My manager thinks full-day pair programming is great for collaboration, but I'm struggling with it. It feels like someone is looking over my shoulder constantly, which ruins my focus and leaves me totally drained by the end of the day. Should I tactfully tell my manager how this is affecting me? How do you all feel about pair programming?

My manager wants me to mentor our new hire next month. I’m a little stressed about it because I still feel like I’m still just winging it most days, even after a year. Is it normal to feel underqualified when you first start mentoring someone?

Has software engineering shifted from “building to last” to “building to replace”? Earlier, we'd build a system, take it to production, and it would run for years with small enhancements and maintenance. Now. every few years there's a push to rewrite everything with a new tech stack, often because the existing system is considered "outdated" or "not sustainable." Are frequent rewrites driven by real business needs, or are we too quick to replace systems instead of evolving them?

What’s the “worst” codebase you’ve ever worked in? I oversee a handful of legacy of inherited services and am finding incremental ways to deprecate/sunset what I can. It has a ton of dead code but it isn’t even the worst I’ve seen. Projects with old libraries that aren’t supported, database layers woven in, and no linting/types.

I've just been made redundant with 15 years experience in web development & software engineering. I've had a pretty bumpy ride - I've never been given a promotion and I have done everything from bug fixes to line management and architecting & infrastructure so my CV is not looking great. Mostly due to being in the wrong place for too long (small companies, failing companies). Any advice on what I can do to beat the market, from people who have experienced this recently?