Are you thinking about becoming a court reporter? Do your family and friends not think that this is a career path that will properly suit you? Are you determined that this is what you want to do, so now you are doing some research so that you can adequately defend your professional decision? If you said yes to each of these professionally pertinent questions, then it is definitely time for you to get your affairs in order so that you can begin working towards your future! Find a court reporting school near you.
As a court reporter it will be important that you can listen well, that your typing skills are accurate, that you are able to pay attention to detail, that multi-tasking comes easy to you, and that you consider yourself to be very organized. When court reporting first became a profession, a pen and paper were used to record the minutes of a court proceeding. However, in today's world court reporters use technological devices to take down what is occurring inside the walls of the courtroom. Thanks to recent technological advances that have been made, a court reporter's shorthand entries are now instantly translated into a full English transcript. Keep in mind, it is likely that you will have to complete some editing before your transcript will be appropriate and free of errors.
Much of your success in the field of court reporting will be directly related to your speed and your accuracy. This will be primarily due to the fact that lawyers will want the accurate transcripts returned to them as soon as possible. Many times, this will require you to be familiar with legal or medical jargon, to decipher words that may be unintelligible, or to record the words of people who may be speaking all at once. Therefore, your reputation among a community of lawyers and other professionals in the legal industry will largely contribute to your overall success.
In many locations a new voice recognition system is being tried out; however, it is receiving mixed reviews. Court reporters and attorneys alike argue that the voice recognition system does not have the ability to record non-verbal acts, such as nodding or shaking the head. In addition, many court reporters feel that having the chance to be present in many high profile cases allows them a front row seat to history being made. In addition, although court reporters are generally not allowed to discuss details from a court proceeding, many individuals who work in this capacity find the work to be interesting. However, along the same line it is crucial to understand that many of the things you may see while working as a court reporter may be disturbing in nature. For instance, while some of your work may be performed in depositions that are basically considered to be boring, many of the cases you will be present for may include instances of kidnapping, murder, or other crimes of a violent nature. Start by researching all a court reporting college near you or find an online program.