Court Reporter
Court reporters have to record word-to-word reports of court cases, speeches and other similar events. Spoken words in the meetings and court cases are very important since it is needed as proofs in the court. Hence, accuracy in the records and their security is also very important. The record should also include the notes on physical and emotional gestures. The court reporters are expected to create most accurate reports of the case session or any such event. For every court session of meeting, presence of the court reporter is essential. Another job for the court reporters, other than working in the court and law offices, can be of closed captioning at television studios.
o successfully do the recording work, the court reporters need to work with a stenotype machine which is connected to the computer. The machine allows noting more than one key at a time and later it can be converted into appropriate points according to the conversation held. There is another alternative to the stenotype machine which is the microphone. The court reporter can use the voice writing technique using the microphone.
The most important qualification for this career field in Missouri includes:
Requirements: Basic qualification for the Court reporters job can be a bachelor or associate degree. Along with that, one needs to successfully complete a formal training course in court reporting. The training period is of 33 months. There are some licensing requirements for the court reporters as well. The aspiring candidates need to go through a dictation test, a short training period and also pass a written exam. The basic qualifications and requirements for court reporting also changes as you move from state to state. Few places need only the court reporting course while some of them need more qualification like bachelor’s degree along with the certified course. One of the compulsory things is that the aspiring candidate should be of and above 18 years of age.
Payment: According to the 2011 report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual income of a court reporter is $53,710. The percent wage rise for this field is 2.0%. The court reporters as well have to work for 40 hours per week. In Missouri, the annual wages of 260 court reporters is around 46,940$ according to the survey in 2011.
There are very few colleges in Missouri for acquiring the court reporting degree. Usually the technical and community colleges offer 2-3 years associate degree in the same. Some of the schools offer one year certificate programs in court reporting as well. Colleges offering court reporting are included below:
Certificate Program:
- Butler Community College, Kansas City
- Court Reporting Institute of Kansas City
Associate Degree:
- Saint Louis Community College, St. Louis
Limited budget can restrict the employers and the courts to hire court reporters. But it is estimated that till 2018, there will be more job opportunities and openings for this field than the job seekers and ultimately there will be more court reporters than today.