Court Reporter Salary

 

Looking Closely at the Court Reporter Salary

 

               

 

Many people tend to want to know just what exactly they can expect to make in terms of salary before they consider training for the career. Even if you have a passion for a certain type of work, it is important to make sure that it pays enough for you. Otherwise, you will not find yourself happy after too long because you are simply not making enough money to make ends meet. This is true whether you want to work in a factory or work as a court reporter. Those looking for the court reporter positions generally find themselves clueless when it comes to what they can expect for a court reporter salary because this is not a career that you hear many people talking about.  Also visit What is Court Reporting? ("Court Reporter Schools") for further information regarding the closed captioner and stenography careers.
 
Since it is such a rewarding career and one that generally offers decent job security, it is worth looking into. Not all careers pay well but a court reporter salary does seem to manage to pay all of the bills well enough. If might just be what you have always been looking for.
 
The first thing that you will want to keep in mind is that the exact amount of money that you can expect to make will depend on where you live within the country, the industry you are involved in, and the experience that you have under your belt. Someone who is just starting out can of course expect to receive a much smaller salary than someone who has been in the business for over twenty years. The U.S. Labor Bureau reports that the average annual salary was $48,380 for court reporters back in 2007. Again, this is an average court reporter salary, which means you could find yourself making a little more or a little less depending upon your location and experience.
 
If you are willing to relocate in order to snatch the higher paying jobs, then you will want to review which states are known to pay the best for their court reporters. Of course, you will want to calculate in the cost of living in that state in order to make sure that the increase in salary is truly an increase as opposed to simply staying where you are. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated back in 2007 that California had the highest wages for court reporters, cashing out at $67,910. Tennessee was not that far behind at $67,890 and New York was at $66,670 for the average court reporter salary.
 
While the state of Washington came in at $64,630 and Massachusetts came in at $62,860, these are still considered some of the higher paying states in terms of salaries for court reporters. The state average for a court reporter salary is not the only thing that you will need to take into consideration. You also want to make sure that you are factoring in the industry in which you plan on working in. Working for Employment Services will certainly not bring you as much money as you would have working for the Federal Government.
 
If you want to work in Employment Services, you will find that the national average court reporter salary is about $43,680. Business Support Services comes in with a national average of $44,260 while working in the College, University, and Professional School Industry will bring someone about $45,880 as a national average salary. For those lucky enough to land employment with the local government, there is the average salary of $49,950 and the Federal Executive Branch comes in at $50,380. The highest paying would be the State Government, paying roughly $51,820 as an average court reporter salary.
 
As you can easily see, there is no one firm answer in terms of exactly how much a court reporter salary is. There are many things to consider. If you have a solid education and many professional references to back you up, you may find yourself lucky. After you gain a lot of experience, you can always consider moving into a different industry or employment firm and find yourself with an increased pay. Those willing to relocate are the ones who will most likely make the most money on paper, but again, that is just on paper as there are cost of living expenses that you will want to consider. Sometimes, states with the slightly lower salaries actually end up paying more because of the low cost of living.
 
If court reporting is something that you have your heart set on, you can at least be happy to see that there are many options out there for you. Someone with a lot of experience could very well make $70,000 or more. Remember, an “average” court reporter salary means that there are people making way above the noted amount, as that is how they come up with the average figures. Make sure that you are taking everything under consideration and you should have no problem making the right decision for your personal life and your professional career.