Coding Tutor Tip-3-Type Without Looking
I was about 16 years old when I heard about this movie — Swordfish. After 6 years of living with my wife-doubting tyrannical uncle, I was once again staying with my own parents. After a gap of 6 years, I once again had access to healthy, digestible food. After 6 years of non-stop emotional abuse, I had access to motherly love.
After 6 years, I could finally sleep for more than 6 hours.
This a sequel to my previous post, Coding Tutor Tip-2-Work Diary or Learning Diary
Author’s Note : A image of a beautiful woman in a lingerie is used in this post. Readers who find that offending might want to stop reading.
And, I had access to entertainment, computer and TV, after 6 years. All over my home city of Mysore, the poster of Swordfish was ever present. Specifically, this specific photo was part of the poster.
You are 16. Everything excites you. Those were the days before the internet. I knew I had to watch this movie. I waited for the movie to become available on home video, and got the copy. I watched it. Some scenes were watched more than others.
Yes. the above scene is like 30 seconds at most. Then, she is topless as well. You get to see Halle’s Berries. That’s another 5 seconds, I suppose.
Then, the movie turned out to be okay. It is about this hacker guy. This villain guy (who is not actually a villain in the conventional sense), wants this hacker guy to hack into some government fund thing. Action scenes follow. Popcorn entertainment.
One of the few movies where the bad guy wins!
The Seven Monitor Work Desk
The villain guy gives the hacker guy, this office with seven monitors. The days following the movie, this computer setup kept coming back to me. Even when I was 16, I knew, the hacking in this movie was all bogus.
However, the hacker guy would type without looking down at the keyboard. I thought about it, and I kept thinking about it for days. A year ago, when I was 15, after watching ‘The Matrix’, I had already decided to become a IT software guy (and today, I am a full time freelance coder slash tutor. Career goal achieved, he he 😊).
I told myself, I need to type like that. I need to be able to type without looking at the keyboard. It looks so cool and functional.
Institute of Commerce
In India, and in Mysore, even today, you can find tutoring classes for typing. For some reason, they are called ‘Institute of Commerce’. I never found the connection between commerce and typing.
The tutor at this place was a very old man. He was, at first, confused, why I want to join his classes. I told him about the movie ‘Swordfish’. I explained to him that one day, I wish to become a programmer. Like in the movies, I want to type without having to look at the keyboard. I told him that, I should be able to type fast, so it looks cool to those who are watching me.
He gave me an odd expression. Ultimately, he let me join his classes. For the next 10 months, without fail, I went to the typing class every tuition day.
80 Words Per Minute
Now, since the age of 17, I have been a fast touch typist. I took a quick simple test while writing this medium post.
Even with 1 % error, I am twice as fast as the average joe. I always tell anybody who would listen, I am, at best, a below average developer. Sure, I have an award from Microsoft. I was previously certified as a top developer from Codementor’s Arc Developer Program. Soon, I will become a top rated guy on UpWork (touchwood).
All that sounds great.
Yet, every client who has hired me, seems to have hired me primarily for my communication, work ethic, discipline, sincerity and speed of working. Very few of them actually test my developer skills.
Many of these clients keep coming back. So, I must have some coding skills, yes.
I believe my super fast typing skills have really helped make a good impression. When I was younger, my fast typing would raised quiet a few female eyebrows. The cool part was when I would keep typing, while returning a smile to the impressed female, and raise my own eyebrows.
Later, she would end up going for a coffee or movie with him. You know, college and dating things.
Once I got older, the raised eyebrows were from well paying clients. Thanks to fast typing, I blog regularly. My code documentation is always extensive and appreciated by clients. More importantly, I can code at the speed at which I think. Combined with my extensive knowledge of shortcuts on both windows and Mac, I work really fast.
The overall effect is that of improved efficiency and performance.
Final Note
Dear student, if you are still reading this, then, yes, being able to type without looking does in fact help. I am sure, it has saved me thousands of hours of productivity over the years, and allows me to charge a premium for the extra skill.
Learning typing is easy. Discipline being the only requirement. There are many free websites that teach you. An hour everyday for a few weeks, should be enough.
A sequel to this post, is now available here — Coding Tutor Tip-4-Suit Up With Essential Computer Gear
I work as a full time freelance software developer and coding tutor. Hire me at UpWork or Fiverr. My personal website is here. I also have a Podcast. Thanks for reading.
