If you’ve made the decision to attend a court reporter school, you’re taking the first step to an exciting and rewarding career. The court-reporting field is expected to grow 18 percent by the year 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Whether you choose to work within a courtroom as a stenographer, for a broadcaster doing closed captioning, as a freelance court reporter or transcriptionist, or in another industry employing those with real-time transcription skills, you can expect to earn a great salary and experience superior job stability.
It is expected that students entering court reporting training programs have an interest in the legal field as well as possess excellent typing, spelling, grammar and punctuation skills. The coursework you will take as you study for your court reporter certification will build upon these basic skills. It will also be helpful to your studies and future career if you possess strong attention to detail, attentive listening skills and the ability to work under pressure.
Most court reporting programs will include coursework to broaden your knowledge of the justice system and business practices. Some coursework may be included to train you to listen accurately and speak clearly. A great deal of coursework at court reporting schools is designed to teach you the technology you’ll be required to use as a court reporter. Depending on your area of specialization, you may learn to use stenography equipment, electronic recording equipment, voice-recognition software, transcription equipment and more.
In fact, computer aided transcription is one of the first subjects taught at many court reporter schools. Accuracy and a high typing speed is emphasized. The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) requires graduates of their certified court reporting programs to have a machine shorthand typing speed of at least 225 words per minute. This speed is necessary to accurately keep up with the pace of real-time courtroom proceedings.
Specific courses found at the best court reporting schools may include:
Legal Theory
Court Reporting English
English Composition
General Psychology
Law and Legal Terminology
Medical Terminology
Physiology and Anatomy
Principles of Speech
Reporting Procedures
Reporting Technology
Speed Building (machine shorthand and standard typing speed)
Internship
The coursework taken for court reporter certification can be quite demanding. While online court reporter coursework may be completed on your own time, schools with online programs may still require you to be “in class” online for 13 to 26 hours per week. Campus classroom court reporting schools have set schedules students are required to follow. Day or night classes may be available, but an average of four to six hours per day on campus is usually required. Students enrolling in a court reporting training program should be certain that they can devote the amount of time required to be successful.
Court reporting promises to be both an exciting and fascinating career. If you’re ready to learn more about what you can expect in your future as a court reporter, please check out our other resources.
