Eight Things to Know About Court Reporting
Trying to settle upon a career path is difficult, but if you have decided on court reporting, or think it might be for you, then you certainly have selected an adaptable and lucrative option, and an interesting one too. It is not an easy career to simply jump into though, it requires secondary education and certification, so it is not a decision to be made lightly. If you still need more information to finalize your decision, here are ten facts about court reporters.
- Court reporters use a stenotype machine to record the spoken word in short hand, and are called stenographers as a result. A standard stenotype machine has only 22 keys.
- There are also audio transcribing machines that rely on voice recognition and mask out the voice of the transcriptionist.
- Training for court reporting takes an average of 33.3 months and roughly 15 hours per week practicing transcribing the spoken word.
- The National Court Reporters Association is a professional organization that represents over 20,000 court reporters. The NCRA also grants certification, but only to those who can stenotype a minimum of 225 words per minute.
- The average salary in 2012 for court reporters was $53,010, with the top 10% of the field being paid over $90,000 a year.
- Stenographers can work places other than the court room, and the fastest growing field is in closed captioning services for the deaf or hard of hearing. Some other fields are real time transcription of sports and news events and recording of government proceedings.
- Stenogpraphers working in a legal setting do not only work in a courtroom, nor do they only work during trials. Deposition services are also quite common.
- Court reporting is predicted to be one of the fastest-growing fields, with some estimates at 25% growth over the next decade.
- For those who like a flexible schedule, there are even Freelance Positions where the stenographer works from home. It can even be used as supplemental income in those circumstances.
Like anything that is worthwhile, stenography takes practice and time to master. Anyone expecting to make $100,000 a year right out of the classroom will have a disappointing career. However, with appropriate education, certification, and dedication, any person in the field has the opportunity for a successful and secure career. Helpful links.
