Career profile for Court Reporter

What does a Court Reporter do?

Court Reporters use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, retrieve, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information.

In addition, Court Reporters includes stenocaptioners who operate computerized stenographic captioning equipment to provide captions of live or prerecorded broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.

What kind of tasks does a Court Reporter perform regularly?

Court Reporters are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Proofread transcripts for correct spelling of words.
Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements.
Record verbatim proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks.
Provide transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges, lawyers, or the public.
Transcribe recorded proceedings in accordance with established formats.
File a legible transcript of records of a court case with the court clerk's office.
Log and store exhibits from court proceedings.
File and store shorthand notes of court session.
Respond to requests during court sessions to read portions of the proceedings already recorded.
Verify accuracy of transcripts by checking copies against original records of proceedings and accuracy of rulings by checking with judges.

The above responsibilities are specific to Court Reporters. More generally, Court Reporters are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Working with Computers		Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge		Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Working with Computers

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

What is a Court Reporter salary?

The median salary for a Court Reporter is $61,660, and the average salary is $66,710. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Court Reporter salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Court Reporters earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Court Reporters earn less than $31,600 per year, 25% earn less than $43,730, 75% earn less than $88,420, and 90% earn less than $109,240.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Court Reporters is expected to change by 2.3%, and there should be roughly 2,100 open positions for Court Reporters every year.

Median annual salary: $61,660
Typical salary range: $31,600 - $109,240
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 2.3%

What personality traits are common among Court Reporters?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Court Reporter are usually higher in their Conventional interests.

Court Reporters typically have very strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Court Reporter tend to value Relationships, Achievement, and Support.

Most importantly, Court Reporters moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Court Reporters moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Court Reporters moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Court Reporters must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and self-control.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Court Reporters, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Independence		Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Independence

Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

What education and training do Court Reporters need?

Court Reporters often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Court Reporters usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Court Reporters

1.2% did not complete high school or secondary school
14.1% completed high school or secondary school
32.7% completed some college coursework
37.3% earned a Associate's degree
11.8% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.8% earned a Master's degree
1.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Court Reporters

Court Reporters may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as administrative, computers and electronics, or law and government knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Court Reporters might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Administrative		Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Law and Government		Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Administrative

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Law and Government

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Important Abilities needed by Court Reporters

Court Reporters must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Court Reporters need abilities such as oral comprehension, speech recognition, and written expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Court Reporters, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Recognition		The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Critical Skills needed by Court Reporters

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Court Reporters frequently use skills like active listening, writing, and reading comprehension to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Court Reporters, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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