Private: Is Court Reporting For You?

By Kat Sanders, a regular blogger on court reporter training at Court Reporter Schools. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com.

It's not well known as a profession, but court reporting does have its share of takers. If you have come across people in this industry and are considering giving it a go, you need to know if you are suited to the work that's involved, if you have what it takes to make a success of it. Court reporting is a good career choice if you:

• Are dedicated, hardworking and willing to practice long and hard in order to be the best in the business.
• Are prepared to take a training program from either a regular or an online school.
• Are willing to put in long hours of practice before you become perfect and are able to take down transcripts without carrying or dropping words.
• Are willing to work long and odd hours in order to meet with deadlines and schedules.
• Are able to learn a few tricks and tips of the trade to help you improve your speed and accuracy
• Have a good head for names and exceptional memory power.

While most court reporters find regular and salaried work at courthouses, there are others who choose to freelance and look for work taking down witness depositions. If you do decide to freelance and get your own gigs, the equipment cost alone could prove financially arduous. A stenographer's equipment and associated software are pretty expensive, so you need to be sure that this is exactly what you want to do before investing money and time in training courses and equipment.

Freelancing becomes an attractive option if you want to set your own schedules and if you're able to get jobs on a continuous basis. Some reporters choose to help the less fortunate and are also involved in Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) for those who are hard of hearing. In general, a reporter who is both accurate and fast, who is dedicated and able to meet deadlines on transcripts is able to find a job or freelance work easily.

If you want to become a court reporter, check out the programs on offer at schools in your vicinity or go online if you do not have the time or money to go to a regular school. The difference in the degree applies only when it comes to learning your materials - if you prefer a direct approach with an instructor, it's better to take a regular course; if not, online schools are just as good.