Practice Touch-Typing Prior to PE Role?
Currently a 2nd year analyst at a GS/MS top group, heading to an MF/UMM PE firm next summer. Thinking of ways I could best set myself up for success in my PE associate role and beyond.
One of the areas that I think I have a lot of space to improve on is touch-typing. I have a WPM of 40-50, which is very slow compared to my peers. My typing accuracy is also relatively poor. This has given me a disadvantage when it comes to typing-intensive tasks such as note-taking on calls and email writing. My lack of accuracy has also disincentivized my adoption of keyboard shortcuts in certain instances.
So far, I've been able to get by and was ranked upper-middle bucket in the most recent review cycle, but I know this likely will be an area that might haunt me later on if I want to be a superstar PE associate and get my VP/Principal promotions.
The PE recruiting cycle forced me to push my 3-statement from scratch LBO model completion time to a limit that I never thought I'd be able to achieve given my slow typing speed. When I first began practicing, it would take me 3hrs+ to build a 3-statement LBO from scratch. But I trained myself to only rely on keyboard shortcuts and did ~18 3-statement LBOs from scratch over a 1-month span to trim my time down from 3hrs+ to about 50 min. Was honestly surprised about my quick progress on the modeling front, but it doesn't mitigate the fact that I'm still a below-average typer.
Should I focus on practicing typing over the next 8 months prior to starting my PE gig? I would want to turn it from a weakness of mine into a strength, and aim for a 130+ wpm ideally.
Based on previous WSO threads, here are some insights and recommendations for improving your touch-typing skills before starting your PE associate role:
Importance of Typing Speed and Accuracy:
Practical Steps to Improve Typing:
Utilize Keyboard Shortcuts:
Invest in a Mechanical Keyboard:
Additional Tips:
By focusing on these areas, you can turn your typing from a weakness into a strength, setting yourself up for success in your upcoming PE role.
Sources: Tips to crank out work really fast, Q&A: 3rd Year PE Associate ($10bn+ AUM, MBO/LBO, equity, mezz, distressed debt), Preparing for Associate Role?, What I Wish Every First Year Analyst Knew, How to Prep Before Starting PE Gig
Bump
Personally I don't view this as a good investment. Unless you are EXTREMELY slow, this is not one of those things that makes a huge difference. Work on your typing accuracy for sure, but 130wpm is not necessary in this line of work.
You stop becoming the note-taking and excel monkey within the next year or two, "slow typer" is not a reason anyone has missed out on VP/Principal
There are better investments of your time, like working on social skills, commercial skills etc. I’m not a very fast typer, probably below average, and never have had an issue. Typing stuff that makes sense is much more valuable vs typing lots of garbage quickly
The “Why are there so many nerds in IB?” thread is true. You should definitely become a SWE.
Practice going outside and touching grass
I didn’t think there was such a thing as “upper-middle bucket” lol. You sir, need to find activities outside of finance glazing.
This is either the dumbest post I've seen on this site or one of the best trolls
bro thinks carry is based on how many words he can knockout in a year
I can sympathise with your concerns—I still have PTSD over the fact that being too slow cost me my return offer
How can you be such a slow typer? ESL? Not being mean — being serious. Only ESL makes sense for a smart person like yourself to be so slow at typing, or disability impacting dexterity / motor skills.
Good work on the LBO stuff. That is real work that many aren’t willing to do but you were.
50 wpm is extremely slow. I do think that will be an issue in PE — no one will really notice or say anything but you will take longer to do things (I think average typing speed in a PE program is probably 120-160wpm with 140wpm being the mode, so if your firm does memo’s not PPT then you will literally be 1/3 as fast as the mode). It’s not a deal breaker as others have said but I think you personally will find it makes your days harder for no reason.
Why is your typing slow, I guess, is the key question you should seek to answer as a first step.
Thank you for the feedback - this is the response I was looking for and what I was worrying about.
For ESL, are you referring to English as second language? If so, I am actually ESL, but never thought that would in any way correlate with typing speed.
I would guess the main factor for me is I that never systematically trained my touch-typing skills over an extended period of time when I was younger, and I barely used computers until I was ~13 years old, compared to my peers that basically grew up using computers. I'm also not a gamer for what it's worth. As a result, I mostly typed with 2-4 fingers between ages of 13-18, and when I was 18 I spent about 3 weeks on typing.com learning how to touch-type; that got me to where I am today, typing with 8-9 fingers, but then college started and I wasn't able to continue my efforts.
I actually just did a 1 minute online test and my typing speed is 59WPM. I think that is a little slower than it really is since I had to type the words they wanted me to type so had to look up the whole time and kept mistyping the commas and shit (and maybe that’s what you mean by touch typing), but point is: most people would say that I am a fast typer or at the very least normal. So I don’t think you have anything to worry about — also, I apparently pulled my barometer for typing speed out of my ass.
Anyway — key takeaway seems to be, chill out.
Same here
You’re inflating the average WPM by at least 60.
I don’t think you realize how absurd 140 wpm is.
Indeed, apparently my barometer was completely wrong.
Henry Kravis and all of the swashbuckling PE pioneers would be so disappointed if they saw this
disregard all the comments above
think about how much time you'll spend typing from now until the end of your career. being [20%
-50%] faster has huge roi over the span of a lifetime
i regret not learning how to do it when i had downtime before starting my current gig
Its not like you write a lot of long text when you get senior.
Enim similique voluptatem sit sit. Fugiat vel facere sint.
Deleniti placeat sit dolorem est incidunt alias. Cumque est adipisci placeat nesciunt tempore consequuntur. Qui eos esse non necessitatibus sed eveniet ex consequuntur.
Recusandae quasi et saepe dicta vero qui. Veniam ipsum rerum qui et cum vel. Dicta aspernatur ut quasi dolor voluptates. Rem reiciendis voluptas voluptatem aspernatur occaecati doloremque blanditiis. Explicabo et nobis quam distinctio alias sed.
Deserunt voluptas aut eveniet libero et dolores consectetur odit. Fuga optio ut quis esse.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Aut sed doloremque unde quae quis. Sapiente sed sunt natus et accusantium nam dignissimos qui. Ipsum labore nulla ut voluptatum. Reprehenderit maiores voluptas beatae ad nihil dolore aut. Et nobis quidem est veniam qui. Repellat et occaecati cupiditate sit deleniti maxime delectus provident.
Ullam odio tenetur deserunt nihil est facere. Ratione ut repellat ea porro iusto. Ipsum fugiat mollitia quo blanditiis quo eum similique. Debitis inventore explicabo quo dolor.
Cum pariatur aut iure numquam cupiditate. Molestiae maxime voluptates beatae et.
Labore hic illum recusandae maxime. Modi modi enim numquam vero. Temporibus ullam consequuntur neque eum occaecati.