Court Reporter

Court reporting is a job that you really have to be passionate about. It is a necessity used by the criminal justice system that shows no sign of job decline anywhere in the near future. If you are into record keeping and that kind of stuff, you might find that a court reporter career is right for you. Do you need a college degree? No. But, you will need to attend some sort of accredited school that targets court reporting with one of their programs. It can also depend on what type of court reporter field you are looking to enter. They don't all sit and type all day every day. You don't even have to be in a courthouse, they are used by a lot of other companies as well.

What Do Court Reporters Actually do?

Many people pose the question because of a lack of experience, but they always ask me what it is that a court reporter actually does throughout the day. Depending on who you ask, it can vary. But, it is generally the same. Most often they are a part of the judicial system and they write down all of the words said allowed in a court proceeding. They use their ability to type fast and their training through their accredited program to write down all that is said during the entire trial.

Why is this important you ask? Well, it is going to allow the important members of the defense and prosecution along with the judge, to refer back to what was said in an earlier testimony in the trial. A judge may even use the reporter of the court to read back a testimony or do additional tasks that they see fit. A court room is not the only place that a career like this is found though. People often take their program training and get a job in another area that requires similar skills.

Salary & Job Opportunities

The salary is always going to depend on which field of court reporting you decide to enter. In 2012 the annual court reporter salary was $51,457 in the United States. The first kind of job that a court reporter has is literally in a court room. This is the classic type of job that you see when you imagine someone that sits in a court room and types during a trial of law. These are stenographers that usually have specialized training and equipment that is used to record all of the data that the members of the court will need to refer back to later. It is also used to have an official record of what happened in the court room too.

There is also the court reporting that is done entirely through electronic recording. This puts an end to the stenographers in a way, as everything is recorded through devices. But, this is still not used as often as stenographers. They use their advanced equipment to record all of the court proceedings and are in charge of setting up that equipment and making sure it works throughout the trial. The reporter still has to do other things such as narration in between speakers, announcing when there is a new speaker in the court.

The last job that a court reporter can get is one that is not a reporter in a court room. There are tons of opportunities for people that posses the same skills as a court reporter in the non-judicial world. You would be shocked at how easy it can be to obtain one of these jobs. That way if you are not interested in a court room job but love records and typing, you can find something that still fulfills your desired career.