By Dana Prince

Court reporter school teaches a lot of skills that allow people to become court reporters. The profession of court reporting isn’t strictly limited to the courtroom though. And, it can be a very lucrative career option. 

What do Court Reporters Do? 

Court reporters who work in courtrooms create legal records of what happens in that courtroom. They may also be required to read back testimony at any time during the trial or proceedings. The reports are used during jury deliberation and they will be used when there are appeals as well. 

During recording, the court reporter can use various machines to record what’s happening. One option is the stenography machine, which they use to make a record of sounds. The shorthand transcript from the stenography machine is something that will later be transcribed into a full report.  Going to stenography school will help teach anyone to learn to build speed and accuracy on this machine. A stenography program is about more than just stenography, though. There are now other techniques for court reporting, such as voice writing, whereby the court reporter uses a stenomask to speak into a microphone during the proceedings. 

What is the Pay Like? 

Salary of a court reporter will vary, depending on many factors such as: location, experience level, and type of reporting. According to Salary.com, the salary ranges from mid 30k’s to mid 60k’s. Other websites also cite that this has the potential to be a six-figure salary job as well.  The position could be done either as a full-time position with a court or an agency, or could be done as a freelance position with a fair degree of flexibility. 

This is definitely a career that gives you the capacity to work and live just about anywhere. Every major city has a court house and the freelance opportunities in government as well as the corporate sector are abundant. 

Jobs outside the Court Room 

Other jobs done by court reporters could include doing instant translations into text, especially for television programmes for the deaf and hard of hearing. Closed captioning requires skills and many court reporters choose to go into this line of work as the hours can be flexible, and the work can be interesting. Some even do this from home. Court reporting professionals could work in government as well as any position that requires meetings be documented. Many people in this profession enjoy the flexibility, great earning potential, and the opportunity to freelance from home. 

Do You Need Special Training 

Court reporter schools exist, both on their own, as well as part of college programs. Court reporter training programs tend to be two years and there are also four year programs as well. 

Skills that are needed include: excellent focus and listening skills as well as good reaction time along with good English and grammatical skills. At times it may be difficult to listen and comprehend what’s happening in a busy courtroom and training and education provides a court reporter with the skills to be able to create accurate records of the goings on during a proceeding.  Courtroom proceedings can last for many hours so it’s important that the court reporter is able to work for long periods of time without losing accuracy. 

In order to get a job as a court reporter, most states in the US have a requirement of being able to achieve at least 225 words per minute on a stenography machine. 

The more knowledgeable you are on the legal field, the better. You can pick up experience as you go but a solid foundation in law is going to help you attract a great job and / or great assignments. 

About Court Reporting Schools 

Court reporting schools teach skills regarding the techniques for effective reporting such as using stenography or other technology such as voice writers.  You’re taught about legal terminology, correct records management, and correctly using the courtroom equipment, whether it’s a stenography machine or a voice writer. Beyond terminology and skills, you’re also taught to build speed and accuracy, which are both essential for courtroom jobs. 

How do you choose a great court reporting school? Doing some research online can help you. Many court reporter program listings exist online to give you course outlines, prerequisites, tuition information, and help understanding the available career opportunities. 

Think you don’t have time to start fresh and get a two or four year degree in court reporting? Today’s court reporter school options are abundant and flexible. You can do training through online education, through night classes, or other options as well. Today’s learning institutions understand that different students learn at different paces so you may also have options for self-paced training which can help you take your time at learning new skills or get into an accelerated learning program so that you can get into your new career sooner. Whatever you choose to do, understand that investing in your education is equivalent to investing in your own success. Learning more about court reporter schools can help you decide if this career sounds like a good option for you.

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