How to Be a Court Reporter
By Eric Hammer
If you love the idea of being around court rooms all day but
hate the years and expense that would go into becoming an attorney,
then you may just want to be a court reporter instead. What is
a court reporter you ask? Well it's not a journalist who reports
on what's happening in the court system! Here's what a court
reporter actually does:
In essence, a court reporter is a kind of secretary in the
court. Your job would involve sitting quietly in the corner and
typing out exactly what's said. This is a very important part
of the job, because you are the one and only person who is responsible
for keeping an official record of what was said in the court.
Generally, in order to be a court reporter, you don't have to
be familiar with the law per se, though you do need to be a fast
typist and you need to know how to spell various legal terms
which may be mentioned during the course of a trial.
The nice thing about this though is that if you want to be
a court reporter, you get to be around the action in the court
without the need for the extensive training that attorneys have
to go through. Your training will take just a few years rather
than nearly a half a decade of law school and internships.
How Much Can You Make?
The nice thing about this though is that if you want to be
a court reporter, you get to be around the action in the court
without the need for the extensive training that attorneys have
to go through. Your training will take just a few years rather
than nearly a half a decade of law school and internships.
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Keep in mind that if you want to be a court reporter, your
job will involve keeping a record of what's going on the court
without actually saying anything. The only time you'll speak
during the course of your job is if the judge asks you to repeat
something which was said earlier in the court - in this case,
you'll consult the records and repeat the words that were said.
This means that you need the patience to be able to sit quietly
while the action is happening around you.
Those who prefer to get a little more involved in the business
of the law without actually getting into the training required
to become an attorney may also want to consider working as a
bailiff or a law clerk. Keep in mind however that both of those
positions are not as well paid, which is why so many people want
to be a court a reporter.
You'll also need to be quick with your fingers and patient
to record everything that is said, while occasionally consulting
your notes to erase something which was previously record if
the judge orders that something be stricken from the record of
the proceedings.
Qualifications / Requirements
In general, in order to be a court reporter, you'll need about
a year of training in how to run stenographic machines. You may
also be required to go for a licensing exam depending on the
specific requirements of your state of residence.
First Steps
Start by contacting your state licensing agency to find out
about the rules to be a court reporter. Some states have licensing
requirements while others merely require that you take a stenographers
course in order to learn how to run the specialized machines
used in the courtroom.
Resources
Check out these helpful resources to learn more about how
to be a court reporter:
Bureau of Labor
Statistics - Use the their search box to locate information
on what it takes to land these positions and what the wages currently
average.
Stenotype Institute - An online school where
you can learn the skills to be a court reporter.
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