Court reporting is a very exciting career. Recording word for word transcriptions of legal conferences like court hearings or declarations is the primary job of court reporter. Maintaining accuracy and the security of the records, supporting the attorneys and judges in their investigations, and sorting out official records are some of the additional responsibilities of the court reporter. A career in court reporting is slowly becoming popular and many court reporters also provide immediate translating and close captioning for the deaf.
Court reporters normally use a stenotype machine that helps in documenting all the conversations made in the legal meetings. A stenotype machine comes in very handy as the reporter can press multiple tabs in one time that represent words or phrases. These can later get translated into whole text with the help of a computer.
It takes almost 33 months to learn to master a stenotype machine. For a court reporting career, the training is standardized by the National Court Reporters Association. The programs accredited through this organization are available countrywide. Court reporting courses train the student to capture the words and phrases through stenotype and also shows them the use of computer transcription device in the courtroom.
According to the National Court Reporting Association, a court reporter must be able to capture at least 225 words per minute. Other skills include excellent hearing abilities, perfect knowledge of English grammar, vocabulary and punctuation.
The average salary of a court reporter is determined by his or her experience, qualifications, and the organization he or she works for. But the starting salary of court reporting career is $35,658 and the peak is somewhere around $64,685.
The average court reporter earns a salary between $33,160 and $61,530 according to the Occupational Employment Statistics survey program. Learn more about court reporter salaries
