Career: Court Reporters
Shorthand is a set of codes or abbreviations used to transcribe, or write down, what people say. Marcus Tullius Tiro, secretary to the great Roman orator Cicero, invented a form of shorthand in the year 63 B.C. to record Cicero's speeches.
Over the centuries, many others have created and refined shorthand systems. Machines entered the picture in 1879 with court reporter Miles Bartholomew's "typewriting machine." Today, court reporters use advanced technology to capture proceedings quickly and accurately.
Court reporters take verbatim (word-for-word) reports of words spoken in courtrooms and other settings. They transcribe speeches, meetings, trials, and other oral events that must be recorded as part of the legal process.
Did You Know?
- Real-time captioning, also called real-time reporting and real-time transcribing, means transcribing speech into instantly available print.
Are You Ready To...?
- Use stenotype machines, computers, and other equipment
- Learn legal lingo
- Create and update your own computer dictionary
- Edit your transcriptions
- Use formal and correct English
- Organize and maintain files of your work
It Helps to Be...
Fast and accurate. You'll need to be able to take in new information quickly. You'll also need communication skills to interact with the people whose words you're transcribing. You'll enjoy this career if you don't mind doing routine, organized tasks.
Make High School Count
- Make the most of English to sharpen your command of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Sign up for classes in typing or keyboarding and other computer skills.
- Organize school field trips to courtrooms and TV stations.
- Try typing up what you hear people saying. While typing is quite different from court reporting, you'll train yourself to listen carefully, work quickly, and record accurately.
- Visit the website for the National Court Reporters Association.
Did You Know?
- Some court reporters do real-time captioning for TV programs and in university lectures. This enables people with hearing loss to read what others are hearing.
Outlook
Government economists expect job growth for court reporters to be much faster than the average for all careers through 2016.
There is a shortage of court reporters because fewer people are entering the profession. What’s more, the skills of court reporters are in growing demand outside the halls of justice -- in TV and higher education.
Compensation
If you become an official court reporter, you'll be paid by the page in addition to a base salary. If you take freelance work, you’ll be paid by the job and by the page. If you work in real-time translation, you'll earn an hourly wage.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the following average salaries earned by court reporters in 2007, by employer:
- Business support services: $44,260
- Local government: $49,950
- Employment Services: $43,680
- Federal executive branch: $50,380
