A court reporting degree allows you to work as a court reporter or transcriber. You will be qualified to transcribe voice recordings at a very fast pace. While this may seem like a simple task, the dropout rate for students studying to be a court reporter is notoriously high. You must be able to type 225 words a minute in order to become a court reporter. While techniques to do this are taught in school, it can be difficult to get a feel for applying those tactics to a real world setting. It is important court reporters keep their typing skills up to par when working. A court room setting moves very quickly and court reporters must keep up with every word said. It can be stressful at times, and many students do not realize the rapid pace they’re expected to keep up with.
The National Court Reporters Association is the organization that sets the 225 words a minute rule. A small percentage of students meet these requirements resulting in many dropouts from court reporting programs. There are also codes kept in a dictionary that allow a court reporter to translate their codes to words. Like everything else it takes practice to get used to because you’re simultaneously listening and reporting and the same time. You have to report everything verbatim as its said in the court room.
Licensing to become a court reporter varies by state. Check with your degree’s program directors to learn more about licensing requirements in your state. Some programs train a student specifically for the test, along with the basics of court reporting. Others leave studying for the court reporting state exam up to the individual.
What do I do as a court reporter?
You will work for a judge or in some cases, a law firm, recording everything that goes on during a trial. Sometimes you are also asked to work for pre-trial depositions. It is very different from conventional typing, as all noises and sounds must be recorded verbatim. This involves a different type of keyboard that has buttons for the most common words or sounds. Court reporters must listen and type at the same time, which makes this career difficult for those who are new to it. Most court reporters become comfortable with the task within a few weeks on the job. Court reports are a valuable tool for judges and lawyers and the best are asked to work again and again. While court reporting is not normally seen as a high paying job, it can earn very high wages in some cases.
Court reporters who earn the highest wages are freelance court reporters. This means they work on a freelance basis for judges and attorneys. This allows them to take on as much work as they can handle at that time. Freelance court reporters are often called upon by the same judges or courtrooms. Like any other freelance career, you are marketing your skills and building relationships with people you hope to work with for a long time. Court reporters in large cities can earn as much as $85,000 per year. Add in freelancing gigs and they make over $100,000. Many freelance court reporters work from home transcribing voice recordings sent to them by an attorney’s office.
There are also positions available to transcribe as a Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART). In this position, you’re transcribing for the hard of hearing and English as second language students. CART positions are rapidly growing as schools, companies and conferences in every industry look to provide the hard of hearing with a means to understand what’s being said. CART reporters are also used for civic events, religious organizations and meetings.
Remote CART is a steadily expanding arena for transcribers. With Remote CART a transcriber listens to everything over the phone and transcribes it to a computer program or the Internet where it’s immediately available for viewing. CART professionals are worldwide and the same method is used across the globe. For schools and business conferences, CART is utilized for ESL students to read what is being said if they cannot keep up with an English speaker or have trouble understanding accents.
