After some serious soul searching, I've decided to end my journey to become a court reporter and change my major. I've thought long and hard about this decision and the reasons are varied. Almost every reason has something to do with my age or finances. As I mentioned to my instructor, if I knew then what I know now, I would have started court reporting in my early 20s, not my late 40s.It's been said that the average length of time to become a certified court reporter is 33 months. From what I understand, this length of time is based on being enrolled in a full time court reporting school. I'm enrolled in night courses, and working full time simultaneously. Therefore, I don't have the ability to practice 8 hours a day, and this situation will no doubt add years to the time it will take me to become certified. Obviously, this additional time will also increase the total cost of getting my degree. This begs the question: "How far into debt do I want to go to get my 2-year degree?" Do you see where I'm going with this?
For those of you unfamiliar with the court reporting field. Court reporters also own their own equipment. Once you graduate from court reporting school, you are expected to purchase a professional-level stenograph and a computer program used to convert your steno into English so that it can be read by individuals in real time -- like closed captioning. You may even have to purchase a new laptop computer for this venture. This set up is quite costly. $7,000 - $10,000. Cha-ching! That's quite a bit to add on top of my student loans. Should I really be racking up this kind of debt at my age?
So I have decided to pursue an A.S. degree in Paralegal Studies. A lot of my credits will transfer to this program so I already have a running start. Besides, I worked for a law firm for many years and I'm fascinated by the law. It seems like a good fit for me!
I wish everyone luck in their journey. You've picked a great career. It just didn't work out for me.
I'm going to miss your court reporting advice and blog Michelle, but I wish you luck in paralegal studies. A lot of the prerequisites that you take for court reporting also transfer over to them. Hugs. Good luck. :D I wish you the best.
ReplyDeleteAww sorry to hear this. I enjoyed reading your blog, although I've only commented once or twice. Best of luck with the paralegal studies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support. I'm looking forward to this new chapter in my life!
ReplyDeleteWe're all looking forward to your new future as a paralegal too, at least I am. I thought the paralegal aspect was really interesting, and it would probably be a good extension past just the court reporting studies.
ReplyDeleteBesides, you got as far as you did in court reporting, which is much more difficult, so you've shown you have the ambition to do it.
Thanks, Nev. Feel free to follow my new blog at http://paralegalcrossing.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteKeep in touch!
It's sad to see you go, but I wish you luck in the future.
ReplyDeleteYou might not have to abandon your steno machine, though, fully. I'm sure you can use it to write stuff for school papers and your future employer. You might just become the fastest and most efficient paralegal on the block!
Actually, Jenni, I'm going to continue to work on my speedbuilding. It's such a valuable skill to have!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to follow my new blog at http://paralegalcrossing.wordpress.com
Keep in touch!
I'm going to :D. Good for vocabulary studies.
ReplyDeleteHi, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteSorry to see you switching ... BUT if you think of it merely as "taking a hiatus," that's much better.
I have heard that some law firms employ reporters to take notes during deps and various other proceedings ... so if you keep up with your speedbuilding, you may find yourself employed as a paralegal with some added skills.
As for the expense of getting into the field when you're done with your CR training, I put Cheap and Sleazy together initially to address just that problem: digitalCAT is free for the first six month after school, and is a free download now.
Refurbished professional writers can be purchased for below $2,000 (I still highly recommend a refurbished ProCAT Flash over the Protege or the Wave any day of the week). Get all that stuff while you're in school, and you can keep using them when you finish school
... but enough about that.
Good luck in your studies, Michelle ... keep up with your speedbuilding as you planned, and you'll be able to use your steno skills with your new job ... and eventually move into court reporting/captioning/CART later!
Thanks, Glen. I fully intend to keep up with my speedbuilding. It's such a valuable skill. I only hope that my brain will eventually relinquish control over my fingers so that they can start to fly!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will look into a refurbished machine once I get to that point.
Good luck to you in all your future endeavors!
Michelle, sorry to see you leave the field - but I agree with Glen - buy your stuff second-hand initially! When you start working and making the big bucks then you can invest more money in your hardware.
ReplyDeleteSeems you did think long and hard about it and I'm glad to see you can transfer your credits.
All the best to you!
nice blog post Its good things, keep share
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I am so blessed that I have found your blog! My court reporting firm is happy that you have shared this.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Sorry to see you go from the profession, I hope your new path works well for you. This post gives great insight into the court reporting
ReplyDeleteprofession for those who are wondering what it may be like. Thanks for posting!
That's outstanding, you managed to be a student and a worker at the same time. You'll go far with your efforts.
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Thanks for sharing this info, I found it really helpful. I have a friend who is interested in becoming a court reporter in oklahoma city and got me fairly interested as well to know more about it. Do you have any other advice for someone who wants to go into this? Any feedback would be great, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe average yearly pay of a law reporter in Mississippi is $69,000 while in Georgia it is $54,000. Those who are located in Florida have a yearly income of $54,000 while the ones in Alabama make $50,000 on average. Wage earners living in Utah have a medial annual wage of $51,000 while the ones situated in Virginia receive $58,000. Average Salary of Court Reporter
ReplyDeleteThey perform their daily duties with the help of specialized equipment called the stenotype. This is the reason why they are often referred to as a stenographer. Average Salary of Court Reporter
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