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What you need to know about: Court Reporting As A Career by Mona L. Cross/Director Wilson College of Court Reporting |
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Court reporters, of which there are approximately 50,000 nationwide, provide verbatim, (word for word), transcripts of official proceedings using the stenotype machine. A stenotype machine is a specially designed computer-integrated machine designed to allow the court reporter to take down words-at-a-time instead of letters-at-a-time, as a typewriter does. Court reporters can be found daily in courtrooms, taking depositions in lawyers' offices, at government hearings, arbitrations, business and convention meetings. People from all walks of life depend on court reporters to capture the events of today for the benefit of tomorrow. Their role continues to evolve. They serve as information managers in complicated trials to capturing depositions, (legal testimony), and business proceedings in digital format, to assisting millions of deaf and hearing impaired persons through the advanced captioning technology. Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor, to see what they have to say about the opportunities for Court Reporters. Why are reporters needed for these services? Unlike speech recognition systems that have high error rates and are unable to comprehend multiple speakers, soft-spoken witnesses, and people with heavy dialects, court reporters write accurately at speeds in excess of 200 words per minute. Court Reporters also ensure the accuracy of the record by controlling the order in the proceedings, asking for witnesses to repeat or speak up, and obtaining needed clarifications and spellings. The 1996 Telecommunication Act requires
television programs to be captioned within the next three years. The law
requires that by 2006, all new television programming be captioned for
the deaf and hearing impaired, and this has provided yet another career
opportunity for court reporters. There will be an increased need for captioners
in the next few years for many types of broadcasts including live, spontaneous
captioning, which includes news interviews, sporting events, and talk
shows - court reporters are the only technologists with the skills needed.
Also, the Americans with Disabilities Act gives deaf and hearing impaired college students the right to request realtime translation of their classes, and again, only court reporters possess the skill and technology to provide this much-needed service. Average annual income nationally is approximately $54,000, with the top ten-percent earning more than $69,000. Court reporters are respected professionals with excellent salary potential. Most training programs are two-and-a-half to three years and offer Certificate or Diploma, and possibly an Associate Degree. Full or part-time schedules are usually available. To find out more, contact Wilson College of Court Reporting or visit BestFuture.com.
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