I was let go today!!!!

Ravenclaw

Hey Everyone,

Well I landed a entry level Tech support jobs after months and months of applying. It involved taking phone calls an typing messages in a ticketing system. It was through a Staffing firm so the pay was bad but I didn't t care it was experience. It lasted 2 weeks they liked me and said I had the knowledge but I couldn't type fast enough I average about 20- 25 words a minute and even slower when someone is watching me. Yes I know its horrible but I am having a god awful time memorizing the keys. I am close with in a key or so of where they are but its wrecks my typing speed. I am trying free on-line programs but its going so slow. PLEASE!!! any techniques that may help? I landed a phone interview with a bank in 2 days and am praying it goes through. This kinda of killed my confidence in what i am doing. I am CCNA and CCNP bound I am hoping but I don't know now...........

Regards,

mistabrumley89

It takes a little bit of time to get used to, but put sticky dots over every single letter and number on your keyboard. Practice makes perfect. 140~ wpm.... if I'm directly copying something... 70-80~ wpm if I'm thinking (slowww thinker).

I personally think that being able to type at a moderate speed is a very useful tool. Even if you have to peck at the keys.... Time is money I suppose

gbdavidx

they let you go because your a slow typer? that is the stupidest thing i've heard, take some typing classes!!

gregorio323

@Ravenclaw

Just keep practicing or look for a job that is more hands on. Don't let your typing speed bring you down trust me really its not that important in the IT world.

ratbuddy

Dang, that sucks, sorry to hear it.

I gained my typing skills and speed from playing games. Old Sierra graphic adventures, mostly, where if you didn't type fast enough, you got eaten by an Orat or worse. You might give those a try, or if you want something more modern, The Typing of the Dead is rather entertaining. You slay zombies with your keyboard. Yeah. Playing MUDs would also help. Anything where you type rather than click stuff. Hang out in IRC, that sort of thing.

Hatch1921

Might be helpful Free Typing Tutor Software, Learn to Type with Practice, Lessons & Games


Google.... typing practice... there are a number of free games/apps to help you improve.

Best of luck.
Hatch

Bokeh

I totally agree with covering of the keys. When I was in the Air Force, we hand typed all message traffic. In order to advance a skill level, we had to be able to type (gasp) 35wpm. Everytime my boss saw me peeking at the keyboards, he would get on my case. In just a matter of months I was knocking off 50 wpm without breaking a sweat.

Any practice you can get in will help - yahoo IM, etc. Grab an article from the newspaper and type it out. Keep at it, you can do it!

ptilsen

On that note, this. Pricey for someone who was just fired, but worth it for the quality and the fact that it will force you to learn touch-typing.

docrice

If you just want a keyboard with blank keys, I'd say get a cheap scrap keyboard and spray it black. Das Keyboards are nice, but it's not required to make you a better typist. And I say that as an owner of a Das Keyboard Ultimate as well as a Leopold Otaku. I personally own a total of six mechanical keyboards (split between these two brands, and only two with blank keys), but I'm at the point where peak efficiency is critical to my productivity and even not having the ten-key pad reduces my round-trip time reaching for the mouse.

If your typing speed is slow, you should force yourself to learn the home keys and start slow. It may be very painful and aggravating at first and you'll have to overcome your existing habits. Give yourself weeks / months to get used to it. Your typing speed does make a difference in work performance, and at the very least makes impressions upon other people. If you can't respond to an email fast enough (especially with a full inbox), your overall output will be slow, especially in fast-paced environments.

SteveFT

As much as computer gaming can be a giant waste of time for your career, I can safely say that this is where I developed my typing skills. I started gaming before using a microphone was very popular. I'm sure I've spent thousands of hours typing between gaming, writing reports, and just general use. Practice makes perfect!

tpatt100

MUDS/MUSHs/BBS was how I learned how to multitask and type quickly......

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Playing on Muds and Mush were how I learned to type quickly and accurately. Just typing things out, or try writing a story or something and pick up the speed everytime. Memorizing the keys and their locations is not really what you need to do but make it muscle memory so that your fingers know where the keys are. I don't even think about the keys anymore it just happens.

RouteMyPacket

How is it possible you can only type 20-25 words per minute? Are you new to computers?

I see you have a BS in Information Systems, something doesn't seem right.

LarryDaMan

Who cares how fast anyone types in IT? I'm thinking that this was just an excuse to let you go.

ptilsen

I care. That's a very slow typing speed, slow enough to affect productivity. I would never put a WPM requirement on a job description, but if I somehow found out someone was typing under 30 WPM (really, under 50) and didn't have some sort of physical disability, it would definitely raise an eyebrow. It's by no means a deal-breaker for most positions, though.

