Typing

but my friend doesn't. We're both in IT, although he spends most of his day typing in ip addresses, whereas I do more text emails and documentation. He said it isn't an issue for him....I personally couldn't even imagine not being able to type.

The end results are what matter.
If a person's typing can keep up with their thought processes at the level of providing the solution needed to the problem in a timely manner, then they are typing fast enough. I think you'll find that many "professionals" don't type especially fast or "efficiently" because they don't really need to. The bulk of their time is really spent thinking (or doing other things that are truly productive), and how much time is spent actually typing is often irrelevent.

Now let me get this straight, you are annoyed by those of us who can't type! I, on the other hand, am annoyed more by those who can't compose a decent English sentence or use proper punctuation. I'm the one affected most by my slow typing. My readers are the ones who have to suffer if I'm too lazy to use punctuation or compose my thoughts in a logical manner. Communication is to your reader is the point not typing technique. Admittedly, I would be more efficient if I typed faster, but I?m not that slow. I think written and oral communications skills are far more essential than typing technique.
George Neal
Computer Networking Professor

There is absolutly NO CORaLATION between talentid IT people and their typing skilz!

Timothy, Timothy...

I can't fault your typing speed. But please never tell someone you create a "myriad number of reports." "Myriad" IS a number.

[myriad = innumerable; sometimes 10,000]

Now don't you wish typing were your worst problem?
:p)

type very quickly with only 2 fingers. I have seen this. Why should they switch to another method if they are efficient with the one they are using?

Jessie -- you gave me another belly laugh in an already hilarious thread. All of you guys rock! (Well, most of you.) (Make that: some of you!)

--Six Finger Speed Diva

What the hell does typing have to do with being a tech.
Next thing you'll be asking should all IT pro's be pompous asses like you.
Or maybe it should be a requirement that all IT pros play D&D..............like you?
Or maybe all IT pro's need to score 25 or higher on geektest.
If it bothers you when you see people not typing correctly, then don't spend so much of your time looking at what others do.

Ok so the secertary here who can type 80wpm should replace me as tech? Had the initial thread that started this not been dripping with so much holier than thou arrogance, more may have conceded his point.

I can't type. I CAN get around on a keyboard. Mavis? Online gaming taught me what I need to know. I really think if someone suggested what he did to me, he'd lose teeth.

"self taught finger poker for 25 years....."

If not being a typist is all you have to whine about, when someone is otherwise qualified for the job. You apparently don't have enough real work to do.
Those of us that don't "type" also are less likely to get Corporal Tunnel Syndrome.
Which makes YOU a higher risk for insurance and disability costs to the company then a non-typist.
I took a typing test several years ago and finished with 28 words per minute.
The average typist (I worked for the company that designed the first electronic typewriter - NOT IBM) types 30 words per minute.

You should really try working for a living, and spend less time whining. Typing fast and making more spelling mistakes produces less through put!

My fingers know where the keys are even if my brain does not, and looking at the keyboard occasionally while typing does not diminish any of my other skill sets (I too build computers), nor impinge on my effeciency.
"Typing", as it is used in this context, was a valuable skill back in the days before computers when most men did not write their own correspondence. The world has since moved on, we now have fax machines and e-mail... I don't remember the last time I saw a piece of carbon paper.
If you know how to "type" great, but leave the rest of us alone.. We're doing very well without the skill thank you.

You mean that AV companies _aren't_ responsible for viruses still????

But dammit can the cook type?!?!

Typing should be mandatory for a High School Diploma, but not for any job except those that require Clerical Skills to complete. So for a person in a job requiring a large amount of data input into a computer, a employer might place typing skills as a requirement at some level. However, not all programming jobs or jobs that use a computer require typing skills. I'm an executive in a very large firm and I worked my way up the management ladder using my skills which don't include typing. I do hunt and peck with four fingers at about 20 to 25 words a minute. I've used a computer to help do my job since 1980 which was the beginning stages of Desktops and typing, or a lack of typing skills has never hindered my job accomplishment.
So the answer to your question is yes, if typing speed is an important aspect of the job, then you should require it. However, if accuracy and expertise in programming or job knowledge is important, then typing may not be the determining factor. One other point, I'de take a dedicated employee with initiative and job expertise over a typist with lesser expertise in the job anytime. If one-fingered typing bothers you, get over it. Especially if the person is doing their job and not hindering others from doing their jobs.

I agree, Tony! More damage is done in the workplace, emails, posts, and even manuals and websites by people's not double checking for clarity than by how long it took them to write it in the first place.

The brilliance of high-tech processing is the ease with which it can be edited. The only reason to type fast is to leave more time for reviewing and editing.

