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“I want to be a court reporter” – If this was said 30 years, one would hear many things like “Court reporters will be replaced by electronic recording, voice recognition is going to kill court reporting, you won’t have a job once video replaces you and many similar things. For years, people have been warning court reporters and students that the future of court reporting is doomed. But contrary to the warnings, the industry has not collapsed. It is well alive and thriving well due to various technological advancements.
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We need doctors, teachers and researches. This is common knowledge. But what about those professions that are not in the spot light. Aren’t those professions needed. There are so many jobs that require great mental processing skills but are often overlooked and, at times, many don’t even know that such professions exist!
If you are looking for a non-attorney job in the judiciary, court reporting might just be the career for you. A court reporter, also known as a stenographer or shorthand reporter, transcribes the spoken word/testimony at court hearings, depositions, trials, arbitrations, or any official proceedings. You might have seen this on television shows and movies, the one silent character who is just reporting everything. However, don’t tell that judge the profession. A court reporter is considered as an officer of the court.
Today there are several types of tools and technology used to record, however, the primary method is a steno machine, a word processor with a modified 22-button keyboard, upon which words are “written” phonetically.
Court reporters are an integral part of the legal process. They are responsible for recording and preparing verbatim transcripts of proceedings to be used by attorneys, judges and litigants. Court reporters also serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities by providing real-time captions for live television programs, as well as one-on-one personalized services in educational and public environments.
If you are worried about the annual salary, then let us tell you, just as anything else in life, what you get out of something is a product of the effort you put into it! Reports show that court reporters who have invested in continuing education, advanced certification, and cutting-edge technology typically earn well into six-figure salaries.
Also it is very important to note that there are different types of jobs for those who master the skills required to become a court reporter. A freelance court reporter is an independent court reporter or one who works for a court reporting firm whose work is primarily recording testimony taken in the discovery part of a case (depositions), as well as meetings, arbitrations and hearings. An official court reporter is typically hired by a court system and works inside the courtroom. One can even give captions for all live programming for various broadcasting networks.