Court reporting is a profession and service business that few outside the field know much about. This Web site will not only help you learn a little bit more about the career but also help you learn where to go to find information on court reporter classes, court reporter course, court reporter schools and court reporter colleges. Attending a court reporter college is the first step in an exciting career. But first find out a little bit more about the court reporting field itself. Becoming a court reporter requires a commitment of time, effort and money, as any educational and schooling process demands. You typically start at a court reporting school. These are usually private business schools or court reporter colleges located in large cities. The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) maintains a list of approved schools. The course of training and practice takes most people about 2 years but some can take as long as 4 years to complete their schooling. Most of the practice is in the skill of live transcription. You start out slow and then build up your speed, accuracy and stamina to a point where you can take down hours of rapid speech, similar to what you will find in the workplace. Court report schools will require you to provide your own equipment. A steno machine is needed during the training. You may rent or buy a used manual machine for early training, but upon going out into the workforce, production quality equipment will be needed. This equipment typically will consist of an electronic stenographic writer, a desktop computer, a laser printer, a notebook computer and the CAT software to run on the computers. Most reporters are self-employed, and so the equipment for a home office is also necessary-some space to work in, a fax machine, and an additional phone line for fax and business calls. A pager or cellular phone is also a necessity for the independent reporter. Good court reporter colleges will include classes on how to set up a business, tax laws, filing systems and other practical applications. In addition to the cost of court reporting schools, a new reporter is looking at approximately $10,000 worth of equipment to get started. (Keep in mind you might already own most of the items such as computer, fax, printer etc.) Before choosing a court reporter school be sure to research all your options. In states where reporters are certified, the reporter must pass the state certification exam so a court reporting school will provide adequate education to meet these requirements as well as help you to prepare and apply for the test. Even where certification is not required tests administered by the NCRA will allow a reporter to prove they have achieved a certain level of skill.
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Court Reporter College
