A couple of days ago, my hands got pretty painful after a long session of typing. This had been happening quite regularly, so I looked into keyboard layouts and decided to learn the Dvorak layout. After 2 days, I'm at 20 WPM, which is acceptable progress, from what I hear. It might take a couple of weeks to get back up to speed (my QWERTY speed was nothing record-breaking: ~65 WPM), but it'll be worth it if it actually helps my hands.

Before someone says it: yes I did consider Colemak, but my QWERTY muscle memory was too strong - my fingers were constantly confused and my brain constantly occupied trying to break my QWERTY habits. Learning something completely different was easier for me.

So, does anyone else use Dvorak? Is anyone else learning or considering learning it? Do any old-timers have any tips for newbies like me? Did anyone have a different experience with Colemak or are learning something else?

There is an old thread already discussing the topic.

There's also another one about modifying the layout for specific needs.

You can bump them with the questions you asked in this one.