Photo by Tyler Franta on Unsplash

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Are you looking for a career change? Entering the job market for the first time?

If so, it might be worthwhile to reassess your typing skills. Good typing is practically a required skill for most professions these days. Employers are looking to hire people with strong computer skills and the ability to carry out tasks quickly.

If you aren’t interested in a computer-based job, knowledge of good typing will never hurt your career prospects. Learning to touch type is simple, often free, and can be the best way to secure employment in today’s market.

For the six positions listed below, advanced typing skills will help set you apart from other candidates.

Medical Transcriptionist

Work in the healthcare industry is always a good idea. Medical transcriptionists transcribe recordings for doctors and other medical professionals. There is some special training involved, and you will need to possess some medical knowledge to understand terms and correct usage. However, most of the work can be done from home, and the faster you type, the more you can earn!

Typing speed: 80-100 wpm

Data Entry Clerk

Data entry jobs are fairly self-explanatory and involve entering data into an electronic database. This job is extremely typing-heavy and requires high speeds and accuracy.

If you are looking for an entry-level position, this is a great option. There is always a need for data entry, and you can likely secure either full or part-time positions in a number of fields.

Typing speed: 80-90 wpm

Administrative Assistant

This might be the job most commonly associated with advanced typing. It is a detail-oriented position that can be found across sectors, from medical settings to large corporations. Administrative assistants can be entry-level workers as well as high-level employees (sometimes called executive assistants).

Administrative assistants are expected to have strong communication skills as well and are generally responsible for intraoffice messaging, document creation, dictation services, and report generation.

Typing speed: 60-80 wpm

Editor/Proofreader

Editors and proofreaders may work in publishing houses or be freelance workers. They can be tasked with editing novels, manuals, or research articles. Being a proficient typist will help meet deadlines set by your employer or client. It will also help you become more detail-oriented and able to catch mistakes in documents.

Typing speed: 50-70 wpm

Paralegal

Paralegals work in law offices and generally provide administrative support to attorneys. In this role, you can be asked to conduct research, document organization, and dictation services. As most law offices are on tight deadlines and schedules, you will need to be fast and efficient.

This can be an exciting career with good benefits and exposure to the law and criminal justice fields.

Typing speed: 60wpm

Freelance Writer

Finally, strong typing skills can secure you a job as a freelance writer. This is helpful if you are either unable to find full-time work or would like more flexibility in your schedule. A freelance writer is usually asked to work quickly and paid by the project instead of by the hour. As a result, the faster you can type, the sooner you can start a new project.

More and more jobs today rely on technology and computers. To make sure that you remain sought-after and employable, improving your touch-typing ability is essential.

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Learn touch typing the right way with Typesy!