Court Reporting Careers

Making a choice of careers is definitely a mind-boggling experience. That’s why it’s extremely important that you have the facts—the correct facts.

Court Reporters... • Work in state and federal courtrooms • Take depositions, hearings, meetings, conventions • Work in closed captioning, senate and house reporting, entertainment reporting, internet reporting, medical transcription, law enforcement transcription

In daily conversation we’re all asked, “What do you do for living?” When I reply that I’m a court reporter, I always get three responses. “You make a great salary.” I do. “You work hard.” I do. “Aren’t you being replaced by tape recorders/video/digital recording/voice to print, all that new technology?” I’m not. I AM the new technology. I am a court reporter. I have attended court reporting school, a two-and-a-half year program, passed my state boards, and have been working in this absolutely wonderful, challenging and extremely rewarding field for 25 years.

There are two types of court reporters. The first is called the official court reporter. They work in the state and/or federal-court house, taking down civil/criminal trials, motions, hearings, pleas, et cetera. They are an employee of the state or the government. They are paid a handsome salary and benefits and go to the same place of business every day. They normally start at eight or nine and finish by four or five. These times fluctuate according to assignment.

Official court reporters received a lot of attention during the O.J. Simpson trial. They were there, right on your TV screen. You’ve probably also seen on TV the various legal programs and occasionally catch a glimpse of a court reporter there, right up front, right in the action.

At this time, there are approximately 100 official court reporters in the State of New Jersey.

The other type of reporter is called a freelance court reporter. They are independent contractors. They are self-employed. They travel to different locations virtually every day to take depositions, arbitrations, municipal hearings, board meetings, etc. They work with the deaf and/or hearing impaired. Some reporters attend school/college with deaf and/or hearing impaired students, sitting side-by-side with their laptops and steno machines instantly translating what the teacher and/or professor is saying so that the student can read their screen and participate in the class.

They also work with large corporations, providing their service to deaf and/or hearing impaired employees, so that they, too, can participate and interact in company meetings.

When you see “Closed Captioning Provided By” on TV, a court reporter is providing that service. And with the new regulations regarding closed captioning for television, the demand is so great for court reporters that positions are becoming hard to fill.

Freelance court reporters in their first year earn approximately $50,000. The average salary of a freelance court reporter with five years of experience is approximately $70,000 to $90,000. Do your math and see that salary just keeps going up. Remember, court reporters are self-employed. They can work as much or as little as they want. And they can work anywhere they want. There are thousands of court reporters nationwide.

Don't like the climate in New Jersey? With your skills and training, you can work in any state you wish. This is not a five-day-a week, a nine-to-five job.

Why use a court reporter, you say, when you can just use a tape recorder? What is it about this profession that makes a court reporter necessary and not very easily replaceable?

It's our unique skill, our dedication, our intense training. In order to pass our state boards, court reporters are required to write at 225 words per minute. Don’t let that scare you. It’s not like writing on a typewriter.

The steno machine has only 22 keys and they are used in the most intriguing way to create such speed and accuracy. Your first few months of court reporting school will be learning what we call theory. Your court reporting program, is like learning how to read and write a new language that only court reporters know. You start at zero words per minute and gradually work your way up to 225.

Court reporters are there swearing the witness in, writing down the spoken word. If they don’t understand or don’t hear something, they say, “Excuse me. Can you repeat that?” or “Can you spell that?” They do whatever they have to do to make sure they have an accurate record of the testimony given. They use medical, legal, scientific, engineering, physics and patents dictionaries and databases to verify spellings and terms. They’re not rocket scientists, but at times they may take the testimony of rocket scientists. They’re online, in chat rooms, interacting with other court reporters, going to the ends of the earth to find the correct spellings of a technical term.

In short, they sign a certificate at the end of their transcript, their work product, that it is true and accurate testimony.

They are licensed and governed by our state board. They have mandatory continuing education credits that they must comply with. They are and have always been the “new technology.” They are true professionals. They are the human factor.

There have been a myriad of studies and investigations done that have shown time and time again that they are the best, most accurate, and preferred method of recording any proceeding.

This is a profession you can be proud of. It’s alive, it’s well, it’s absolutely flourishing, and it’s looking for you.

Provided by Susan Gioffre, CSR, RPR, President, Certified Court Reporters Association of New Jersey.