If you have been searching for an endlessly challenging and eternally interesting career in recent months, you may have heard about court reporting. Court reporting, or stenography as it is more commonly known, is the process of recording the words that are spoken and the actions that are performed during most any significant and formal civil proceeding. Trials are the most common settings for court reporters to work in, but many court reporters also travel to airports and other fitting locations for deposition reporting. If this sounds like a prime job for you, you are surely wondering what salary must be like for an occupation like that seems so menial on the surface.
| Generally, to answer the question in the simplest terms possible, the salary of a court reporter has been quoted at various values, but is most commonly known to be about $30,000 when starting out, while court reporter salary can reach $70,000 to $80,000 after just a few years of experience. Some of the top court reporter salaries have even been reported as over $100,000, although this can be rare and only acquired after twenty or more years of experience. It is important to realize that the pay rate of court reporters can have a range of more than $30,000 for many good reasons. If you are thinking about becoming a court reporter, it would do you well to keep these factors in mind.
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When working as a court reporter, you have the option of either working as a freelancer, often being hired under clearinghouses to work for specific lawyers or various other smaller or third parties. The pay garnered for most freelancing work is generous, but can vary based on the amount of hours that are ultimately worked, as well as the caliber of cases one is assigned to. Freelancers are usually paid per page of transcriptions, as well as a base amount per assignment. You are able to work as seldom or often as you please when freelancing, which is a big draw of the profession for many.
If freelancing is something you happen to be interested in, there are also many other fields of opportunity for you to frolic through on your way to the mountains of financial success. Court reporting is at its very heart a data entry job, which can prepare one for work in word processing, medical transcription, or creating closed captioning for television programs and news stations. Other occupancies in the legal field are also good choices, as one of the prerequisites for work as a court reporter is a fine and proper understanding of the federal court system.
Other court reporters opt to work directly within a chosen court system, whether this is on the level of a state or county government, or simply within one small town. The salary for these jobs is always a bit more comfortable, and salaried court reporters are still usually paid a small fee per page. Freedom is obviously more regulated while being salaried, as the standard 40 hour nine to five workweek is the norm.
Job security is usually not a major concern, although one does have to be mindful of injuries to the hands, arms, or wrists, as this can stop a court reporter dead in his or her tracks, rendering him unable to work for as long as it takes for his injuries to heal fully and completely. Repetitive stress injuries are also common, although proper preparation and hand conditioning should be able to prevent these.
Court reporting is indeed one of the many professions on today’s market which seem to pay great dividends when compared with the fairly small amount of work and dedication required to become a success. Court reporter salary is but one of the many reasons to consider applying for specialized training as soon as possible. |
