What's a good typing speed?

[Aguy | 772]

I thought it would be a good idea to work on my typing speed. Currently I'm working at around 50 wpm using mostly my index and middle fingers with my ring fingers mostly relegated to Shift and Enter. But I also have to look at the keyboard most of the time. I don't work in a field that requires me to type fast. Is there a benefit to improve my typing speed? Or is 50 wpm good enough and I shouldn't bother?

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

I'd say for most jobs, you're well within, if not at the top of the range that's generally accepted these days.  Higher can be better, but unless you're specifically going into some field where the data entry requires a lot more speed (nothing that I can think of off the top of my head), there shouldn't really be any reason for you to stress over it or devote a ton of time to speeding up in any significant way.  If you want to learn to type faster, go for it, it won't hurt you, but if you're happy, virtually every employer on the planet would be happy with your level of skill as it currently sits.

[FireHazard51 | 2,043]

Yup, 50 wpm is plenty fast.  Unless your profession requires dictating someone's talking then there is no worries.  I will say the huge perk is just being able to type and NOT look at the keys.  I still can't believe how many people don't know how to type without looking at the keys.  I'd say improving on what you're typing will be far more important than improving the speed at which you type.  Take some grammar and business writing classes.  (Often free online through your local/state library)

I just recently took a business writing class where they commented on the actual writing should take 20% of your time.  40% should be planning on what you are going to say and another 40% on re-writing what you wrote.  Typing is not THAT important after your speeds are like 30+ wpm.  I mean if want to goes as fast as possible you'll need to learn a more efficient keyboard layout to type two to three times faster.  But if you do that then you pretty much need to bring your own keyboard everywhere because the is only one standard keyboard layout for pretty much every office in America.

[Aguy | 772]

10 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

Yup, 50 wpm is plenty fast.  Unless your profession requires dictating someone's talking then there is no worries.  I will say the huge perk is just being able to type and NOT look at the keys.  I still can't believe how many people don't know how to type without looking at the keys.  I'd say improving on what you're typing will be far more important than improving the speed at which you type.  Take some grammar and business writing classes.  (Often free online through your local/state library)

I just recently took a business writing class where they commented on the actual writing should take 20% of your time.  40% should be planning on what you are going to say and another 40% on re-writing what you wrote.  Typing is not THAT important after your speeds are like 30+ wpm.  I mean if want to goes as fast as possible you'll need to learn a more efficient keyboard layout to type two to three times faster.  But if you do that then you pretty much need to bring your own keyboard everywhere because the is only one standard keyboard layout for pretty much every office in America.

Yeah, I still have to look at the keys a majority of the time I'm typing but a lot of the time I can still type faster than my brain can think of what to type.

[Splain | 2,570]

I've wondered about this as well, and if it's worth learning how to code really fast. There are times when I know exactly what the next few lines of code need to look like, and it does get annoying to have to spend a couple minutes pecking out all the special characters and brackets and whatnot. My understanding is that even if you're learning numbers and special characters, just stop looking and you'll learn them.

I did have a coworker one time who typed fast as a rocket. Faster than Mavis Beacon! We'd be working on something and he'd say "hmm, let's ask Bob about that" and he'd pull up Skype and just BZZZZZZ and he'd have a whole paragraph on the screen. It was like a cartoon. I will say that it creates a sort of subliminal measure of intelligence if someone can type fast vs. pecking with two fingers. Handwriting is like that too. Like in a job interview I wouldn't want to type like a caveman or illegibly scratch something out on the whiteboard.

[A_Feisty_Pickle | 244]

I think 50 WPM is fine but I would attempt to learn to use all your fingers and without looking. I type 100+ WPM (I thank playing Runescape my entire childhood for that), but it's not all that useful as a software engineer since I spend way more time thinking what to type than actually typing. 

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

I would echo taking a typing tutorial and getting used to using all your fingers, but if you made it this far and can type that fast I wouldn't worry about it.

If you work in a field where you're drafting letters and proposals all day, then you might benefit from getting those extra 20-30 wpm.

[twiztor | 851]

https://www.typing.com/student/typing-test/1-minute

[AirVillain | 489]

Only using your index and middle fingers...? Get that pinky and .... uhhh.... the other finger involved, man!! Pinky is key!

Had typing in elementary school. QWERTY? Never really though about how fast I was typing as an adult. 

Q - uick

A - sk
Z - oey

Probably only Canadians will understand that....? 



Gave it a shot....

 

so... 46? 

I am still getting used to a smaller keyboard and it was weird because I was typing random words, but they were still in the form of a paragraph so it wasn't very natural. 