In a helpdesk position in which you must fill out tickets and type up notes while actively operating the phone queue, typing speed is a big deal. It affects how many calls one can take in a day and the quality of ticket notes.

eten

We have people on my team who types with 2 fingers. Really... and they've been in IT for nearly 30 years and never took the effort to learn to type. I just shake my head deep down inside when I see them trying to type out an email, or type some commands in the CLI.

CCNTrainee

Tell you the truth I never have taken a typing class, the way I learned was remembering easy form words that help me remember the patterns. When I became faster it still required me to look at the keyboard for each letter to type out but I remember the pattern of words that I was able to type really fast as long as I was looking at the keyboard. Over time everything with the keyboard became memory muscle and before I knew it, I was able to type while looking at the screen at all times, didn't even realized that I was doing it as well. Stay on a keyboard long enough and you will be able to type faster as everything becomes memory muscle.

LarryDaMan

I tested myself here Typing Test

I am a terrible typist. I had a ruthlessly mean 7th grade typing teacher and never learned properly. I tested around 50, so I could see where 20-25 is very slow.

Hypntick

Picked my speed up trying to keep up with a C++ instructor while he was demonstrating code. I would wager he averaged 150 wpm or so, and warned us on day one of the class to pay attention and not try to keep up with his typing on our laptops. I kinda took that as a challenge, which helped me to improve my typing skills. I agree with text based games as well however, I spent a good amount of time playing a few of those and that also increased my speed. Be careful with them though, they can instill bad habits as a lot of the commands can be shortened, which will mess you up in the real world.

ptilsen

Not to keep piling it in, but I just got 28 WPM in that test one-handed. OP definitely needs some work. Almost anything should help. Home row and typing properly are good, but really, I think OP just needs to memorize the QWERTY layout. The blank keyboard idea, whether it means wrecking a cheap existing keyboard or buying a fancy mechanical one, really might be an integral part of the approach. Some keyboarding software certainly isn't a bad idea, though.

JustFred

LarryDaMan wrote: »

Who cares how fast anyone types in IT? I'm thinking that this was just an excuse to let you go.

That's exactly how i feel but at some places it is really required and you have to know lots of short cut keys.

ratbuddy

Hmm, got 87.7 gross/net on that site, sitting on my couch with a cordless keyboard on my lap. Tempted to bust out the Model M and try again at the desk computer

Zartanasaurus

I learned how to touch type 20 years ago thanks to BBSes and MUDs. You can take a class or you can just find something you like doing that requires typing. Not being able to touch type at an acceptable rate in the days of ubiquitous keyboards seems odd to me. Then again, I'm from the PC age not the smart phone age so it may be a generational thing.

Akaricloud

This is something you definitely need to work on and make your highest priority. If you need to spend 40 hours a week taking typing classes until you're up to 60WPM then do so! To put it in perspective everyone at the company I work for can easily type 100+WPM no problem.

There is no way this would fly in any of the places I've worked. Making customers wait 2-3x longer than necessary while you, the expert, type slower than they do is unacceptable. I can quite easily see how it would slow productivity in almost every area of a tech job.

Everyone

I can't stand slow typers. There are more in IT than you might think. When I'm at a customer and they type painfully slow, it takes every bit of restraint I have to keep from turning into this guy: Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy - YouTube I type about 75wpm on average on most typing tests. I know I type even faster when I'm not copying something (i.e. writing an e-mail, IM'ing, etc). Depends on the keyboard I'm using too. Fastest on my ergonomic keyboard, slowest on my laptop keyboard. Definitely a skill you need to have when doing any type of data entry. Answering calls and transcribing them into a ticketing system would be considered a form of data entry. The faster and more accurately you can type, the quicker you can get through calls. That type of position is all about metrics.

ptilsen

Not to veer too far off-top, but Josh, you should really try mechanical if you haven't. It gave me a solid 10% boost, maybe more, and most users report the same.

JustFred

Grab one of those typing software and make sure you have at least 30 minutes a day practice, you should be able to improve very quickly.

CCNTrainee

@ptilsen

I am curious, what is the purpose of getting one of those DAS keyboards??

Everyone

I love my Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. I know a lot of guys that swear by the mechanical keyboards... Only reason I haven't gone out and bought one is that I'm not really home to use my desktop much. Due to the nature of my job, I'm either on the road which means typing on my laptop, or typing on whatever keyboard the customer has connected to their system.

ptilsen

CCNTrainee wrote: »

I am curious, what is the purpose of getting one of those DAS keyboards??

Read up on mechanical keyboards. Bottom line (which is all that should matter) is that you type faster and with more accuracy and less effort. The Das I linked just happens to be the one I decided on based on my needs. There are plenty of other good ones.

Everyone wrote: »

Due to the nature of my job, I'm either on the road which means typing on my laptop, or typing on whatever keyboard the customer has connected to their system.

Unfortunate. This is the thing I dislike about travel to client sites. A good home or office setup can be so much more efficient.

dspielman

Keep practicing until you can do at least 60wpm.