Court
Reporter – training and careers
Secure your future and begin a
career as a Court Reporter!
According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, job prospects for Court Reporters are
expected
to be excellent as job openings continue to outnumber job seekers. In
addition, the demand for real-time broadcast captioning and
translating will continue
to stimulate employment growth in the
court reporting field.
Court Reporters (also known as stenotype
reporters or stenographers) transcribe
spoken or recorded speech
into written form, typically using stenography equipment
to
produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other
official
proceedings. Court Reporters use a shorthand system such
as stenotype in order to
keep up with the flow of speech. The
Court Reporter is often also a notary public who
is authorized to
administer oaths to witnesses, and certifies that her or his transcript
of the proceedings is a verbatim account of what was
said.
It typically takes 24-36 months to learn the basic skills to
become a Court Reporter.
Specialized training is offered by
vocational schools, technical institutions and
colleges. Distance
learning programs and online training courses are also available.
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has approved numerous
programs
which offer courses in stenotype computer-aided
transcription and real-time
reporting. NCRA-approved programs
require students to capture a minimum of 225
words per minute.
Some States require Court Reporters to be notary publics. Others
require the Certified Court Reporter (CCR)
designation, for which a reporter must
pass a State test
administered by a board of examiners.
The majority of Court
Reporters work in comfortable settings, such as offices of
attorneys, courtrooms, legislatures, and conventions. An increasing
number of Court
Reporters work from home-based offices as
independent contractors, or freelancers.
Self-employed Court
Reporters, or freelancers, usually work a flexible work
schedule.
With experience and education, Court Reporters can
advance to administrative and
management, consulting, or teaching
positions. Now is the time to accelerate your
career – learn the
skills you need to become a Court Reporter!