I can type much faster when I'm just typing what I'm thinking. But I suppose that's the point of the test. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by AirVillain

[wongojack | 215]

@Aguy 50 wpm is totally fine.  I have been touch typing my whole life, and I don't really type much faster than that.  Maybe on a test, I could bang out a high score, but real world is probably about 55-65 WPM.  There are a couple factors here that matter

#1 - As someone else said, you spend more time thinking about what to type much more than you actually type.  Even when not coding, you'll be writing and editing emails, or typing into forms and boxes on PowerPoint slides etc.  All stuff that requires time spent other than straignt typing.

#2 - There are MANY people in the workforce who never had a keyboard growing up.  Many people (even in technology) were never taught on a QWERTY keyboard.  They are either from countries where QWERTY wasn't a thing, or they just didn't have a computer.  These people are talented, and no one is going to refuse them a job just because they don't use their pinky to type.

 

My best reason for learning to touch type would simply be because it is fun.  It is satisfying to be able to type without looking at the keyboard, and it kinda feels good to use all your fingers.  Even better if you have a mechanical keyboard and can hear those satisfying clicks.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

That typing test is strange when it hits on a wrong spot in how it advances.   I ended up with 79wpm/98% accuracy.

I used to clock in closer to 90-100 range a few years ago or so when I tried to be even faster but the errors tend to increase where I'll write entire wrong words or other oddities as the fingers outpace reality.

[The Count | 527]

Dependent on the task, a proficient 10-key is much more useful if only requiring numbers.

[Link | 2,712]

44 minutes ago, The Count said:

Dependent on the task, a proficient 10-key is much more useful if only requiring numbers.

                  /

[Code Monkey | 2,010]

Kids today don't have the benefit of an ICQ all-nighter. That'll get your fingers flying.

You're fine, you're using the wrong fingers on the wrong keys anyway so you'll have to go backwards in order to make any progress forward.

[Aguy | 772]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

Kids today don't have the benefit of an ICQ all-nighter. That'll get your fingers flying.

You're fine, you're using the wrong fingers on the wrong keys anyway so you'll have to go backwards in order to make any progress forward.

Yeah, I tried a website that teaches touch typing for a couple days and was struggling to hit 14 WPM. Of course it takes time for muscle memory to kick in.

[Code Monkey | 2,010]

1 hour ago, Aguy said:

Yeah, I tried a website that teaches touch typing for a couple days and was struggling to hit 14 WPM. Of course it takes time for muscle memory to kick in.

Try getting one of those keyboards that are separated into 2 sides and that will help with your finger placement.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

Try getting one of those keyboards that are separated into 2 sides and that will help with your finger placement.

Except those always screw up and put the 6 on the wrong side of the keyboard based on how touch typing is taught.  Great for the rest of it, but that one will forever be "wrong handed" if learned on one of those.

[spacepup | 2,404]

7 hours ago, darkchylde28 said:

Except those always screw up and put the 6 on the wrong side of the keyboard based on how touch typing is taught.  Great for the rest of it, but that one will forever be "wrong handed" if learned on one of those.

I don't think this matters all that much.  My keyboard is split with the 6 on the left.  I can type a clean average of well over 100wpm with pretty good accuracy, so I don't know that this really affects anything negatively.

I can definitely agree with Code Monkey that not only am I faster with the split keyboard, but my pain is significantly reduced and it is much much MUCH more comfortable to do a lot of typing.  I highly recommend one!

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

22 hours ago, The Count said:

Dependent on the task, a proficient 10-key is much more useful if only requiring numbers.

Back when I worked at the bank, I saw some of the more proficient 10-key typers.   It was the most insane thing I've ever seen, they were typing like computer hackers in movies except they were accurate.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Left had primarily use index finger with a smattering of middle, ring and pink, right hand basically just use my index finger hopping along like a mad man. Average around 85 WPM or so with 98% accuracy.

[sp1nz | 612]

Well writing faster is generally just some time saved, so no need to sweat it unless it's a job requirement. To answer the topic title, I would consider 80 and above WPM good and that would probably mean a calm and measured touch typing speed. My WPM is like 80-150 depending on the text complexity.

I touch type with 5 fingers from my left hand (non-dominant) and 2 fingers (index and middle) from my right hand (dominant). Never "practiced" it in any official way, it's just from years and years of PC usage and gaming. I have a mechanical QWERTY keyboard: HyperX Alloy FPS with Cherry MX Blue switches, so kinda heavy to type with.

Edited December 22, 2022 by sp1nz

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

2 hours ago, spacepup said:

I don't think this matters all that much.  My keyboard is split with the 6 on the left.  I can type a clean average of well over 100wpm with pretty good accuracy, so I don't know that this really affects anything negatively.

