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Discussion on: Touch Typing- The Most Important Skill For Developers Nobody Talks About

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David Sanwald

I would not recommend switching from QWERTY to COLEMAK to anyone that already can type on QWERTY.
In my case, I struggled to get rid of some bad habits because I was already used to type on QWERTY but without a system.
Therefore changing to COLEMAK helped be to "reset" my muscle memory.

That said:
It's not that bad. On newer macOS versions as well as on most Linux Distros you can change your Layout to COLEMAK with a couple of clicks in under 10 seconds. If someone needs to use my computer I can switch it back in the same time.
If I have to type on QWERTY I'm still fast enough to type a couple of lines on a public computer. It actually helps if I deliberately look at the keyboard while typing.

I never bothered changing the keycaps. The only scenario where this causes some minor inconvenience is if I need to hit a single key out of the blue without being able to position my hands on home row before.