Who else types using a Dvorak keyboard?  

As a young child when I began learning to type (at the age of 6), I was typing only 20 words per minute on the Qwerty keyboard. I was rather disappointed and I was learning on an old DOS program that I really loved (and still enjoy!) even though it is quite the boring program. At the time, our typing instructor told us there was also a Dvorak keyboard, on which you could type faster because of the positioning of the keys. I got the same exact program in DOS made for Dvorak as well, just incase.

Fast forward to a couple years ago, when 5 3/4" floppies were a thing of the past for quite awhile. I was still practicing typing, and I was up to a max of 135 words per minute on the standard Qwerty keyboard. I was very disappointed that I could not reach beyond that ceiling. It seemed that that was as fast as my fingers could fly across the keyboard. So I was taking another typing class and it seemed to be the case that I could not get any faster. But once again, the Dvorak keyboard was mentioned. Allegedly, you could type 30 words per minute faster due to the positioning of the letters. Once again, I dismissed the idea.

Awhile later, someone told me they actually used it. I researched some online and everything said you would lose your knowledge of Qwerty (if true, that'd be quite damaging for work). I decided that after typing for over 10 years on the Qwerty keyboard, I could not possibly lose my knowledge of it, that was ridiculous. I spent 2 weeks on just the Dvorak. Within a day, I was at 30 words per minute. By the end of the 2 weeks, I was only at 70 words per minute. But I was prepared to keep at it.

A few years later, I can switch between Dvorak and Qwerty keyboards within seconds. I didn't lose my Qwerty knowledge at all and it hasn't messed up my typing. I can't seem to test out higher than 135, but not because I only type 135, but because of my reading. Most typing tests go by reading and typing something at the same time. I read just about 150 words per minute or so. Not fast enough to type what I read. On the Dvorak keyboard, I can now type as fast as almost anyone can realistically talk. I was impressed.

So does anyone else type with the Dvorak keyboard? Do you find that it has increased your typing speed? Are you still equally fluent in Qwerty? And if you haven't tried Dvorak, would you consider it, or do you think the world is too far into the Qwerty for you to be able to realistically switch now?