To illustrate: One fast-typing, poor-spelling friend emailed a slow-at-everything friend that the document the second had been waiting for had been sent twice, so should be there by now. The second guy quit speaking to the first, because he felt insulted that the first emailed him saying, "I resent that."

The moral of the story? If you can't proofread, hyphenate everything! :p)

I've been using computers for 20 years and still can't type well. I have gone through 2 versions of Mavis Beacon and I still can't get the hang of typing.

Not sure what to do next!

Help!

I haven't waded through all the posts, but I agree with the original post. There are way too many without a clue on "keyboarding". I took typing in HS, and although I've never been a speed deamon, or that accurate, I'm hardly a hunt and pecker. Companies should at least offer a course or at least a training program. Heck, I've seen some freeware Games designed to teach typing. At least is companies had these available people could choose to learn or Supervisors could make the decision who needs training.
When is what people use good enough? How much time wasted is acceptable. Most people are basically lazy, even if they know there is a more efficient way of doing something. Why do people use a spreadsheet program when a Database program would work much better. Heck, some people who learned Spreadsheeting first will use Excel for Wordprocessing!
Some won't learn typing for other reasons. I dated a girl about 15 years ago. College degree. A doer, could organize most anything and all sorts of awards for doing so. Definately more of a Manager. Told me she Refused to learn to type because she didn't want secretary jobs dumped on her! Don't know if she ever learned, but would certainly make her current job easier, and I'm sure she needs to use a computer to do it.

Hello all, I was told the other day that i will be needing brain surgery. The good news is that I live in the same town as the greatest brain surgeon of our time! The bad news is that he is a hunt and peck typist =(

Can anyone recommend a skilled brain surgeon, yet who can profficiently type without looking at the keyboard?

I flunked typing twice in middle school. When I got out of the Navy, I went to school under the Vet Vocational Rehab program. They made me take a dexterity test to see how good a little worker bee I could be. The tester told me I was lucky I was a smart guy (1600 sat) because it was the lowest score he had ever seen. I still have to look to type but have made it to almost 40 words a min on a good day using 2-3 fingers on each hand. Just because I can't touch type doesn't make me a bad tech. I don't think my productivity is any lower than anyone else. I make fewer mistakes than most touch typers and I get the job done. Take your typing test and ....

Slow down there, Gret...In an office where I worked, circa 1970, a gal named Casandra Cansler sped along an IBM Selectric so fast the ball would fly off--repeatedly! (Yes, we double-checked the reseating of the ball! ;) ) I think she tapped about 120 wpm, but how can one tell when the words will no longer go onto the paper to be counted?

She's now a physician and musician in the Chattanooga area. Look her up. Better yet, challenge her to a typing duel. ;)

Our small networking and custom development company has such a policy. If you can't do 30wpm, you can't work here. We bill most of our clients by the hour, and I can't justify billing for hunting and pecking.

BTW, you also have to be able to do basic W2k and WXP command line utilities.

It really peeves me when some one makes a complaint about someone or something, when they themselves are not really much better.
You have not bothered to capitalize the first word of many of your statements here. Nor, have have you bothered with the word 'I'.
Most people have learned to do this by the fourth or fifth grade. I can only assume that you have not yet reached this level. Why don't you wait until you grow up before you complain about what adults do.

I remember being offended that the speed with which I type was noticed by folks in a chat room and they decided I was "obviously" a secretary!

I don't think I've ever seen so much hostility in a thread before. Is it because typists are so arrogant or because non-typists are so insecure? It's a joke! Don't hurt me!

It seems to me, though, that if you use a computer everyday, you would want to use it efficiently, just like any other tool. Besides web design, I do a lot of photography. I know my cameras, lights, and meters inside and out. Why? So I can use them as effectively as possible. Watch a master woodworker sometime. He, too, knows his tools so thoroughly he could virtually work blindfolded. Why, as a computer user, would you not want to use your tools just as effectively?

Someone talked about a sales manager taking 40 minutes to write and e-mail being OK because he is able to close big money deals. I agree. However, we're talking about tech people here, people who use their computers constantly. No, you don't need to type 100 wpm like the administrative assistant does, but what's wrong with knowing how to use a keyboard, one of your main tools, effectively?

For those of you who disagree... oh well, just gives me one more skill that you don't have.

I could understand the 2 finger pecking having the issue there. The one thing I do not understand is why are they still there?

Should it be a policy type correctly (truthly how many of us would pass if it was).

I still have to look at the board to type and I only use the first 3 fingers to type.

Cannot say for all areas then schools here teach typing in Jounior High as a required class.

