In the U.S., stenography is usually the method used for court reporting.
A stenographer is using a stenograph, a stenotype machine, a word processing machine that has a 22-button keyboard especially developed for this purpose.
A stenographer spells words in a phonetical way and a well-trained stenographer will record at least 200 words a minute, which is actually a minimum requirement for professional stenographers.
Court reporting is a well-respected profession and offers rewarding career opportunities. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits that come with this exciting profession:
Job Security
Every year, there are around 5,500 job openings in the U.S. alone, and this trend will continue for some time to come. Graduates of a Court reporting program are holding much more than just a diploma, a piece of paper stating that they successfully completed an academic program. They also will be sure to land a great job!
Though the economy is in pretty good shape, job options are changing rapidly and not every college graduate is certain of employment. The field of court reporting, however, is projected to see an ongoing surge across the nation. Shorthand specialists will be certain of a long-standing career.
Earnings
The average entry-level salary for a court reporter is around $48.000 though, for an experienced professional, a six-figure income would not be unusual. Court reporters are capturing courtroom conversations and will convert these into written documents and this listening to courtroom talk is paying off!
The average salary for these professionals starts at $48,000 and the career of a court reporter (and also other shorthand writing professionals) is a real standout option for students interested in having a meaningful job that comes with great compensation as well. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the earning potential for court reporters to increase steadily over the coming decades. Court reporting is a career where listening will translate into considerable long-term financial rewards. Read more here.
Challenging Job
Becoming a court reporter is all about “Character Building.” The profession of a Court reporter will provide near-endless opportunities for students who have mastered the art of typing specific characters in a very precise way. But there’s more. This is a profession where hard-working professionals will be rewarded for focusing on transcribing courtroom talk correctly, speedily, accurately, and ethically.
Court reporters will face the challenging world of courtroom trials and legal depositions. They will have front row seats while listening to America’s most meaningful and confidential conversations. Court reporters and other stenographic professionals are official keepers of important records and the profession is requiring the sort of people whose characters count!
Flexibility
In the profession of Court Reporting, you need to be flexible and often, yet can set your own schedule. Here, it’s not so that one size fits all. The court reporting career path is often very versatile and most practitioners have many options, which provides structure for professionals who need that and a lot of flexibility for people who don’t want or need that.
Professionals who prefer a traditional track may be satisfied with a nine-to-five job while those who would like to dictate their own work schedules may be inclined to choose the flexibility of being a freelancer. Whichever your preference, the profession of a court reporter offers you plenty of opportunities.
Rewarding Job
As a court reporter, you will be lending a helping hand as a closed captioner. You will use 2 hands, 24 shorthand keys, and be typing 225 or more words each minute. So you see, the impact you will have as a professional court reporter is almost limitless. Captioners are representing an elite professional group of practitioners.
Court reporters are continuously and ultimately putting their ten fingers to the test while producing publicly broadcast real-time transcriptions of legal relevance. Court reporters are in the process of providing communication access to, for example, individuals with hearing loss. But, at the same time, they may be captioning some Presidential speech or be actively involved in some high-profile courtroom trial.