How adept are your keyboarding skills?

[Aubergine]

i taught myself at 9, and never had a course in it; i envy people who can truly touch type. i struggle with it constantly, esp. after switching to a computer keyboard... i used to do so much better with my old IBM Selectrics, althought the correction-tape part was not fun. but, hey, i go all the way back to carbon paper copies, erasers, and white-out. :D

[Canice]

I goofed in my vote; I said I re-read before posting, but that's on another board (it's a set default). I'm a proficient key-boarder. My parents made me take typing for two years in high school (and two years of shorthand! :eek: )
Our first year of typing we had to use manual typewriters but could use electric ones after that. Only the fancy-pants girls (and only girls took typing) got to use the IBM Selectrics. You could change the type ball for different fonts, woo-hoo! FWIW, I graduated in 1982.

Does anyone remember using the electric typewriters where different letters/characters had different values (e.g., a "w" was 4 spaces, an "i" one)? So if you had to slip in one of those little chalky strips to type over, you had to count out the number of spaces to back up. "Whenever you..." Lessee, capital W would be six; h would be two; e is three; n is three....... Unbelievable.

[helios7]

Touch type perfectly.


8th Grade. Was signed up for Word Processing. Tried to switch, couldn't and thus was forced to learn to type.

And yet, it has been probably the most useful skill ever but oh was I not happy at the time!

:)

[Chefzhat]

Die hard typist here - over 100 wpm, -2 errors.

[Canice]

For the heck of it, here's an old Did you learn shorthand? (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=33508&highlight=shorthand) thread I posted a million years ago.

[Canice]

Heheh, and you were pretty cute with that steno pad too, Debie! :p

[gertdog]

I can touch-type pretty well- took a class in high school (it was called "keyboarding" at the time). No idea what my wpm rate is, but I know my typing is rarely completely error-free. So I do proofread (usually) before posting.

[Kerri]

I also took keyboarding in high school, but that semester I broke a finger and it had to be in a splint for several weeks. Then I broke my collarbone and was out for even longer. I do ok, but definately wish I could be better!

[funnybone]

My experiences are similar to Canice's. I learned in 9th grade on a manual typewriter. I hated that class with a passion. I knew I never wanted to be a secretary and didn't need typing for the future. :rolleyes: I only took the course so that I could type my own term papers in future years. 10th grade, they were able to use electric typewriters, but I opted to pass on that luxury. :p :D

[Angelina]

What does touch typing mean exactly? Type without looking? Looking at the screen instead of your fingers? If so, I am pretty fast at it, but then it's my job to type type type all day. Actually, I kind of like it. :)

Angela

[Canice]

Yup, "touch-typing" is with the left-hand fingers on the a,s,d,f keys and right-hand fingers on the j,k,l,semi-colon keys. Look at text, the computer screen, out your window, or at the guy in the next cubicle -- just don't look at your keyboard!

funnybone, I never wanted to be a secretary either (the only real reason to take typing in those days) but my parents said that until I could decide what I did want to be, I'd better have some back up skills. Got my first advertising agency job as a secretary on the Taco Bell account before moving on and up. Guess mom and dad were half right. Whaddayaknow.

[tbb113]

My typing skills aren't what they used to be, but I definetly can touch-type. I read somewhere that a good typist isn't one that doesn't make any errors but one who knows immediately when they have hit the wrong key. By that definition, I'm an excellent typist :D I'm also very fast on the 10 key (by touch)

[Melman]

I had a tough time picking between the first two choices. I type over 100 wpm as well. Since I'm watching the screen (instead of looking at the keyboard), I'm able to keep up with any typos while I'm moving along. My biggest typos come from changing the way I want to re-word a sentence and accidentally miss changing a particular word. There are also a few letter combinations that I flip around fairly regularly. Overall...pretty darned fast with limited mistakes.

Depending on what I'm writing will determine whether I proof something before sending it. If I'm writing to a friend, I usually just send the flipped letters and everything. If it's going anywhere other than to a friend, I definitely re-read it.

Edited to say I just saw Tyra's post. I'm also really fast with the keypad! :D Before the days of the keypad (aka: manual or electric typewriter days), I would also fly on the number keys above the letters on the regular keyboard.

