Are you interested in learning more about the court reporting/captioning profession?  The links below provide the information you're looking for.  If you have more questions, contact any WCRA Board member.
  • Job prospects are expected to be excellent, especially for those with certification.
  • Demand for real-time broadcast captioning and translating will spur employment growth.
  • The amount of training required to become a court reporter varies by specialization; licensure requirements vary by State.

Best Future: Careers in Court Reporting

CAREER OPTIONS

Court reporters, commonly known as official or freelance reporters, work in court or in depositions.

 

Officials have a fixed salary, benefits and work a regular schedule.

Freelancers work independently in various settings (depositions, conferences).

Broadcast captioners use realtime technology to provide on-screen captions of live TV broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.

CART Providers allow deaf and hard-of-hearing students to participate in classroom education by utilizing realtime.

Internet information reporters remotely caption to the Internet or provide Webcasting services for businesses.

Scopists assist reporters directly with production, transcription and editing.

Transcriptionists use computerized shorthand in a wide range of fields, from medical transcription for physicians to oral history projects and investigative interviews.

 

 

REQUIRED SKILLS

Job skills required include manual dexterity, typing, word processing, understanding of English grammar and writing and good listening skills. If you can type 45+ words per minute, you likely have the manual skill to use a stenotype machine.

 

 

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

Stenographic symbols are recorded digitally and on paper. Software translates the stenotype notes into English text.

Many reporters take their skills and technology to another level by offering instantaneous realtime display of proceedings.  Realtime can be expanded to include systems that convert spoken testimony into printed text or into captioned video for deaf or hard-of-hearing persons, and into Braille for persons who are blind or have vision loss. This helps courts meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Steno machines have 22 keys and allow reporters to produce transcripts in digital format.

Reporters press one or more keys simultaneously to record a phonetic syllable or an abbreviation for a word or phrase. A trained reporter can record at speeds of 225 words per minute, or more, with this machine.

 

If you have any comments, concerns, or questions about our association, or you would like additional information about court reporting as a profession, please contact us at president.wcra@gmail.com.

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