Why test your typing speed — and who benefits from it

Captain Ratatype · 19 Aug 26 · 3 min read · 1292 views

Why test your typing speed — and who benefits from it

How quick are you on the keys? Do you still glance down while typing, or can you keep your eyes on the screen? Are you tapping away with a couple of fingers or using the full set? And come to think of it, when did you last use a physical keyboard?

Hello there, I'm Captain Ratatype, and today we'll be chatting about fast typing.

The typing speed test — your first step towards a valuable skill

People simply love competing. There's a whole host of contests and events built around it, everything from the Eurovision Song Contest to international olympiads and championships. Who's best at maths, who swims fastest, who's grown the biggest courgette in the garden, and so on.

We love measuring, comparing and rating absolutely everything. The same goes for digital skills and learning. Take yourself, for instance — what's your Duolingo streak like? Or your Snapchat one? I reckon you've got the idea by now.

And with all this variety of competitions and contests around, it's terribly easy to lose sight of the original point — why we're doing a particular activity in the first place, and what we actually gain from it.

For instance, if you can solve a Rubik's Cube quickly, it's a fair sign your brain is rather well developed — namely, in training automatic responses, spotting patterns fast, and holding onto strong procedural memory. These skills come in handy in programming, design, engineering, even chess. So, being able to solve a cube quickly doesn't just impress your mates and colleagues, it also gives you a rather useful, out-of-the-ordinary skill.

The same applies to fast typing. If you can type quickly, it brings several advantages all at once:

you're able to put your thoughts into writing quickly and clearly. It's a skill that's worth its weight in gold for every office worker, from a programmer to a procurement specialist. Wherever you need to stay on the ball, pick up and run with ideas quickly, or answer clients' questions, fast typing will come in handy;
fast typing saves time. Here at Ratatype, we never tire of repeating that speed typing can save you up to 20 days a year that you'd otherwise waste hunting for the A or O key, rather than working and learning efficiently;
if you've ever watched someone who's genuinely mastered touch typing, tapping away without so much as a glance at the keyboard, you'll know how impressive it looks. Their fingers simply fly across the keys, and the text appears on screen without underlines, mistakes or typos.

In short, I don't wear my cape for no reason — fast typing really is a superhero skill ;)

So why bother taking the typing speed test at all?

You might well ask, and I'll tell you: everything should begin with the test. You take a 1-, 2- or 5-minute typing speed test and find out your speed. If it's already impressive, you'll get a typing speed certificate, pop it on your CV or LinkedIn profile, and job done. Everyone will know you're a typing master.

If not, come and train on our keyboard trainer, work through the course you've picked, retake the online typing speed test, marvel at how much you've improved, and only then claim your typing speed certificate.

Sit the test

And then — get planning what you'll do with those 20 saved days.

By the way, you don't just have to practise with exercises — our keyboard games, Ratashooter and Ratarace, work too. They help sharpen your accuracy and cut down on typos.