Should it be a policy yes if they can type well enough with and or with out looking at the keys.

em rehtien

I just think it does not make sense not to have some clue about typing if you are a tech. I know that there is not a great demand for the actual job function, but if someone ask you to give them instructions on how to run a process or some install instructions then you would be in trouble. I don't think there should be a policy in place for this but each individual should at least have an idea or want to get the typing basics down.

I have always been surprised when someone would say "Hey you know how to type". The first time I heard that I was confused with that statement. I was under the impression that it just went with the territory and it was just an acquired skill.

Just my .02 cents worth,,, :)

1. I noticed a while back on John Ousterhout's home page (http://home.pacbell.net/ouster) that he suffered from RSI and had turned to voice recognition software for much of his input. If the poster would prefer to hire a real fast typist over somebody of Ousterhoutian ability and poor typing, congratulations on consistency.

2. Back in the dinosaur days, Harlan Mills, quoted by Fred Brooks in _The Mythical Man Month_, said that code should be entered by clerical staff, less to maximize the use of coder time than to enforce the principle that code is public.

3. What about handwriting? No doubt everyone on this list clearly recalls Mr. Garth in _Middlemarch_ telling Fred that bad handwriting--a class marker, evidently--just won't do in business. Yet we all could name figures from the past who couldn't read their own handwriting--Napoleon, Thomas Aquinas occur to me.

4. Back in the manual typewriter days, my 8th-grade typing teacher attributed my inaccuracy to my thinking so fast. I don't vouch for that, but wasn't it sweet of her to say so?

As a manager of web development for some years now, I am one of those individuals who has never had any typing training & pretty much use 2 fingers to type. Productivity has never been an issue with my job performance.

We use electrical shocks. If the characters don't come through at the specified (quite conservative) rate (now set at 18 wpm) the keyboards deliver mild electrical shocks to the user's fingers. It took no time at all to train them!

I teach computer studies to adults. They 'learn' faster if they have typing/keyboarding skills. I do wonder though whether in this age of the Internet /Windows(it is a GUI system, mouse and all that!) and the coming age of voice input/output typing is really necessary. Just a thought or two.

the QWERTY typist would be hunters a peckers just like everyone else. And they couldn't tout about how many WPM they could beat out of a keyboard. lol

levannah44, I couldn't have said it better! It's kind of ironic (even if it's true) that the QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow down typists, because I learned to type on the QWERTY keyboard and I find it very efficient. (Also, when you know how to type, you instantly catch mistakes since you're looking at the screen while you're typing.) And no one said that a faster typist makes a better programmer, or that someone should be hired based on typing skills. It's just that if a programmer learns how to type, s/he'll be more efficient.

In the days of keypunch cards and typewriters, typing speed and accuracy were more important. If there was a minor change or error, the whole thing had to be typed or keyed over. I think accuracy is much more important than speed. If there is an error, it can be corrected quickly and easily with a computer. And anyone who uses a computer every day will eventually increase their speed and accuracy. That doesn't mean that person shouldn't take advantage of training opportunities to learn to type better, but not all IT jobs require a lot of typing. And who determines what is "knowing how to type at a decent speed"? I still occasionally look at the keys and I can type around 65-70 wpm, although most typing I do doesn't involve staight typing. Nowdays, most of us type and think at the same time.

Do I wish I could type, sure, but when I was at that stage of my life learning to type meant you could always get a job as a secretary and I for sure was not going to do that. So I refused to learn to type. For those of you who have grown up only knowing typing as it relates to a computer and keyboard, great. For those of us who learned to type on a MANUAL typewriter (what is that you say) I say get real. 90% of my job has nothing to do with typing and I'm darned good at it.

Sometimes "smarts" trumps "skill." When starting my own business in 1988, I took temporary office jobs through a PC placement service. I wasn't a programmer, so those gigs were usually secretarial or data entry. (Except I got paid more than those who came in through secretarial services. EE-haa!)

At McGuire Thomas partners in Los Angeles (while they were building the tower with the white crown that shows in every film including a Los Angeles skyline), I shared a double cubicle with a "real secretary."

She typed 50-100% faster than I did. Yet I never had to stay after 5:00 to finish my work, and she almost always did. (I'm typing this post with two fingers on each hand, my right thumb, and occasionally, just to keep it interesting, I use a third finger on my left hand. OF COURSE I'M LOOKING AT THE KEYBOARD! How else am I going to hit the right keys? Duh! :D )

We were using WordPerfect back then. Nope. She didn't seem to know how to edit in Reveal Codes mode. Never met a macro she could stomach. Etc. In fact, she couldn't even edit her boss's letters to make him or her sound smarter--which I always did. (My boss rarely noticed; his thinking he was that good of a writer saved me the time and effort of having to convince him my way was better. It was a match made in heaven.)

