What is the Court Reporting Career Like?

 

               

 

Court reporting careers offer a full range of job opportunities that are rewarding both professionally as well as through income.  Comparatively speaking, many higher income jobs require more educational training and certification. The court reporting school  you choose can direct you in the types of certifications required for your particular specialty.  There are many different career options available to people with stenography skills.  Most people think of a stenographer as the person taking down what is being said in a courtroom setting.  However, that is just one of many careers within the field of court reporting.  Though many of these careers do involve transcribing legal proceedings, there are many employment opportunities that exist in business settings, such as transcription of board meetings and agency hearings, as well as broadcast captioning and closed captioning for television.

Although the settings for using court reporting skills may differ, the aspects of the job are basically the same.  The primary purpose of the court reporter is to make a verbatim record of the words spoken during the proceeding for which he or she is hired to transcribe.

Generally in a court reporting career, a stenotype machine in conjunction with specialized computer software is used to perform the required duties.  In addition to the stenography machine, other methods such as voice writing are used.  Voice writing involves the court reporter using specialized equipment and software into which words are actually spoken instead of typed.  According to the latest information from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, a court reporter can expect a very respectable salary.  The median annual wage reported as of May 2009 is $47,810, with court reporters in the 90th percentile averaging $89,240.  Depending on the level of skill, certification, and actual position, some court reporters earn in excess of $100,000 a year.
 
If you are interested in pursuing a career as a court reporter, continue reading other articles available on our website to find out more.