If you've not learned to touch type, no, but if you have, it's annoying as hell until you get used to it, and if you go back and forth between split and non-split keyboards, it's horrendous, as you never totally get used to it.  The ones that really cause me to flip my lid are the really early ones where the G is misappropriated as well.  I mean, I can get why they'd put the 6 on the left, as it aligns well with the other far-right left hand keys, but moving the G to the right hand at the same time (ran into it a few times when those types of keyboards first started coming out).

As for the ergonomic feel/benefits, I'm glad it helps you, but I've never personally had any of them do anything for me.  For anybody seeking something like that for health/pain related reasons, I'd recommend they speak to/work with a professional before putting down money on something, as the folks I encountered who got the most benefit out of that type of stuff did exactly that, to the point where some got prescriptions for certain specific devices (vertical mice, mostly).  I'm not discounting your experience in saying that, just wanting to point out that one size/experience doesn't necessarily fit all, and a lot of ergonomic gear is or can get prohibitively expensive fast, so better to have an expert help determine what will help before throwing down bank on them.

[spacepup | 2,404]

I'm not giving medical advice.  Just sharing my own experience - it has helped me greatly.  None of the splits I've used had the g on the right, eek that's strange.

I first learned touch typing, and it wasn't hard for me to adjust to the split at all, but maybe it's harder for some people, I don't know.  It was a bit weird at first, but having used them at work and home for many years now, going back sounds awful.  Maybe they aren't for everyone, but for me, I highly recommend them.

Edit: Lately, I've been using the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard, and I've been quite happy with it.  It's also less than $100 and sometimes $60 or less, if someone wants to just try one.

[wongojack | 215]

I've never been able to adjust to the split keyboard.  In fact, I don't even like the extra wrist cushions, angled bases, or any of the "extras" they put onto keyboards.  I generally like the simplest and cheapest wired keyboard on the rack.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

38 minutes ago, spacepup said:

I'm not giving medical advice.  Just sharing my own experience - it has helped me greatly.  None of the splits I've used had the g on the right, eek that's strange.

I first learned touch typing, and it wasn't hard for me to adjust to the split at all, but maybe it's harder for some people, I don't know.  It was a bit weird at first, but having used them at work and home for many years now, going back sounds awful.  Maybe they aren't for everyone, but for me, I highly recommend them.

Edit: Lately, I've been using the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard, and I've been quite happy with it.  It's also less than $100 and sometimes $60 or less, if someone wants to just try one.

Oh, I didn't say or mean to indicate that you were, just saying that folks who are looking to spend money on ergonomic stuff for more than just the convenience of having each half of the keyboard split onto the hand it ought to go to should talk to a professional to make sure they're getting the right thing.  As for the Sculpt series, I did source and sell a lot of those, and they tend to be on the tamer end of ergonomics, so folks would be fairly safe trying one of the lower end models.  However, I still recommend folks talk to a doctor, specialist, etc., for anything being purchased to relieve pain, etc., as there really can be a world of difference between one model and the next, and with some of the stuff quickly running into the hundreds of dollars, it's best to "measure twice and cut once."  Plus, sometimes insurance will pay for the stuff, so folks are only out a copay, if that, when purchasing.

38 minutes ago, wongojack said:

I've never been able to adjust to the split keyboard.  In fact, I don't even like the extra wrist cushions, angled bases, or any of the "extras" they put onto keyboards.  I generally like the simplest and cheapest wired keyboard on the rack.

I never cared for split keyboards, but we "had" to have wrist rests at work, regardless of whether they were attached to our keyboards or not.  For a few years, our ergonomic "experts" would come around and judge grade everybody on how well they were doing all the ergonomic things we were supposed to (back straight against the seat back, knees up against the front of the seat, feet flat to the floor, etc.).  I'd get marked down every year for resting my wrists on my wrist rest, despite that literally being what it was designed to be used for.  After several years of them getting snottier and snottier about this, I finally got fed up and went online and researched whether it hurt you to use your wrist rest as intended or if you had to crook your hands into an L shape and hover over top of it the way the ergonomic team said you did.  Unsurprisingly, I found a ton of studies that said it didn't hurt anyone to use it as intended so long as it wasn't below the level of your keyboard (none of them at work were), so I printed them out, and waited.  When they came around and tried to mark me down for it again, I handed them the folder with all the reports in it, explained what it was, and refused to sign off on their evaluation as I had studies done by experts stating they were full of it.  They never bothered me about it ever again, lol.  If years of sitting cross-legged on a bed with my keyboard set up against my knees perpendicular to the bed while typing didn't hurt my wrists, resting them on a cushiony, gel filled pillow certainly wouldn't.