It’s the perfect time to shine a light on a career that’s a best-kept secret
2022 Court Reporting & Captioning Week, hosted by the National Court Reporters Association, is happening Feb. 5-12 and marks the perfect opportunity to showcase the skills of your station’s captioner and to share with your viewers more about the unique careers stenographic court reporting and captioning offer.
Did you know…
- That court reporting and captioning do not require a four-year college degree, providing graduates to enter the workforce more quickly and with less debt?
- That there is a growing need for professionals to fill stenographic court reporting and captioning jobs?
- That this career choice offers good pay, unlimited opportunities, the chance to travel at home and abroad, and many times, a front-row seat to history?
- Stenographic captioners do wonderful work to help better the lives of millions of Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing by providing captioning in real time for live sporting and theater events, church services, movie houses, many other venues, and newscasts like yours!
Here are a few more fun and interesting facts about the court reporting profession:
- Capturing the record of important proceedings dates to the fourth century B.C.
- The ampersand (&) is one of the earliest forms of shorthand.
- There are official court reporters who are employees of the court, freelance court reporters, broadcast captioners, and CART captioners (Communication Access Realtime Translation—often employed in classroom settings to assist students who are deaf or hard of hearing).
- In an emergency, broadcast captioners can provide vital information to 48 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Court reporters and captioners use cutting-edge technology to bring the spoken word accurately to text in real time.
- There is currently a steady demand for professionals in the court reporting and captioning professions as many in the field are reaching retirement age in the next several years.
- Annual salaries of court reporters and captioners can reach upwards of $80,000.
Court reporters and captioners rely on the latest in technology to use stenographic machines to capture the spoken word and translate it into written text in real time. These professionals work both in and out of the courtroom recording legal cases and depositions, providing live captioning of events, and assisting members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities with gaining access to information, entertainment, educational opportunities, and more.
If you’re looking for a career that is on the cutting edge of technology, offers the opportunity to work at home or abroad, like to write, enjoy helping others, and are fast with your fingers, then the fields of court reporting and captioning are careers you should explore.
The NCRA A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program is a free online six-to-eight-week introductory course that lets participants see if a career in court reporting or captioning would be a good choice for them. The program is an introductory course in stenographic theory and provides participants with the opportunity to learn the basics of writing on a steno machine. There is no charge to take the course, but participants are required to have access to a steno machine or an iPad they can use to download an iStenoPad app.
The NCRA A to Z programs are taught by volunteer professionals working in the court reporting and captioning arenas who also share insights into the many aspects of court reporting and captioning that make it a viable profession, including good salaries, flexibility, interesting venues, and the increasing demand for more reporters and captioners to meet the growing number of employment opportunities available in the field.
To arrange an interview with a working court reporter, captioner, or a current court reporting student, or to learn more about the lucrative and flexible court reporting or captioning professions and the many job opportunities currently available, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has been internationally recognized for promoting excellence among those who capture and convert the spoken word to text for more than 100 years. NCRA is committed to supporting its more than 13,000 members in achieving the highest level of professional expertise with educational opportunities and industry-recognized court reporting, educator, and videographer certification programs. NCRA impacts legislative issues and the global marketplace through its actively involved membership.
Forbes has named court reporting as one of the best career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the court reporting field is expected to be one of the fastest areas of projected employment growth across all occupations. According to 247WallSt.com, the court reporting profession ranks sixth out of 25 careers with the lowest unemployment rate, just 0.7 percent. Career information about the court reporting profession—one of the leading career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree—can be found at DiscoverSteno.org.