[stacy7272]

I love typing/keyboarding! I learned in the 9th grade. I started the class late and ended up being the fastest typist in the class. I got up to 90 words per minute. I've slowed down considerably to about 50 words per minute since I don't type all the time.

I'm also the only person I know who aspired to being a Secretary. That is my cup of tea - well, old-school Secretary. Too much computer stuff now. In high school I volunteered during my lunch hour in the office and I got to sort the staff's mail and stuff envelopes and answer phones and file...man I love that stuff. I even took a "Live Office Lab" class where we learned some computer programs and took turns in the copier room making copies for the teachers. It was fun becoming adept at doing double-sided copies and having them collated. Okay, I'm a dork.... :D

[Melman]

Nope, Stacy, you're not alone. I was also going to be the world's best secretary. Heck, I could type really fast, I could file (remember learning THAT skill?!?!?!? :rolleyes: ) and I could fly with shorthand. What else did I need beyond those skills?!?!? That was in 11th or 12th grade.

I became a secretary right after getting a certificate in Office Systems Technology (ok, back then, it was called Secretarial Science!!). I worked for a couple of years as a secretary at a decent company. It didn't take me long to wonder why I was doing things like taking those little black and gold plastic trays with the water pitcher and two little cups to fill with water and ice each day....this was for two CPAs. I made a whopping $125/week when I started. Two years later, I had progressed all the way to an astonishing $145/week. I still washed and filled those damned pitchers every day.

The last straw was when I started doing a financial analysis report for another CPA who had had some kind of hand or wrist surgery and who was no longer able to use her calculator. She taught me how to do the report. It became my report to do on a monthly basis. Not bad for a measly $145/week secretary. The clincher was that the a$$ at the top claimed it as his report. Put his name on it. Never mentioned me.

By the time I was not quite 20-years-old, I realized there was no money and no respect in that type of job. I switched companies, worked sort of as a secretary for about 2 years and then started moving upward. Fortunately, I worked for a manager who saw some potential. Thank heavens! I'm still very much in the line of work where I progressed after that....and love it!

Oh...the two CPAs? By the time they turned 30 years old, one was totally gray and the other was completely bald. :D (Not that there's any kind of problem with being bald or totally gray....by in the late 20s? I thought justice prevailed! :D)

[Peggy]

I can touch-type pretty well- took a class in high school (it was called "keyboarding" at the time). No idea what my wpm rate is, but I know my typing is rarely completely error-free. So I do proofread (usually) before posting.

That's me!! :)

Peggy

[Canice]

Those are great stories, Stacy and Melman! My first jobs were typing up the "daily bulletin" for my high school (had to get in at 7AM to do so, but I got to use the coveted IBM Selectric --woohoo!) and running the switchboard/taking messages at the district office over lunch hour.

Stacy, as I recall we had to "collate" by making single copies and putting them in little stretchy racks (does anyone have any idea what I mean?) and then assembling. I think you did double-sided by putting the first run back in the paper drawer and crossing your fingers that you'd gotten it right and everything would come out synchronized correctly. Then there were carbon copies...I remember stuffing my purse full of poorly executed invoices at my first job, all in triplicate. Once I tried to hide some behind a potted plant and I got taken to task when they were found the following Monday. How humiliating! :o

[HejazSunKat]

I can touch type about 80 wpm and given the pervasiveness of computers in our lives I think it's one of the best skills I've ever acquired. I mentally thank my HS typing teacher, Mrs. Hagopian, (I can't believe I can even remember that since I graduated in 1977) all the time. I also have the same skill with an adding machine. Somebody who saw me doing it the other day told me "Wow, that's a pretty impressive skill". If you think so, buddy. :D

[CompassRose]

Touch type fairly well, although my speed and accuracy varies with practice. I'm rocking right now after the torture of the NaNovel, and back when I used to do temp work in data entry I used to test around a hundred words per minute. Usually these days, though, it's more like sixty or so.

As far as I'm concerned, touch typing was the only useful thing I learned, in five miserable years of high school.

[Aubergine]

Those are great stories, Stacy and Melman! My first jobs were typing up the "daily bulletin" for my high school (had to get in at 7AM to do so, but I got to use the coveted IBM Selectric --woohoo!) and running the switchboard/taking messages at the district office over lunch hour.

