Feb 25, 2008
Court reporter + overtime = six-figure salary?
My ears always perk up when I hear about a study that’s revealed career paths with surefire six-figure salaries. This morning, my ears were rewarded with (sorry, not six figures) the next-best thing: blog post material.
Yahoo! Education says that there are (at least) ten jobs sure to provide you with that coveted salary, without the need for a law or medical degree. And at No. 7, a familiar title: Court Reporter.
Now, you might be skeptical. After all, the Department of Labor found that court reporters had median annual earnings of $45,610 (May 2006).
But Yahoo! points out that they have “the chance to make much, much more money than that.” How?
“Document backlogs in certain cities have pushed overtime pay for court reporters to record levels. The court reporter who adds freelance transcribing for private depositions and business meetings to a base income can crack $100,000 per year.”
If you’re still on the fence, maybe this will push you over: employment of court reporters is projected to grow 25 percent between 2006 and 2016.
Do you know any court reporters who supplement their income this way? Is it realistic for future court reporters to expect to cobble together a six-figure salary?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Jackie, many people in the top tier of their profession or job can earn a six-figure income. Court Reporters have the same opportunity. Reporters who are proficient at “writing” highly technical testimony accurately and producing a transcript quickly can expect to be compensated well. Realtime court reporting, where the spoken word appears instantly on a computer screen that can then be routed around the world, if necessary, via the Internet, for instant access requires an extraordinarily high competency. Imagine sitting in a room full of people, any of whom can speak at any time. Then imagine being the court reporter responsible for identifying the person speaking, recalling instantly a stenographic form which identifies the speaker, instantaneously writing it stenographically on a stenotype machine, then (while dealing with speed of delivery, clarity of delivery, technical nature of the language) instantly and accurately writing what is spoken so that people viewing the computer screen read the English text. All of this is done instantly with an accuracy rate at the top tier of 99+ percent. A typical court reporter’s computerized dictionary of stenographic outlines and their English equivalents totals 150,000 entries, each of which has to be recalled instantly and accurately. On top of that are tens and hundreds of event-specific entries that are created on the job every day. Court Reporters work in a difficult environment filled with stress and emotion. It’s a great profession that is respected, valued, and well-compensated.
A good friend of mine is a court reporter by trade and does captioning to aid deaf people on the side. She makes great money and I wish I’d chosen a career in the legal profession now instead of I.T.! He he
I have been a court reporter for 18 years. I hold the realtime certification, as well as three others. In 2008 I made well over the six-figure mark. I work hard, but I have a family and court reporting does not consume my entire life. It is possible!
I, too, am a certified court reporter, and last year, I and a couple of my friends who are also court reporters, also made over 100K. It’s a great profession. We rarely make the news and are somewhat of a \mystery\ to people. I love it!
I found your site because I had a young person ask the same question it seems based on the same government website that you refer to for your information. If it’s the same one, the figures you cite are for “wage and salary” employment and only reflect the income of reporters who only work in the courtroom.
A freelance reporter or a courtroom reporter who supplements by doing freelance work can easily achieve a much higher income. It’s done by a reporter who can perform stenotype and realtime, as another commenter describes. This allows the reporter to provide extra services to the legal profession that other reporting methods can’t accommodate, such as instant view of transcript by the lawyers present or in a removed or remote location, quick transcript production, and high-volume output.
In the non-legal arena, these skills are in high demand and the computer compatibility means that realtime reporting can be performed from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world, widening the reporter’s options to generate income. And competent reporters are needed all over the world so there’s a great opportunity as well for those who like to travel.
We’re the silent profession. Maybe that’s why we’re under the radar.
What do you think about the 6-month voice recognition certification? I want to go to court reporting school and don’t want to go for 2 years. Can I still make a good living if I’m certified only in the mask-type court reporting? Thanks!
PLEASE…PLEASE HELP. I HAVE LOOKED THROUGH EVERY WEBSITE UNDER COURT REPORTING. I CAN NOT FIND A SCHOOL IN MARYLAND THAT OFFERS THIS COURSE. THE COLLEGE, VILLA JULIE NO LONGER OFFERS THIS COURSE. I DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS COURSE ON-LINE. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS.?
Please help me find a course that is not online to take the court reporting course in the state of Maryland.
