Beyond High School

Here's a list of programs that you should consider if you're interested in this career:

• Court Reporting and Captioning/Court Reporter

Education Level

Education training and experience are required at different levels for success in different occupations.

One to two years post-secondary training

Many community colleges and technical institutes offer postsecondary certificate programs for court reporters and simultaneous captioners. These workers typically receive on-the-job training; the length of training varies by type of reporting or captioning.

Insider Info

Additional Information

You should consider a college court reporter training program. Programs vary in length from two to four years. After that, you can take one or more of several kinds of certification programs offered by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA).

The NCRA also has an online training program. Check its website for details.

Before you can be admitted to most court reporter training programs, you must have a high school diploma and be able to type a minimum of 40 words per minute on a standard keyboard.

There are over 350 post-secondary schools and colleges in America that offer court reporting training. For recognized schools, check the NCRA's website.

Even with training, experts say it's a tough job that just keeps getting tougher. You can make it easier by being computer-literate. You need to be able to embrace changing technology.

"The job of court reporting is more difficult now than when I started, because of the introduction of computers and new technology," says court reporter Valerie Waite. "It's less labor-intensive, but more mentally taxing."

Waite finds the best way to deal with the complexity of her job is to practice, practice, practice. She believes practicing on a musical instrument is a good way to prepare yourself for court reporting work.

"Learning a musical instrument is like court reporting in that you have to be dedicated to improvement, but know that you'll never be perfect," she says. "There will always be room for improvement."

Extra Requirements

Many states require court reporters and simultaneous captioners to be licensed or certified by a professional association. Licensing requirements vary by state and by method of reporting or captioning. The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) offers certification for court reporters. Currently, about half of states accept or use the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification in place of a state certification or licensing exam. Digital and voice reporters may obtain certification through the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), which offers the Certified Electronic Reporter (CER) and Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET) designations. Voice reporters also may obtain certification through the National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA). As with the RPR designation, some states with certification or licensing requirements will accept the NVRA designation in place of a state license.

For additional information, visit these websites:

• http://aaert.org
• http://www.ncra.org/certification
• http://nvra.org