Stacy, as I recall we had to "collate" by making single copies and putting them in little stretchy racks (does anyone have any idea what I mean?) and then assembling. I think you did double-sided by putting the first run back in the paper drawer and crossing your fingers that you'd gotten it right and everything would come out synchronized correctly. Then there were carbon copies...I remember stuffing my purse full of poorly executed invoices at my first job, all in triplicate. Once I tried to hide some behind a potted plant and I got taken to task when they were found the following Monday. How humiliating! :o

yes, Canice, i remember those stretchy collating racks, lol. i haven't thought about them in years. and hiding the botched invoices in your purse? ditto, my friend, and also getting caught at it, too, when i stuffed them in the back of a drawer.:eek: my story is also similar in that i took a job at 20 as a sec'y/receptionist at a small ad agency -- same $115/week, as i recall:D -- but within a year i was a Jr. Acct. Exec. and kept moving up from there. nowadays i think you need an MBA to even break into ad work in NYC.:rolleyes:

[clairea]

I touch type fairly well, but I am out of practice these days so I am not as fast. I took a semester of typing in high school, and I remember my dad had to get special permission for me to be able to take it since I was in the "college prep" track and not the "vocational" track. It was one of the most useful classes I ever took, though. When I was in law school and still practicing I was really glad I knew how to type, as it saved me a lot of time.

[ebobbitt]

I touch type around 115 wpm. The speed comes from the hand-eye coordination I developed from years of piano lessons.

[olchik]

I learned touch typing by myself with help of one usefull program - Stamina. My speed is around 180 wpm.

[Meganator]

My mom was a high school "Business Ed" teacher when I was young. I begged her to let me type, so she gave me an old typing book and set me up at the dining room table with her electric typewriter. I did the typing exercises endlessly: A S D F J K L ;, etc.

Then in 6th grade, we had to interview someone who had the career we wanted, so I interviewed my dad's secretary. She was (still is) a wonderful lady, and I thought she had a great job. Even after I didn't to be her anymore, she always graciously let me use her Wite-Out for my school papers.

Then I took a typing class in 8th grade (before it was called "keyboarding"!) - we had to choose French or typing. For some reason, I never got proficient with the numbers on the top row. For the part-time office job I had in college, I did have to take a typing test, but for the most part, my typing skills have been very helpful, but not required.

I am still a proficient touch typist for anything without many numbers, but nowadays I probably can't do more than about 50 wpm. That sounds low; maybe I will take a test to see!

[newcook]

Having good hand-eye coordination is a must to be a good typist. I don't have it. I took 2 years of typing in high school. I ended the first year with -(minus) 30 wpm, and the second year with -(minus) 10 wpm. Minus because we had to deduct for mistakes. Even with all that, the typing does come in very handy, especially now that we can easily backspace with the computer.

[boisewinesnob]

Then I took a typing class in 8th grade (before it was called "keyboarding"!) - we had to choose French or typing. For some reason, I never got proficient with the numbers on the top row.


I am still a proficient touch typist for anything without many numbers, but nowadays I probably can't do more than about 50 wpm. That sounds low; maybe I will take a test to see!

This sounds a lot like me! Took typing in 8th grade.....long before the school had electric ones :rolleyes: . But I had/have trouble with the numbers too! I can type very well and very quickly if there are no numbers involved ;)
8th grade was a long time ago but I'm thinking I did 45-50 wpm on a manual. I don't know what that translates to on an electric or keyboard.

Is there an online site where you can take sample tests and check your speed? That might be fun to waste some time...

[tbb113]

Here are a bunch of typing tests (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=on-line+typing+tests)

[Kay Henderson]

Fascinating thread. It is interesting that for an older generation of managers (mostly gone now) it was a point of pride not to be able to type. (More common for men than women, but there were many of both sexes for whom this was true -- my mother for example.) The implication was that you would always have a secretary to do such menial tasks. When computers came in, some of these folks had a difficult time, as typing is easier to learn young than later.

