I’m just going to say it: cube life was never for me.  About eight years ago, I recall telling a coworker (over a flimsy cubicle wall during my strictly allotted ten-minute break) that while I was glad I worked hard for my four-year bachelor’s degree, and while it got me started in the workforce, what I really wanted was to go back to school and obtain a skill.  Not just any skill, a marketable skill; a skill that would cause people to call me, to need me.  I wanted to be in control of when I worked and where.  I wanted to be passionate, yet paid.

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Years later, a friend mentioned to me what a great career court reporting was; her friend was a reporter.  I looked into the profession extensively, spoke with several working reporters, attended an open house, and decided to enroll in school. Now here I am today, almost at the finish line and beyond eager to get out there, work, and, let’s be frank, make some money!  The career of a court reporter, while challenging, is a truly unique and gratifying line of work that’s not on many people’s radar. 

What They Do

You may not even know it, but you’ve definitely seen a court reporter.  They’re the person in court staring straight ahead while their hands glide over what looks like a mini-typewriter.  The silent record keeper, a court reporter, usually using a stenography machine, transcribes proceedings.  Seated to the side of or in front of the judge, the stenographer is not just a skilled typist or a secretary.  Court reporters are as important to a fair and functioning legal system as any other judicial officer.

As with the majority of jobs in either courtrooms or in depositions (testimony taken out of court for the purposes of discovery/collecting information in a case) if a legal proceeding is happening, you better believe you want someone competent and skilled to make and preserve that record.  A reporter’s job is to take down proceedings, edit them, and create a verbatim, readable transcript that gets filed with the courts, making it the official record.

The Method

Since the average person speaks over 180 words a minute, how is it possible to “type” over 200 words per minute, the speed at which a court reporter is required to write?  Simply put, phonics.  Court reporting technology has changed vastly over the years, but the stenography machine layout really hasn’t.  If a QWERTY keyboard uses letters to make words, a steno keyboard uses word parts to create complete words and phrases.  With a grand total of 22 unmarked keys, the machine requires your left-hand to make beginning sounds, vowels lie in the middle for thumbs, and word endings fall under the right hand.  Combinations of certain letters make different letters, series of keys depressed simultaneously make common phrases, everything becomes shortened, and there are even special keys for numbers.  You can say it; your mind is so blown!

With time and practice, spoken words go directly through the reporter’s brain, to their hands, to their machine, all with psychosomatic muscle memory.  When you know the “language” of your keyboard, you can write any word there is.  Take that, cervical spondylosis and writ of certiorari!
 
What It Takes

Here’s the thing: It’s hard.  No, I’m serious, court reporting school is really tough.  Not only are you learning how to use your steno keyboard, but court reporting school also requires boot camp-level English and grammar courses, anatomy and physiology, legal terminology, and more.  Not to mention speed building!  Once you initially learn how to use the keyboard, you start at 60 words per minute and build up your speed.  Once you pass that speed, you’re rewarded with a faster, more difficult speed, all the way up to 225 words.  Per minute.  Yes, people speak that fast, and often. 

It’s a challenge, and the only way to make it through is practice.  You can’t “cram” for a test in court reporting school.  You have it or you don’t.  Tests must be passed at an accuracy level of around 96 percent, and it can take many years to get through based on your dedication and personal ability. 

Brick and mortar schools are located all over the country, but there are many credible programs online.  My school, based in Atlanta, offers both, and I currently attend part-time in the evenings.  The cost of tuition can vary, but upfront, you will need to purchase a machine (they can be previously owned) and eventually software and a laptop computer. 

Why They Do It

I get asked a lot why court reporters are still needed.  ‘Doesn’t a tape recorder do the same thing?’  In short, no way.  At length, here’s why:  Electronic recordings, at their best, are a poor substitute for a human being.  Even if your audio doesn’t fail, a technicality that could, and has, resulted in mistrials in counties where it’s been relied upon, who will create the readable transcript of those proceedings?  What if witnesses talk over one another, and who puts in parentheticals about nonverbal actions in proceedings?  What if someone in the courtroom needs a feed, in real time, of testimony because they’re hard of hearing or deaf?  What if a question or answer needs to be read back to the judge or jury immediately for clarification?   Go home, electronic recorder.  Ya fired.

Sounds laborious, right? But here’s the awesome part:  All of these responsibilities rolled into one makes the reporter a valuable, skilled officer of the court, and that means JOBS.  Lots of jobs.  The market is desperate for new reporters.  The National Court Reporters Association, the organization who launched the ‘Court Reporting Take Note’ campaign in 2014, projects 5,000 new jobs over the next five years.  The average starting salary is upwards of $45k a year, and that’s just when you’re getting started.  There are numerous certifications and continuing education opportunities, and once you’re certified, you can work anywhere.  

Plus, wouldn’t it be interesting to get paid to sit quietly, listen, learn, and then complete the rest of your work from home?  I know reporters who have worked high profile cases that made national news.  I’ve spoken with reporters who have worked in Washington D.C.  Some freelance reporters work two days a week, others work abroad for days, weeks, or years at a time.  Hourly rate, paid expenses, page rates, and travel?  Sign me up!

Side note:  If the legal field doesn’t particularly appeal to you, many trained reporters go on to caption live television events, international conferences, and provide Computer Aided Real-time Transcription (CART) to hard of hearing or deaf students in classrooms and remotely.  Simply, it’s rewarding work.   

#TakeNote

To close, if you’re already established in a solid career that fulfills you, that’s awesome.  But if you’re looking for a new, fascinating profession that is going nowhere but up, check it out.  The checklist:  Strong English skills, professionalism, dedication, love of learning, focus, tremendous work ethic, and, perhaps most importantly, passion.  When was the last time you heard someone say they got a job the day they finished school?  The work is out there, but you have to love what you’re doing on that machine.  And luckily, I do! 

You can definitely keep that on the record. 

For more information, please go to: http://ncratakenote.com.

 

Kate is a court reporting student living in Atlanta, Georgia.  She completed a bachelor’s degree from LaGrange College in 2005 after which she lived in Japan for two years.  Kate enjoys spending time with her husband, her friends, her fam, her dog, a great glass of French red, and a good book. 

 

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