Many people, including some typing pros, don't use the mainstream style. You are not weird.

The traditional home row method inherently doesn't make sense with the QWERTY layout. 50% of the typing is done on the top row with only about 30% on the homerow.

So I think the homerow method is a good basis to start at, but It is definitely not something that has to be followed.

But if you aren't using all of your fingers efficiently, I believe there is room for improvement, and frankly, the homerow method is the quickest way to start using all fingers somewhat evenly. And I believe accuracy is best improved by fully understanding how you type, and making it systematic as possible.

I personally type with the Dvorak layout which is made with the homerow method in mind, and over 70% of the typing is done on the homerow. I type completely systematically and average 120+wpm on this website.

I've never heard of any pro-level typist who had to 'learn' how to type for school or w/e, which is why none of us use home row

How long does it take to adapt to a dvorak keyboard from qwerty for a typist of moderate skill (I'm a high accuracy 70wpm typer). Can you switch back and forth between the two styles?

I found I picked Dvorak up quicker than Qwerty as it felt more intuitive. Might also have helped that I'd previously learned touch-typing on Qwerty, so some of the principles and brain-training carry over. I've read elsewhere that people can remain 'fluently bilingual' in both keyboards so long as they keep up their practice in both, although I wouldn't want to try re-learning Qwerty myself so it doesn't interfere with my Dvorak ability.

I don't recommend alternative keyboard layouts unless you're an enthusiast. QWERTY functions just fine even if it is not the most logical layout, and you WILL come across circumstances where you are not in control of the device/layout you must use to type.

I heard many people with different results, but it took me maybe a few week to become comfortable with using Dvorak all the time, and then a few month to match the speed I was in qwerty. I averaged 80-90 wpm when I typed on qwerty.

But again I heard many people that never got that much faster. I think one explanation may be that I learned it when I was much younger than most, in middle school, compared to most trying it after they are adults.

But speed is also not all that matters. Dvorak is definitely way more comfortable and reliable, that even if I was slower on Dvorak I'd probably prefer it.

And yes I can still type on qwerty, and can reach 100+ wpm with it.

I agree alternative layouts are often not worth the time learning and adjusting to, depending on how much you care and rely on typing.

But qwerty is still significantly worse than any other more well thought out layout, and I think alternative layouts does make a great difference, in maybe speed, but more than that in comfort, ergonomics, and reliability.

When I use other devices, I can still type on qwerty and if I have to type for longer sessions Windows, MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS, they all have built in Dvorak support that takes seconds to enable. Mac even supports Colemak natively.

I had one circumstance in the past 4 years I had no way to change the layout which was in a language proficiency test I took for Japanese. It didn't bother me at all though.

I don't use home row either lol