USA Education Guide- Court Reporters
Education needed to be Court Reporters
Many community colleges and technical institutes offer post-secondary certificate programs for court reporters.Certifications
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) offers certification for court reporters and broadcast captioners. Certification as a Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) includes a written test and a skills test, in which court reporters must type at least 225 words per minute.Currently, 22 states currently accept or use the RPR in place of a state certification or licensing exam.Digital and voice reporters also may obtain certification.Training
After completing their formal program, court reporters must complete short-term on-the-job training.
To maintain their certification with the NCRA, court reporters must complete continuing education and online training.
Specific continuing education requirements to maintain state licensure can be found by going to the state association’s website.
Pay of Court Reporters
The median annual wage for court reporters was $47,700 in May 2010. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,710, and the top 10 percent earned more than $91,280.
Freelance court reporters are paid for their time but can also sell their transcripts per page for an additional profit.
Job Prospects of Court Reporters
Employment of court reporters is expected to grow by 14 percent from 2010 to 2020, as fast as the average for all occupations. Demand for court reporter services will be influenced by new federal legislation requiring increased captioning for the Internet and other technologies.
Reporters will increasingly be needed for captioning outside of legal proceedings. All new television programming will continue to need closed captioning, while broadcasters are adding closed captioning to their online programming in order to comply with new federal regulations.
Job prospects for graduates of court reporting programs are expected to be very good. Many training programs report that nearly all graduates are able to find jobs. Those with experience and training in CART and real-time captioning will have the best job prospects.
Industrial Overview of Court Reporters
Court reporters held about 22,000 jobs in 2010. The following industries employed the most court reporters in 2010:
State government, excluding education and hospitals 31%
Business support services 27%
Local government, excluding education and hospitals 25%
Information 1%
Source:Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook
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