My favorite story concerns one of our neighbors in Sacramento. One day when he was in his late eighties he came over to our house, told John he had just bought a computer, and asked him if he could show him how to turn it on. You guessed it -- our neighbor didn't type. John and I laughed for weeks as he told me stories of his tutoring adventures. I have to give the old gentleman credit -- he was a willing student, even took a class my husband recommended, and eventually learned.

Kay

[leightx]

After taking a couple of the tests linked above - faster than I thought! 80 wpm with 2 errors (so 78 net wpm). I also took keyboarding on high school, and graduated in 91. I used the IBM Selectric and had to use correcting sheets too. Ack!! :eek: Definitely one of the more useful things I learned in high school, considering how much time I spend on the computer these days. My husband can hunt and peck about 25-30 wpm! :p

Can anyone recommend beginner typing programs for young kids (mine are 5 and 6)? Mine are starting to get quite proficient at hunting and pecking, and I think that might eventually hinder their ability to touch type as they get older.

[Aubergine]

My favorite story concerns one of our neighbors in Sacramento. One day when he was in his late eighties he came over to our house, told John he had just bought a computer, and asked him if he could show him how to turn it on. You guessed it -- our neighbor didn't type. John and I laughed for weeks as he told me stories of his tutoring adventures. I have to give the old gentleman credit -- he was a willing student, even took a class my husband recommended, and eventually learned. Kay

Kay, that is such a great story! the problem with being self-taught, at any age, is that years later, re-learning is almost impossible, or else requires a Herculean will. i was just reading about Larry McMurtry, who co-wote the Bareback screenplay, and he still works on an old manual typewriter, as many older authors do; some still write by hand.

[leightx]

I learned touch typing by myself with help of one usefull program - Stamina. My speed is around 180 wpm.

Did you really mean 180 wpm? That's faster than the world record for typing, as far as I can tell by googling...

[bobmark226]

yes, Canice, i remember those stretchy collating racks, lol. i haven't thought about them in years. and hiding the botched invoices in your purse? ditto, my friend, and also getting caught at it, too, when i stuffed them in the back of a drawer.:eek: my story is also similar in that i took a job at 20 as a sec'y/receptionist at a small ad agency -- same $115/week, as i recall:D -- but within a year i was a Jr. Acct. Exec. and kept moving up from there. nowadays i think you need an MBA to even break into ad work in NYC.:rolleyes:

do you have problems with the pinky to the shift key or is this affectation something you think of as stylish?

maybe you should consider posting in purple? kinda goes with "aubergine," no?

bob

[sdcook]

Touch type perfectly...My high school required everyone to take keyboarding before we could take computer classes, so we all learned whether we wanted to or not. But I'm really glad I can and so is my husband. He's a hunt and peck typer. I can type up his work reports faster than he can :rolleyes:

[badunnin]

I learned touch typing by myself with help of one usefull program - Stamina. My speed is around 180 wpm.

Criminy - that would be 3 words per second..... :confused: :confused: :confused:

[mbrogier]

I voted pretty well except I have to go back and spell check. I can touch type with around 80 wpm corrected on my laptop sitting on my lap. Since my stroke my typing isn't as good as it used to be, and I have to spell check more often.

I had to take typing in high school on actual typewriters using carbon paper, etc. I broke two fingers that semester and almost flunked the class. I did learn the info and used it to type up my papers. I also used those computer typing tutorials to get better. Rob took typing in high school because one of his teacher friends talked him into it. He is much better than I am and says that it really helps him when he's programming code. He can also type up letters, etc. He's quite proud of himself. I think that everyone should take keyboard classes and basic computer survival skills. There aren't any jobs now that don't require a computer--even fast food jobs use computerized cash registers!

[olchik]

Did you really mean 180 wpm? That's faster than the world record for typing, as far as I can tell by googling...

Yes, I really meant 180 wpm. World record for typing is 12 wp second :eek:

[honeygirl1971]

I touch-type well, but voted "re-read before posting" since once in a while I'll type a similar word to the one I mean--like "him" for "them." I don't know if that is a brain problem or a typing problem, LOL. Also, the keyboard here is different (some of the letters are in different places, and the symbols and punctuation are in totally different places), and even though I've gotten used to it, I'll still make the occasional typo, especially with symbols and punctuation.