Why should I become a court reporter?

Court Reporters: High Demand, High Income Potential
n The U.S. Department of Labor projects that employment of court reporters is expected to grow 25%, which is much faster than the average for all occupations, between 2006 and 2016.

n There are an estimated 35,000 court reporters in the United States down from 43,000 a decade earlier.*

n 64% of reporters are between the ages of 25-44. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/2009)

n About 27% of judicial reporters in the U.S. actually work in court. A majority are hired by attorneys to report depositions. (Successful Freelance Court Reporting, 2001)

n Court reporters are responsible for certifying the accuracy and integrity of the record and can testify to those points if necessary.*

n Many court reporters provide real-time translation of proceedings during trail.*

n Court reporters sort and discriminate between testimony and background noise, and use common sense to transmit information – as opposed to electronic recording devices which cannot. *

n Court reporters capture proceedings digitally as well as on paper.*

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS:

Court reporters undergo a minimum of two years of academic and skills training and must earn continuing education units to keep their certification.*

To graduate, students typically need to perform machine shorthand at a speed of at least 225 words per minute with 97% accuracy.*

NCRA (National Court Reporter’s Association) administer Registered Professional Reporter Examination. The skills examination tests the applicant’s ability to write Literary material at 180 words a minute, Jury Charge material at 200 words per minute and two-voice Question and Answer testimony at 225 words a min.*

An Associate Degree is currently awarded at Prince Institute for Realtime Reporting with a Concentration in Judicial Reporting. This Associate Degree program requires the completion of 149 credit hours for graduation. This program is designed for completion within 11 quarters.