For more information regarding Court Reporting, please visit us online or call 214-350-9722 Ext. 227
I was laid off last week and like many did the research that found the information of the six figure court reporter. Overall go to google and type in Court REporting Association. I think it is NCRA. They are the major accrediting body. 70 programs are accredited, another 70 or so are not. I recommend accredited schools myself. About 5-10 are totally online. So you can get trained in Maryland. It is always scary to invest money in a field you are not positive has jobs. But if you can pickup a technical skill, get advanced certifications once you are in the career. Then I think in my research court reporting makes sense.
Sustainable John
I don’t know where the reporters that are making $100,000+ live or work, but I have been reporting for over 12 years, and that is certainly not the case in a lot of areas. Digital recording has taken over in a lot of the courts on the East Coast, causing a flood of reporters in the freelance field. That, combined with the economy, has caused what little work there is to be spread among many more reporters, with attorneys ordering less and less transcripts to cut costs. I know many reporters, including myself, that are struggling and have been for several years now. I have seen nothing but page rates and appearance fees reduced over the years, with commission splits at 50/50 now. I am working harder now and making less than I ever have. So while there may be some that can make over $100,000, that is definitely not the norm in court reporting.
I am thinking about going back to school for this and when I look at the onlie ads (Monster, Career Search, etc) I never see any jobs for court reporter listed. Where are all the jobs? Thanks
I am a 50 year old, searching for a new career. Is court reporting a realistic alternative? I’m not looking to make 6 figures but I do have 2 kids to support. The health care industry has changed drastically over the past 5 years and money isn’t what it used to be. We are seeing job cuts and hours cut, raises being frozen for 2 years. Can you learn the course well on line?
I am in Court Reporting school now. I am at the 200 mark. For all who want to go to school, I just want to let you know this is no cake walk. This is very, very hard and it requires a LOT of practice and dedication. You can’t go half way; you have to put your all into it.
I don’t suggest doing the course online. You need dictation, practice, dedication, self discipline, etc. A school environment is good for that.
I also work at a court reporting agency part time and I see the reporters bills that come in and, yes, you do make a great salary. My mother is a court reporter also. Right now she only works one or two days a week, but she told me she was making over 60k 15 years ago when she was working full time. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.
i also live in Maryland and have found out that Ann Arundel Community College has a court reporting curiculum. I plan to attend this fall.
I’m not sure I understand the uproar about making $100K a year. Not one person has mentioned that there are absolutely no benefeits provided to a freelance reporter. That’s right…no medical, dental, sick time, vacation, disability. After you expense out everything needed, including equipment, it’s not the $100K that is going to the bank……a little research and inquiry goes a long way.
I am a court reporter. I make around 100,000 dollars a year, less all of your expenses, plus……………and I do mean plus…………..all of the EXTRA hours spent doing this job………which include going to depostions, coming home and transcribing them, doing billing, filing, going to post office, looking up A LOT of technical terms, keeping track of IRS items. I could work two McDonald jobs and make more, believe it or not. This job requires LOTS of hours. I am so sorry that everyone thinks it’s a cakewalk. After expenses, I make around 50,000 dollars a year, with no benefits, no retirement and a lot of headache.
After teaching, school and holding other Administrative jobs, I want to start my own business. After reading these articles, I decided to look elsewhere. When I consider the hours, the extra hours and the extended hours involved, I think I’ll look elsewhere. This site proved to be a real blessing to me. Yes, some might be up for it and not that I’m lazy, but when I look at all the ramifications involved, I want a business I can walk down my hall at home to my office and pretty much work from there. Court Reporting won’t afford me that luxury.. No job is perfect….. and with that…. I close my case. (No pun intended!!)
I have been a court reporter for about 15 years now. Ten years ago I was making double what I’m making now, and I’m working as hard now as I was then.
I love court reporting, but I’m feeling like it’s almost not worth it in this economy. I don’t remember ever having a page rate increase. They have only gotten lower, with higher commissions being taken out by the firms.
A lot of firms want you to be an employee now versus subcontractor, but don’t usually provide your equipment, which runs about $10,000, and usually don’t provide medical, dental, paid holidays, vacations or retirement.
Firms will not assign jobs for the following day until about 4:30 or 5:00 the evening before. So you cannot plan anything in advance or make needed appointments. Then a lot of times you will not end up working anyway.