Plus, I didn't have to deliver coffee. That also saved me time. (The temp service required women working at MTP to wear heels. I confessed: I could not wear high heels and carry coffee: take your pick.)

We were both skilled, to be sure. But being a baby geek enabled me to get a lot more done than she did.

And I don't think keeping my fingers on the "right" keys or staring only at the copy or the screen would have made me noticeably faster.

As several have said, churning out the work, getting the job done, or even "efficiency" if you prefer that word, speaks louder than test scores.

Oops -- here I am ranting about productivity instead of doing my work. My bad. Gotta go!

--WHOOSH! Six-Finger Speed Diva

PS: I took typing twice. Neither time cured me. :D :D

As a 10 yr IT Pro I have found that There are two kinds of computer people, the ones that work at computers and the ones that work on them. I am one of the later. typing accurately is much more important than quickly in the IT field. a lot of the problems that I come across these days are from clicking before reading.

Not long ago, typing fast could have been a hazard. Fast typists tend to be show offs and make BAD mistakes. In the systems's world accuracy is everything !
When I worked as developer, I was a fast typist. When I moved to systems, I lost the speed but gined accuracy.
Today, with cut and paste a lot of things are mute. Intolerance and inexperience go hand in hand. Is best to accept co-workers with their good and bad

You are quite right and to most people who type all day, it comes naturally. From a company perspective it is far more productive to have someone who can type at a reasonable speed as they achieve (much)more in the same time as a 'hunter and pecker'. However, some 'mature' computer users did not take to a PC naturally and will probably never be able to touch type.
As a User Support Analyst it is sometimes frustrating waiting on the phone for someone to make some simple changes to test a spreadsheet formula or change an IP address, and often I will use a remote control tool to take over the machine as it is a much quicker solution. I do however believe that this will change in time as the younger generation mature because they are already used to typing emails and school projects. I also think that text messaging is counter-productive as we are teaching people to use one finger or thumb to type!
OK, now I get off the soapbox...see what you started!!

I have been working with computers since the 80's, of and on, and full-time since the mid-90's. I can type about 65wpm (looking). I was in college to acquire a degree in Computers, in the late-90's. I asked my programming professor if he thought my typing was a problem. He said, "No, that way you will never be confused with a Secretary". He went on to explain, when a secretary is typing, (s)he is looking at a copy of what needs to be typed, or listening to what needs to be type. In other words (s)he is not creating. When a programmer is typing, at least with me, we are thinking and creating as we type, and usually thinking about what the next lines will be. So, I feel as long as the end result is on-time, and on-budget. I am not a secretary.

Gret, you've just given me a BRILLIANT idea! I'll unlearn "hunt and peck" and put my fingers on the "right" keys, when all these "correct is better" people unlearn QWERTY and switch to DVORAK!

Besides, we'll probably all be learning a new way to type once we're wearing our computers on our wrists! So we can't play the "I've been doing it this way too long" card, can we?

I took a typing class when in high school in the middle of the last century. But when I saw the male typing teacher allow the girls to type half of the speed test before he even said start, I told him mentally to go screw himself and quit.

I am not a one finger typist. I actually use about 3 fingers per hand and CANNOT type without looking at my fingers. SO WHAT!!! I have done more coding, testing, emails, reports, spreadsheets, etc. in my 40+ years in IT than many responding to this taunt. I always review my emails and writing for grammar, spelling (what are spell checkers for anyway) and content and consider myself a very articulate person.

I have seen many extremely fast typists that spend at least half of their time on the Delete and Backspace keys so their effective rate is not that great and many are not that articulate either. Most techies couldn't write their way out of a freshman English class and reading their emails and documents makes me p... But they sure can type fast.

I repeat - SO WHAT!!!! WHO CARES!!!!

I alos agree we have a policy for Admin, IT and sect that require 35 WPM, but everyone else does it the best they can, we each have our own area that we are best in.

Whenever I interviewed for an IT position, I gave a typing test on Mavis or similar and it went into the pool of metrics I collected for each candidate.

Documentation is (or should be) part of nearly any IT job. Productivity will be sorely impacted if somebody is doing hunt and peck.

-Russ.

Find a copy of _Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation_ by Lynne Truss. This gem of a book is a delight for anyone who agonizes over the misunderstood semicolon, the abused apostrophe, and the vanishing colon.

