Court Reporter Jobs Career?

Dennis asked:

I am seriously thinking about going to school for court reporting. It takes around 2 1/2 years to get your AA degree, and it's not cheap at 2,805.00 for 3 months. I would have to get finacial aid to be able to go. This particular school is the Court Reporting Institute Of Dallas. Here is my question: before I spend a lot of time and money, is it worth it? Are the court reporting jobs really that well paying? I really need some first hand insight from people who have graduated and are working in this field. I was told there are many different jobs for reporters such as close captioned, freelance, cyber conference specialist, government reporters, congressional reporters, etc. It would be great to hear from anyone in any or all of these fields. Thank you!

Reply:

Is court reporting what you really want to do? If so, go for it! What are the reasons you're looking to go to court reporting school? Is it because it looks interesting? Do you think you have some of the skills required to be a court reporter (fast typist, good English skills, interest in proofreading)? Or are you just interested in this field because you think it will make you a lot of money? The bottom line is you should totally go for it if it sounds like something you really want to do. If it is, don't let money or the amount of time it takes stand in the way. However, if you're going into it just to make money, I would rethink it. Or, if you're semi-interested and are not sure you can make it, maybe check to see if there are any community colleges in your area... I know there are some community colleges in Southern California that offer court reporting as a minor.

The amount of time you spend in school depends on how much time you put into your machine outside of class. I am currently a court reporting student in the high speeds... I know of people that have practiced a lot outside of school. Because of this, they were able to get out of school in 2 years! But there are others that hardly put any time into it at all, and they've already been at school for 4 years and aren't even close to graduating. Court reporting school can be a lot of money (depending on if you go to a community college or private school) and can take up a lot of your time. But if it's something you really want to do, it would be totally worth it in the long run.

As far as being paid as a reporter, it depends on if you work in courts or freelance, and if you are in freelance, how much you work. You're not going to make a lot if you don't want to work! But if you take every job they offer you, and work very hard, you're going to make a lot of money. How much you make also depends on where you live... I know the reporters out here in California make a lot of money. Some of the reporters in the midwest area, however, don't. I know a reporter in Texas and she's very well off, but she does work a lot. If you're interested in captioning, you can always do that once you get your license, but most captioning firms require experience as a reporter first, and a very high accuracy rate. Most require you to go to special captioning school as well, but there are some that only require their in-house training, as long as you have 99% accuracy in your writing.

I hope this helps... although court reporting school is hard, I LOVE it! But that's because I knew it was the profession for me the moment I read about it.