There are currently about 60,000 court reporters in the United States, most of whom work in the legal arena. They usually work as employees of the courts or as freelance reporters hired by attorneys to record pretrial depositions. In either setting, court reporters are responsible for making verbatim transcripts of all words spoken under oath.
Training
Court reporters usually complete a 2-4 year training program. There are about 300 such training programs nationwide. The National Court Reporters Association (NRCA) has approved about 110 of these programs, which require students to capture 225 words per minute! This degree of speed may seem next to impossible, but according to those in the field, their training requires practice, practice and a lot more practice.
How the Job is Performed
Court reporters use computer-aided transcription, or CAT. CAT systems electronically link a stenotype machine to a computer, so the stenographic symbols are recorded both digitally and on paper tape at the same time. The court reporter then uses a software program to translate the stenotype notes into English text.
Reporters can continue to raise their speed, accuracy and skill to the degree needed to provide an instant transcript, also know as realtime text. Realtime captioning is used for the benefit of people with hearing impairments, to provide captioning for live television broadcasts, in classrooms and doctors' offices, and for cyber-conferences.
There are several steps between recording the spoken words and presenting the final transcript. These include
- Translation - converting stenotype notes into text by computer
- Editing - reviewing the translation for completeness, correct errors, and fill in untranslated words
- Research - researching any items that are ambiguous, such as spellings of names, citations, unfamiliar or technical terms, homonyms, etc.
- Printing a draft of the manuscript
- Proofing - Thorough proofing is absolutely essential for quality control
- Correcting any problems discovered through proofing
- Producing indices and concordances - done via computer
- Duplicating, collating and binding - the reporter publishes, reproduces and assembles the number of copies needed
- Certification - in most jurisdictions, the transcript must be certified as being complete, true and accurate
- Delivery and filing of the final record
Earnings and Expenses
Like most professional occupations, earnings for court reporters increase with responsibility and experience. According to BestFuture.com, "earning potential is limited only by the amount of time a court reporter is willing to invest."
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