There are so many misconceptions about Court reporters. If you are a court reporter you have probably heard a thousand times that your job could end up being obsolete in a few years given technology is constantly changing. But this is one of the many misconceptions that arise with the job of a court reporter. So here are 4 common misconceptions about court reporters.
Misconception 1:
You have to be in the courtroom to be a court reporter.
Fact:
We don’t all work in courtrooms. You actually can be a court reporter by working out of the comfort of your own home using modern day technology and video calling in.
Misconception 2:
Only women are court reporters.
Fact:
Actually, the National Court Reporters Association statistic for 2016 list at least 12% of its 16,000 members as male. While it is a female dominated industry there is always room for change. In fact, the average age of court reporters is 53, which makes it seems like an older woman’s profession at a first glance. However, the trend of being a court reporter is shifting to a younger demographic.
Misconception 3:
As technology advances the use of court reporters is less of a necessity.
Fact:
Technology as a whole is advancing which means a lot of people could stop believing in the profession being needed for humans but it has been found that technology is prone to far more mistakes than humans are and when in a serious setting that requires the utmost attention to detail those mistakes just can’t happen. Even with further advances it still is smart to have a person dictating just as a safe measure to ensure all information captured is accurate especially because of how vital of a role it is.
Misconception 4:
Court Reporters are simply glorified secretaries.
Fact:
It is a highly-skilled career that is very demanding when it comes to learning techniques and skills to better yourself. For example, you have to be able to type up to 225 words per minute or faster. Because of how demanding and important the job is itself being able to keep up with modern technology as well as tactics used to help benefit yourself as a court reporter is vital to your own success.
The Cal Dep Difference
- Experienced Realtime Court Reporters
- Last-Minute Scheduling
- Secure Online Office, Scheduling, and Document Repository
- Personal service that meets or exceeds our clients’ needs.
- Our best assets are our clients. Our mission is to provide professional services that meet or exceed our clients’ expectations.
- We believe the difference between the competition and Cal Dep are the court reporters we work with. Their personal commitment to excellence is unparalleled.
- The professionalism and congeniality the office provides clients is yet another reason to choose Cal Dep.
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Of course, knowledge of the English language, legal and medical terms, or technical language requires court reporters to have an extensive word-usage talent. It is imperative that the highly-trained reporter have a mastery of the English rules, be conversant in medical and legal terminology and be able to spell correctly. California court reporters must be fast thinkers and resourceful in their ability to determine the correct spellings of words that may be beyond their knowledge base so being a good researcher is a talent unto its own. It is important for California court reporters to be able to research words and come up with the correct spelling and understand the meanings of terms of art – an example would be a left, bilateral oophorectomy that comes out quickly from the doctor’s mouth. Since the court reporter’s talent is writing down verbatim what is said, the reporter breaks up the word phonetically and then relies on research to make sure that it is correctly spelled and that the term actually follows the testimony.
Court reporting is a serious business, but that doesn’t mean that some humor doesn’t come from the most benign situations. If you need a last-minute court reporter we are here for you. Contact us today!
