AM company breakfast.

I'd rather have breakfast with my family and bring the kids to school.

Breakfast is gone by 9:06AM actually.. you have to be there before billing hours for the free food.

OK, all the time is a bit extreme but pair programming is actually a lot of fun and a great way to pass on knowledge when done right.