Sholbrook, you sound like someone who shares Ms. Truss's views; believe me, this book is for you.

It was looked on as uncool by the guys, and the teachers were suspicious that a guy taking typing did so just to be in a roomful of girls. It was late 60's - early 70's in Texas

In the early 1950's DYSLEXIA had not yet been identified as such. All I knew was that it took me ten times as long as everyone else to read and study. That did not stop me from completing Post-Graduate work in Mathematics; a degree program in "Computer Science" did NOT yet exist.
In the 1960's when I started programming mainframes, no programmer or systems analyst typed their own work! We wrote code and handed it over to the "Key-Punch" operator. Thank God, because I couldn't work with a keyboard!
Over the years, I have created several systems which have gained national attention and distribution, ALL without being able to type!
PLEASE take into consideration those of us who have certain disabilities when making claims of frustration over our inabilities... some of us more than make up for the apparent shortcoming.
Thank you.
Michael J. Foster
____________________

I would recommend you find more important things to worry about. Obviously, if a person who needs to type a lot can't type, it's going to hurt his productivity, and his supervisor is the one to decide if that disqualifies him for the job. It's easy to get annoyed about every little thing that goes on -- this sounds like one you should try and get over.

Seriously, or not, I think that pulling those routine designators and passwords out of thin air, or whatever orifice, lowers the ability to spell.

So what....

As long as I don't crash the deadline, I don't really care. Speed kills.

Whatever allows the person to be most efficient in his/her IT position is what should go imho.

In high school, I drove my typing teachers insane. In later life when I was placed into customer service and helpdesk, I realized the necessity of being able to type accurately while carrying on a conversation and used Mavis. I only do 35 WPM, but can rely on my accuracy while looking elsewhere.

I hope I never have to interview for a job with you. If that irritaes you I would imagine that there are several 'petty' practices about other employees that irritate you. If someone can type as fast as you & have to look at the keyboard to do it what does it matter.

This irritates me as well. In fact the engineers I work with marvel at my ability to type without looking. How did these people get a four year degree without basic typing skills. We do not have a policy, per say, but we do weight applicants, for certain possitions, based on typing ability, but an engineering degree seems to be all some need.

What is SpellBound?
SpellBound is a port of the spellchecker code and user interface from the Mozilla Suite's Composer that enables spell checking in web forms such as html textarea / input elements (html input password elements are not checked by SpellBound) and rich text form elements. This allows you to spell check forms (e.g. message board posts, blog entries, wysiwyg, etc.) before submitting them when using your Mozilla Firefox or Mozilla Suite browser.

http://spellbound.sourceforge.net/

This might be a little unusual and petty but it's always irritated me when someone uses English all day long, every day, and cannot capitalize properly. Besides not being productive, even if the person isn't data entry, I think it's important and should be a requirement to know how to write correct English if you're going to use English every day, all day at work, and even at home. I also don't understand why someone speaking English wouldn't want to learn how to write properly. I think it's important to avoid compounded, run-on sentences, to use numerals in text properly and to punctuate correctly. If I wrote like I spoke, it would make using English a major hassle. What do you think and does anyone have a policy requiring someone to know how to use English?

Hey dalin@... - stick to writing code - you're better at that.

What is this persons job function. The COS's secretary, Forklift driver at the warehouse, etc.
It depends, but most of all "Let it go".

In the early 1950's DYSLEXIA had not yet been identified as such. All I knew was that it took me ten times as long as everyone else to read and study. That did not stop me from completing Post-Graduate work in Mathematics; a degree program in "Computer Science" did NOT yet exist.
In the 1960's when I started programming mainframes, no programmer or systems analyst typed their own work! We wrote code and handed it over to the "Key-Punch" operator. Thank God, because I couldn't work with a keyboard!
Over the years, I have created several systems which have gained national attention and distribution, ALL without being able to type!
PLEASE take into consideration those of us who have certain disabilities when making claims of frustration over our inabilities... some of us more than make up for the apparent shortcoming.
Thank you.
Michael J. Foster

Holy cow! Seems to have hit a nerve with a lot of people ... on both sides of the topic!

I don't suppose it's really an issue how quickly (or slowly) someone types, as long as he can get his job done. I think the ability to clearly communicate information and ideas is probably much more important than how quickly one transfers characters from the fingers to the screen. When I have to read a document, memo, message or report more than once to understand what the writer is trying to say, it reduces MY productivity and my value to my client.

I guess if I were to recommend a "typing course" it would have to be one designed to teach the proper use of periods, commas, capital letters and paragraphs ... oops, I guess that's "writing," not "typing!" Sorry!