If you can handle practicing intensely to achieve 225 wpm and graduate from an accredited school, find a reporting job in this job market, high overhead, and not ever know if you’re working, when you’re working or where you’re working or when you’re going to get paid, court reporting may be for you.
I’ve been a court reporter in South Florida for 14 years now. After I was out of school for four years I hit the 100K mark, and that was 10 years ago. True, it required a lot of working evenings and weekends to transcribe but I’ve been sent out of the country a couple of times for cases and have met many interesting people through doing depositions. I found the secret to making great money and still having time to have a life.. get a great scopist that you can trust. I have had the same scopist for almost 10 years, and to top it off, she’s a retired federal reporter who I am able to always count on. Since I’ve had the scopist I’ve never made less that 100K and several years made almost 200K on my 1099 from the firm I work for. I take assignments five days a week and the scopist edits and produces all of my transcripts. It’s a great arrangment and it always surprises me how few of my fellow reporters take advantage of the same opportunities to have a life and make great money.
I’m a 54 year old administrative assistant with 30 years at a telecommunications company in New Jersey. The company is laying off employees every Thursday, and my name is somewhere on the list. I’ve been seriously thinking about changing careers and am considering court reporting. The county college and The School of Court Reporting are teaming up and offering an 18 month certified Court Reporting course. The course if very expensive - over $15k. I’m a single parent and also trying to put my daughter through her second year of college. Before I spend this kind of money for the course, I would really like to find out if anyone knows the starting salary for court reporters in NJ and if jobs are plentiful??
I see some negative comments about choosing court reporting as a career. I know there are pros & cons with every profession. I also know that its no cakewalk getting to 225 wpm. I went to court reporting school for 2 years & had to quit last year because I had a baby. I plan to do online classes next year. Being a court reporter is my dream & I believe that there are so many different career avenues you can take with this skill….broadcast captioning, working for federal court, legislative government, CART for the deaf & hearing-impaired, you can work for a court reporting firm. Alot of options. I can’t speak for anyone else but I plan to follow through, practice whenever I possibly can, & set realistic goals. Two years is great if your a full-time student with no outside responsibilities. I’m giving myself 5 years since I’m a single parent. So hopefully by the time my son starts kindergarden I will be a successful, working CSR!
Listening to and being informed of how court reporters view their occupation, could be encouraging or otherwise, thwarting. I, on the other hand, enrolled in an online court reporting course, and although the academics were up to par, it was unfortunate that I had to withdraw. My spirits were uplifted then tainted. I felt that I could make anything possible happen for me. And being that “potential certified court reporter” in addition to the occupation being in a high demand, this occupation would have placed me a my plateau. Now, although I can get feed-back on an experienced court reporter, as well as research, I also feel that it’s subjective to how far one can expand their horizon in this field, as captioner, court reporter or working as deposition stenographer. I tend to look on the brighter side of what would not appeal to others. Now, in respect to the benefits, retirement and the other benefits associated with the an employee, there’s always alternatives for the subcontractor. Medical groups are now specializing medical packages for the entrepreneur. It may take a little research, but there’s always another way, one that may benefit your situation. I’ve read one can pay up $75 a month for medical, dental and vision, depending on the package one chooses. Sometimes it takes a little effort. I still long to become a court reporter. It just may take me a little longer than expected. And as long as I keep my focus, I’ll make that 100K with my own 401K. Those who long to become one, again, it’s subjective to how much one wants to take on this occupation, Skies the limit.
I’m a court reporting instructor at Sheridan Technical Center in Hollywood, FL and we have an online program. It’s a great profession. Yes, it’s a difficult schooling to get through, but that’s why you get paid what you do as a court reporter. If you ask someone at McDonald’s or a secretary or anyone else who has a job if they work hard, they’ll tell you sometimes they work very hard and have stress at their job. Well, court reporting is the same as those jobs, it has long hours and stress at times too……..but you make much more money than those other jobs I mentioned. It’s not for everyone, you have to be self-motivated, dedicated and have great English skills and willing to learn. Yes, you may have to get your own insurance (unless you work for a police department)but many independent contractors have to do the same thing. It’s a great profession!
this is all silly lol i cant wait to become a court reporter =]