Information Gathering

I am a single mother of 3 kids at home.  My youngest is starting kindergarten this summer.  I am ready to go back to school, and am trying to decide "what I want to be when I grow up."  I happened to hear a commercial about court reporting, and thought it was interesting, but would like a little more information before I dive in.

I would like to know more about what the job of the reporter is.  It definitely sounds like your job is not done when you leave the courtroom/deposition.  How much time do you put in outside of the actual testimony?

What do you like about your job?

What do you not like about your job?

Is there work available?  I live in Temecula, California (southern, near San Diego).

What kind of continuing education is required?  Or am I done once I pass the state exam?

I appreciate any information anyone can give me.

Thanks,

Kelly

Court reporting is a wonderful career, especially for a mom.  If you do depositions, it is very flexible.  The pay is excellent for the time involved.  It is always interesting although sometimes demanding (deadlines of transcripts due).  Sometimes the job can be stressful -- you can have difficult attorneys or difficult witnesses or both.  But most of the time the jobs are great. 

The one big drawback that I see of court reporting as a career is getting through school and getting your license.  It is very difficult for most people.  What I highly recommend for people to do is to find a junior college that has a court reporting program (there are some), go there and see if you have a "knack" for it.  You can also get a lot of the academic portion taken care of there at a much-reduced cost.  If you find yourself getting "stuck" in speeds, then it might not be the career for you.  Although, I know people that got stuck in speeds and still completed, I know a greater number of people that got stuck in a certain speed (words per minute speed) and were never able to finish and now they have huge school loans to deal with.  I would say once you are in 180 to 190 WPM, then go to a court reporting school where you can get more concentrated and focused practice.  

It is a great career and well worth looking into. 

Good luck! 

First, welcome to this site, Kelly!  You've asked some very good questions to get started on your trek towards a career in court reporting (potentially).  I'm sure you'll get lots of good feedback from the students and reporters here.  It's going to take a village, so to speak, to answer all your inquiries.  But you've come to the right place.

Quick question for you... have you checked out Sage College in Moreno Valley?  I think that is probably the closest school to you living in Temecula.  And more importantly, I would highly recommend them.

I love the flexibility of being a freelancer.  Bar none, that's the best part for me.  You have to make sure you are disciplined, however, when it comes to paying taxes... but that's not too hard since I'm kind of detail oriented as it is.  Good luck!