If you’re looking for a career that doesn’t require a college degree, pays six figures and offers strong job security, you might want to brush up on your typing skills.
Court reporting is a lucrative, in-demand profession: A skilled reporter can expect to earn $200 for a half-day of work to upwards of $100,000 per year, says Irene Nakamura, the founder of IDepo Reporters, a California-based court reporting firm.
Court reporters, often referred to as “guardians of the record,” play a critical role in the U.S. legal system, producing accurate, impartial transcripts of legal proceedings.
Yet interest in the profession has plummeted over the last decade, leading to a national shortage of at least 5,000 reporters, according to the Association for Court Reporters and Captioners.
There are plenty of job opportunities for reporters outside of the courtroom, too, as court reporters share the same skillset and qualifications as stenographers and real-time captioners: You can work at depositions, transcribe important business meetings and provide live captions to hearing-impaired students, among other services.
Becoming a court reporter can take less than two years — and doesn’t require a degree
While the education requirements for becoming a court reporter vary by state, most states require you to have a high school diploma or equivalent, and to complete a court reporting program accredited by the National Court Reporters Association, which may consist of an associate’s degree or a professional certificate.
To become certified nationally, a court reporter must be able to pass a state-approved exam and demonstrate that they can type at least 225 words per minute as two voices speak.
It typically takes between 18 and 24 months to earn a court reporting certificate or degree, according to Indeed. During that time, court reporters will take classes in legal terminology, criminal studies, transcription preparation and the language of shorthand, which is an abbreviated symbolic writing method.
As a court reporter, you’ll be expected to use a stenotype machine, which is a portable word processor with a specially designed keyboard based on syllables rather than letters that helps users type shorthand.
The start-up costs to become a court reporter can vary depending on whether you choose to rent or buy a steno machine and transcription software, as well as the cost of tuition for your court reporting classes.
Transcription software can cost between $2,000 and $5,500, while the stenotype machine can cost anywhere between $5,000-$12,000, says Nakamura. Court reporting programs can cost anywhere between $20,000-$60,000, which includes tuition, equipment and fees.
Court reporting programs are often flexible, Nakamura adds, with many institutions offering a variety of online courses and day and evening classes.
Court reporters can make up to $500,000 per year
As a court reporter, earning potential depends on where you’re based, how often you’re working, your years of experience and if you work for the government or a private firm.
In general, however, if you’re working full-time, “six figures is pretty standard,” says Nakamura.
Working for the courts is a full-time job that typically requires a minimum of 40 hours per week, but there are part-time and one-off assignments reporters can take on, too.
A current listing on Indeed for a part-time court reporter at Kern County Superior Court in California specifies a salary between $40 and $50 per hour, while a listing for a full-time court reporter at the federal court in Washington D.C. includes an annual salary range of $95,801-$110,171.
In addition to their base salary, court reporters are compensated on a per-page basis for transcripts they produce during court proceedings. Nakamura estimates that this additional income can range from $50,000 to $100,000.
When Cynthia Rodriguez first became a court reporter with the Kern County Superior Court in 2005, her annual salary was $60,000. Within two years, however, she grew that figure to about $100,000, she says, mainly by working overtime and taking on additional assignments.
“I like to challenge myself with difficult cases and assignments, so I typically work 10 or 11 hours on weekdays, sometimes on weekends, too,” she explains.
Once you have at least five years of experience as a court reporter, that’s when your earning potential “can really take off,” says Nakamura.
In the U.S., the experienced court reporters Nakamura works with on the East Coast — in New York or New Jersey, for example — bring home around $200,000 per year, while reporters in Chicago earn between $150,000 and $225,000.
But some reporters’ earnings can exceed $500,000 per year, she says, if they work in a large market with a shortage of reporters.
You can work remotely and negotiate a flexible schedule
In the wake of the pandemic, more legal proceedings are being held online, opening the door to new remote and hybrid work opportunities for court reporters.
There are dozens of remote court reporter job openings on ZipRecruiter right now, with employers in South Carolina, Oregon and Minnesota all hiring, to name three examples.
You can work as a freelance reporter, taking on assignments as they fit into your schedule, or you can work part-time and work less than 30 hours per week.
Last year, Rodriguez quit her job and become a freelance court reporter with IDepo Reporters so she could negotiate her rates and have more control over her schedule.
She still has 10-hour workdays, but Rodriguez says she scaled back her weekend work and now has the option to choose assignments with later start times in the mornings, or ones that will only need her three or four days a week.
While court reporting can be a “very demanding” job, Rodriguez says, the best part about the profession is that “you can work as much or as little as you want … and still have a fulfilling career.”
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This story originally appeared on CNBC