I've been an "IT Pro" or at least a computer user for more years thatn I care to admit. Lets just say over 25 years. I can't "type", that is use all ten fingers but can do a pretty fair job with just two. I'm semi-retired now (a little consulting, now and then) but have been a computer center director, computer science instructor and hardware/software trainer. I really don't see any real need to "type". In fact, my lack of "high speed" typing is probably an asset as even with two fingers I usually "type" faster than I can think!

Take my example:

I *did* take a typing class in 7th grade, but the typwriters were 50's era Smith Corona manual machines - the kind powered by muscles alone - and using my pinkies to make certain keys work just didn't get a decent, reliable line of type.

On the flip side, hunt&peck using from two to nine fingers and staring at the keyboard has worked quite well for me as I persued a double Masters in computer science and electrical engineering, along with over a quarter century in the trenches.

After all, I do look up at the screen sometimes and if copying from paper to keyboard, the eyes *are* able to move as needed.

So while typing skills were very much a part of the world of "Doris, take a memo," I feel that they are not so important these days.

Further, there is good evidence that a chaotic, whatever-finger-happens-to-get-used way of typing is far less likely than "proper" typing to cause repetitive stress injury.

As for grammar, spelling and such, they are an entirely different matter. I do fervently wish that people would actually proof what they write, and that if they must use a spell-ckeck at all then they should at least verify the results.

Aye halve a spelling chequer;
eat caem with mai pee see.
It plane Lea Marx four my reeve ewe,
miss steaks I wood knot sea.

I raan this Poe Emm threw it,
Iam shore yore glad two no:
its let her per fecht inn it's whey,
my Czeck cur tolled miso.

Lastly, my father Jerome Bixby wrote over thirteen hundred (published) short stories, books, teleplays and motion picture scripts in a career spanning over four decades, and typed with two fingers.

Bix

X

Thanks. I use firefox. I hadn't installed spellbound. I will have to do that.

Way back in '88 I took a typing class in high school that was just basic typing, one semester. The point of the class was to teach you the keys so you wouldn't hunt and peck when you were in college and trying to type a 1000 word paper! It still wasn't enough.

When I left college and needed a real job, long before I ended up a techie, I got my speed up from about 15 words per minute to about 35 in a few days by just using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.

That's the best thing I ever did to help my career. That got me the job I was trying to get my typing speed up to apply for, which was where I got handed the network administrator responsiblities that have brought me to my last three positions in tech support. In fact the last two positions I had, both in call centers, one small and one large, specified a typing speed of 30 words per minute or more.

Think about it, with call tracking software no company needs a support person who can't type. They would spend most of the day just trying to catch up entering their calls and would speak to half the people that a tech who can type proficiently would.

I am just amazed how many techs would overlook such a basic thing. And it doesn't take that long to get that speed up once you have the home keys down!

I don't know about you, but as an IT professional and manager how fast I type has very little to do with the quality of my work. And the last time I looked at reviews quality took a precedence over quantity. It might take me a little longer to type out a report, but it is accurate and professionally done.

My experience has been that the "hunt and peck" guys make fewer mistakes on their work. I'll take an office full of "hunt and peck" guys that are skilled and don't make mistakes over speed demons that don't check their work or spend time "hunting" with a mouse.

that means they hardly ever use a keyboard or they've never used a keyboard. The former don't matter and the latter can be trained if felt worth while.
Just because I don't type like one of the girls from the secretariat does n't mean I hunt and peck. If you want to see something give a code listing to a secretary and ask them to type it, unless they are extremely good they'll slow down a lot because it's not in a language they are familiar with.
The reverse is true for developers.

Frankly, I can't understand how anyone could use computers day in and day out and not just pick up touch-typing by osmosis. I type about a zillion words a minute, and can't stand to hand-write, so maybe I'm prejudiced!

I suppose if they're productive enough hunting and pecking, it's their business how they type. Maybe some people just don't like the enforced discipline of the home keys? Me, I would get headaches constantly glacing from screen to keyboard.

I couldn't agree more. When I was in High School, two classes I took have served me well to this very day. Typing and Business Machines. (that's what the classes were called in the 1970s).

I have never had a job where it wasn't necessary for me to use the typing skills I learned back then.

While I was recovering from Cancer surgery and chemotherapy, I took a job with America Online working part time as a tech support representative. At least at THAT time (1999) AOL did require all applicants to take a typing test, and required 35 wpm without mistakes (thanks to my great high school typing teacher, I type more than twice that fast).

