The short answer is, I wanted to document my journey to becoming a voice court reporter. I begin my program in January, and I am so excited for the opportunity to have a new career in an entirely new field.
Why go into court reporting specifically? The short answer is, I think it’s a rewarding and interesting career that will allow me to have many unique and meaningful experiences.
The long answer is more complex. I majored in journalism in college. I wanted to be an investigative reporter, and I wanted to write for women’s magazines (which professors mocked, by the way). After college, I was briefly a newspaper reporter for a small weekly. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that advancing as a journalist was incredibly difficult unless you were well-connected, independently wealthy, or far bolder than I was then.
After a year or so, I went into marketing copywriter for better hours, better benefits, and more money. Honestly, I have spent more than 20 years as a marketing copywriter, and I have grown tired of the instability in the field. Marketing has a reputation as fun and exciting, and I am sure it can be. However, I have spent most of my career in what amounts to the bowels of the industry, writing copy for dull companies that sold certifications, recruitment platforms, coupons, etc. It’s akin to when Sue Ellen Crandell arrives at G.A.W. thinking she will be working in fashion, and realizes the company actually manufactures the dullest uniforms imaginable. But I never got to host a fashion show featuring all my friends dressed in colorful workplace attire. It’s draining (for me at least) to spend the entire day writing copy for a company that isn’t doing anything truly meaningful.
Sorry, but it’s true. I have worked many jobs with many lovely people and I have enjoyed those times. However, I can honestly say there was never a moment where I felt I was making a meaningful difference in the world. I can even say the moments were few and far between where I felt like I was even making a difference AT THE COMPANY. Often, I would write thousands of words of copy each week, only for no one to review it. They demanded to review it, but they never made the time, so it could not be published. This is incredibly discouraging. I also felt that the goalposts were constantly moving. I would create what I thought was being requested, only to have people suddenly feel differently (everyone thinks they know better than a copywriter, another frustrating aspect of the career).
Then, AI came along and suddenly I was being required to participate in discussions about all the ways AI could be used to replace me. Company-wide discussions where everyone talked about the great advantages of AI, but never once considered how it might be uncomfortable for me to offer suggestions on how a large-language model could do my job better than I could. It’s my opinion that AI can never and should never replace a human, especially because of how frequently it gets things wrong. For example, AI claims California state does not allow the voice writing method of court reporting – this is untrue! Voice writing is accepted in the California court system and steno and voice writers are considered the same role and earn the same pay.
All this to say, I was looking for a new career and court reporting caught my eye. I love learning new things, and I also appreciate that court reporting is 1. Extremely important and necessary for preserving an accurate record of what transpires in the courtroom. 2. Very straightforward. A court reporter must create a verbatim transcription of the court proceedings of the day and preserve it for the record. This is refreshingly simple at its core, despite the intricate work that goes into creating a court transcript.
I am excited by the options that will be available to me once I am certified. I can choose to pursue a career as a court official, working in a courthouse day-to-day transcribing court proceedings. I could choose a more flexible route and freelance, transcribing depositions or working short-term contracts at a courthouse.
There are other options for court reporters outside of the legal field, as well. Licensed court reporters can also provide CART (Communication Access Realtime Transcription) services for the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. For example, a Deaf university student may have a CART service provider attend lectures with them and create a transcript, so the student can use it to take notes. This ensures the student has the full lecture, and allows them to use their lecture time to focus and engage with the subject material. Court reporters can also serve as medical scribes, documenting patient visits and other medical proceedings in real-time for physicians. Lastly, court reporters can provide live transcription services for live events, like network television broadcasts.
With my background in copywriting, I am hopeful that I will be able to keep up with the demanding coursework and become an excellent court reporter, no matter which path I choose following certification.
Why did I choose to learn the Voice Writing method of court reporting? For the unfamiliar, there are three methods of court reporting: Voice writing, stenography, and digital. Stenographers are what most people tend to think of when they hear “court reporter.” They use a dedicated machine called a stenotype, which has a corded keyboard containing fewer keys than a traditional keyboard. Stenographers learn a unique shorthand that involves pressing combinations of keys to create words, syllables, or phrases quickly. This allows them to type over 200 words a minute. It’s very challenging, and learning the shorthand is similar to learning a whole new language. Most steno programs take 2-4 years to complete.
Voice writers use a stenomask and a speech-recognition software program to repeat what is said in the courtoom and create a live transcript. From my understanding, it does involve using shorthand or unique key phrases at times, but I will elaborate once I learn more in my program. Voice writing has been around since the World War 2 era, but it is still considered a newer method in many courtrooms.
Digital reporters record proceedings to be transcribed later. In most circles, this method is not celebrated as it does not produce a real-time transcript like voice writers or stenographers do.
I am choosing to learn the voice writing method for a number of reasons. The shorter program length appeals to me, as I am 44 and want to begin a new career as soon as possible. Additionally, I occasionally struggle with repetitive motion injuries in my hands, and I do not think a typing-intensive version of court reporting would be the best fit for me. While I love learning, I also fear that the new language aspect of learning stenography would not be easy for me. I admire those who do it, it’s very impressive!
My voice writing program is one year. I have already received my computer and textbooks, and started reading them. I am so excited to learn and want to get a jump on the school year, as I know it will be incredibly demanding. I want to document as much of my experience as possible here, in hopes it may be helpful and interesting to other court reporting students.
Any questions are very welcome, and I will do my best to answer or point you in the right direction. Thank you for reading!