| Do you love the excitement of courtroom drama? | | | | audio equipment, and computer networks. Of course, |
| Have you dreamed of a career that puts you in the | | | | the ability to transcribe quickly and accurately is very |
| center of high-stakes legal action? If so, then court | | | | important. For example, the federal government |
| reporting may be the career choice for you. | | | | requires that federal court reporters are able to |
| Court reporters are employed by city, state, and | | | | capture a minimum of 225 words per minute. |
| federal courts to create transcripts of judicial | | | | Job prospects are excellent! The U.S. Bureau of Labor |
| proceedings. They are responsible for ensuring an | | | | Statistics projects that during the current decade from |
| accurate, complete, and secure legal record. They are | | | | 2008 through 2018, employment in this sector will grow |
| also employed in private industry to record meetings, | | | | 18 percent, which is faster than the average for all |
| speeches, conversations, and other events. They may | | | | occupations. Demand will be highest for those who |
| provide real-time translating and closed-captioning | | | | have professional training. Growing demand may be |
| services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. | | | | the result of the growth in real-time broadcast |
| Court reporting isn't always just listening and writing, | | | | captioning and translating opportunities. |
| though. Court reporters may assist judges and trial | | | | For example, federal legislation mandates that all new |
| attorneys to organize and search for information in the | | | | television programming be captioned for the deaf and |
| official record. They may be asked by judges and | | | | hard-of-hearing. Likewise, by this year |
| attorneys to make suggestions regarding courtroom | | | | Spanish-language programming must be captioned. |
| administration and procedure. They may also be | | | | The government reports that job opportunities during |
| responsible for the storage and retrieval of | | | | the decade 2008-2018 should be excellent, especially |
| stenographic notes, voice files, or audio recordings in | | | | for those with certification. |
| paper or digital format. | | | | How about training? Your chances of being hired |
| Are there opportunities outside of legal courts? Sure! | | | | increase with your level of training and your |
| Webcasters capture press conferences, technical | | | | experience. The National Court Reporters Association |
| training seminars, product introductions, and sales | | | | (NCRA) has certified about 70 court reporting |
| meetings, and transmit them to audiences via | | | | programs that offer courses in stenotype |
| computer networks. Others work for government | | | | computer-aided transcription and real-time reporting. |
| agencies, including the U.S. Congress and state | | | | Many offer associate of applied science (AAS) |
| legislatures, to capture or record the proceedings. | | | | degree programs that may take two years, while |
| Television networks or cable stations, sporting events, | | | | others offer short-term certificate programs and online |
| and other agencies employ broadcast captioners who | | | | programs. There are many career education schools |
| specialize in captioning television programming for | | | | that offer court reporting programs, and many can be |
| people with hearing loss. Court reporters also work in | | | | found on a college directory website such as |
| classrooms as communication access realtime | | | | Education-For-Careers. |
| (CART) providers. | | | | Here's how to get started. You can get free |
| What qualifications does a court reporter need? Many | | | | information by logging onto a reputable college |
| states require that court reporters earn the Certified | | | | directory website. Simply enter the search terms that |
| Court Reporter (CCR) designation. This is a state test | | | | are appropriate for you, such as "court reporting |
| administered by a board of examiners. The National | | | | degree Florida" or "online court reporting degree." You'll |
| Verbatim Reporters Association offers three national | | | | be presented with the colleges and career schools |
| certifications to voice writers: Real-Time Verbatim | | | | that meet your criteria. In minutes you can compare |
| Reporter (RVR), Certificate of Merit (CM), and | | | | programs, financial aid options, and flexible schedules. |
| Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR). Successful | | | | Then just click on the colleges you like in order to get |
| stenographers may need to be proficient in a variety | | | | more free information from the schools. It only takes a |
| of technologies such as the stenotype machine, digital | | | | few minutes to get your training started! |