Fortunately, I beat the Cancer (something that wasn't supposed to happen, and have now returned to my professional position. However, to hire people without good typing skills (especially for tech support-type positions) is simply unfair to those that do type fast! Slow typists somehow get away with taking fewer calls, while making nearly the same salary as the faster typists. THAT is not FAIR!

We in the USA need to become more strict about our MINIMUM BASIC SKILLS. Some teachers (and lots of students) have become lazy and just are not concerned with productivity.

C'mon teachers! Be special like mine was! Your students will do a better job and they will NEVER forget you.

CDubya (my 2 cents)

As a manager of both small and large groups I can state with certainty that a persons performance should be judged based on productivity, not style. I've seen people who peek-and-peck their way through a work day and accomplish much whereas I've had people with fingers that tickle the keyboard at blurring speed who accomplish little.

At the end of the day, weeek, month, project etc. the only thing I need to measure is results. As long as a persons behavior and/or habits don't distract others I suggest leaving well enough alone.

on account of not being able to read my own writing.
LOL
But you are quite correct it's what we type that matters not how.

Tried a caligraphy course, to improve my handwriting and the tutor said I'd be better off swapping hands. Had to buy some left handed fountain pens. Wasn't a total waste of time my writing with the wrong hand showed a marked improvement.
LOL

Besides MYOB and WBIsThatOfYours

My 2 fingered typing skills have never prevented me from doing an efficient job because report writing is not my function nor do I desire it to be.

In factr, I think people who make tyoing errers should be executed.

And next, whoever decided that wearing two pastel Izods, say one pink and one blue (think 1985) should come back in style, should not only be executed, but it should be slow and painful.

" I can do a combination of multi-finger typing while looking at the keys and typing without looking and the reports I write have longer due dates so I don't need to worry about speed."

I type the same or very similar to you. I tell anyone when they see type that I didn't learn how to type in high school. You can hear me "tip-tap" and people this that I'm typing so wonderfully.

I wouldn't mind actually learning to type. I consider it amazing that anyone can teach themselves to type without having been formally trained. I see the Mavis Bacon cds all the time, but never have gotten one.

Yes, Bill only uses two or three fingers to type. Do I need to say anymore?

I taught myself how to type less than 10 years ago. The only time I need to look at the keyboard is if I have to type a series of numbers or symbols using the top row of the keyboard. Other than that, the keys are usually in the same place every day so I'd think that some people could be a little more proficient. My job doesn't really require that I type a lot either but I do try to keep in practice for those times that I may need to type something that's really long in a short amount of time.

apparently some has missed my point. also, i never expressed, implied, or mocked anyone who cannot type.
i'm saying that it's a win-win situation because the company is more efficient AND it's easier on the one typing because it's a hassle/pain/annoying to peck or have to constantly look up at the screen and down at the keyboard over and over again. it increases eye strain, repetitive motion injury, headaches. i didn't think this was a competition on who can make the most money or a name calling game as you put it 'stuck up,...'. you don't know me and i question why you take this so personally. if you hire someone to write a memo, they could probably use a speech recognition program to translate it into text but i would think it would be best if the person would know how to write.
there was a time when i didn't know how to type and it took allot longer to get things done AND it was more difficult to use a computer. i don't see what's so difficult or unreasonable about learning how to use the keyboard if you use the keyboard every day all day long. no one's saying that you have to type 100+ words a minute with x% accuracy. obviously, this would benefit employee and employer.

It's not about what position you're in but whether you're a well-rounded employee and if you care about improving yourself in your job.

I believe the original post was specifically addressing those who have to spend 8+ hrs at a keyboard typing and, for no good reason other than the fact that they don't care, don't make an effort to learn. If outside sales people don't have to sit at a computer all day, then it stands to reason that they may not have to be able to type that well. But, in my opinion, if you have to sit down at a keyboard at all (and I've even told my children this) you should at the very least learn where the keys are so that if you have to peck, you can at least do it with some decency.

I type with two to four fingers and have received comments on my speed (both in the office and by friends at home).

My accuracy is not bad either as I learned programming (and typing) on card punch machines in the 70's and, without a backspace key, I hated retyping a whole damn card!!!

The title says it all. In over 25 years of IT, consulting and ISP jobs no one has ever asked me about typing speed and I have never asked an employment candidate about their typing speed. I've taught myself to type along at about 60wpm and some of my staffers type at over 100wpm - but some of my best techies are 2-finger, hunt-and-peck typists - what matters is that they understand how the hardware and software works and that they keep the service running smoothly.

If you have Excel 2003 (not sure about earlier versions), you can set the program up to read the data back to you as you enter it. This saved me a lot of time & aggravation the last time I had to "bang in" several hundred (mostly numerical) records. HTH

Typing is important. if you are manning a help desk and you communicate via email. The higher WPM (word per minute) is important. Especially if you are solving a problem in real time. I had to learn to type on an old electric typewriter and teletypewriter. These PC keyboards don't take the finger pressure I am use to using. Want more? I lost my thumb in an accident and had my ring finger transposed to giv me an opposible finger on my left hand. Six years in the Air Force as a communicator and 14 years as other plus IT for another twenty I can say I do well enough typing by touch method.

We took a split 'taster' class in grade 8, it had wood, metal, drafting and home economics (cooking class), a few months of each.

Home ec was great, our school was right across the street from a HUGE mushroom patch, so we'd make mushroom tea and 'real' mushroom pizza and take the rest of the day off, with a couple of the girls from class in tow, but even that wasn't really cool.

If you needed to take a cooking class in order to have girls around and dates when you chose to, that was actually pretty sad, far from cool.

I taught myself to touch type with all fingers about 20 years ago. I had a job that required long cobol compilations and while the programs compiled I took the terminal off line and was able just to type out from my newspaper. I am extremely glad I did so. I am primarily a programmer and I couldnt do my job nearly as well if my typing didnt keep up with my thinking. Im not sure that touch typing is necessary, I think some two finger typists are quite fast enough, but I am certainly glad I made the effort. I think they should probably teach it in college to CompEd students, I suspect the keyboard will be around a while longer. On the other hand my kids are pretty proficient without having had any formal lessons so maybe the next generation wont have any problems. Perhaps the next thing would be to get away from the silly QWERTY format which was actually introduced to slow typists down

Why does everyone have the impression that the sales people are the almighty gods of any company? Yes, they are important but without the tech people behind them with their "toys" that helped them accomplish their end goals of making sure things are in stock, etc. they wouldn't have anything.

I work in a financial institution and without my "toys" those front end people that everyone says are so important would be in a world of hurt.

In a company, you need every part to make it function efficiently.

I can touch type at a decent speed. (I took typing in high school - manual typewriter.) I have found that using GUI programs has really slowed down my ability, as you have to keep taking your fingers off the home row to reach the mouse (memorizing the key strokes instead of using the mouse helps keep up the speed). Most of the time, speed is not as important as accuracy, so if I had three choices, would choose accuracy and speed first, accurate and slow second, and inaccurate and fast last.

I had an instructor in tech school who had a handicap and in fact only had 7 inch forearms with 1 finger on each arm.
He could type at least 60+ words per minute. It was pretty crazy to see someone type that fast with one digit though. :)

Considering the minimum investment to learn touch typing, this should be de rigeur in the office, especially for "professionals", but alas I fear for PC reasons of not wanting to hurt anyone's self-esteem, this is a never-will-happen policy.

I didn't used to touch type (circa 1985).... and I worked with a guy who went nuts every time he and I worked together on something.... Finally one day as I was hunting and pecking he physically wrested me from the keyboard and said, "Let me do it, I can't stand watching you type!"

I was shocked, surprised, and maybe a little hurt. But I sucked it up, and literally on the job for the next week typed without peeking .... after memorizing the keyboard layout of course. My only feedback, the chars on the screen... For a week I drove everyone crazy... probably typed about one or two words a minute, but slowly and surely it crept up. Within a month I was typing thirty words a minute at about 98% accuracy. It has changed my life!

When I was in the Air Force there was a minimum 35WPM requirement for computer and communications operators.

There should be a minimum typing requirement. You can not be effective if you have to hunt and peck in the middle of emergency situation that require quick input.

Actually typing for guys back in the 60's was a pretty good survival stategy during the days of the draft. Turned out my husband could type even better then he could shoot, so he spent his tour in Vietnam in an office instead of being cannon fodder.

I'm really curious to know what you do, because from the postings a majority of us don't type for a majority of our workday.

For example, I have various duties in my position. First, I am technical support. Second, I am an applications developer. Third, I'm a programmer. So, I go through each duty throughout a day. Some days I maybe typing up memos to send out to faculty. Some days, I maybe upgrading or troubleshooting workstations. Other days I maybe working on modules in a program I'm working on.

Speed isn't a concern for me, only quality. Now, if I'm in the zone, my speed increases, but quality is never out the door. There are and will be times when there will be mistakes that slip through; we're human. But to be irate at someone "who uses a computer all day but can't type" as you put it, I have to question that.

For programming it doesn?t matter how you type, just how well you think. I type with 2 fingers and have never met anyone who could finish a comparable program as fast or well as I can no matter their typing speed. Unless you spend all your time doing documents it is foolish to focus on typing.