Court Reporter Salary
If you are looking for an exciting new career, court reporting may be your answer. Court reporters have always played a vital role in the legal process and job opportunities are expanding at a very fast rate.
The average court reporter salary is $50,490. However, there are many factors that can move you either up or down on the pay scale. These factors include the number of years of experience that you have, the types of certifications you have earned, the entity you work for and your specific position.
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The typical court reporter salary range for a first year court reporter is $35,976 – $63,187. This rises incrementally with more years of experience. Court reporters who have been working in the profession for more than 20 years have a range of $43,351 – $78,618. Other factors that will move you up on the pay scale are obtaining additional certifications, which show you have a higher proficiency level, and working for a larger company, or a higher court.
Court Reporter Salary Outlook
The job outlook for court reporters is very good, especially for those with certification and a degree. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that job opportunities will rise 25% by 2018. It is expected that opportunities for court reporters will outnumber the people looking for jobs in many areas. There are many reasons for this anticipated rise in employment opportunities.
There is an ongoing need for qualified court reporters to accurately document and transcribe legal proceeding. However, real time technology has allowed the employment opportunities for court reporters to expand even further. This technology allows for instant translation from the court reporters notes to written English. Historically, this translation took time to complete, but technological advances now allow trained professionals to handle this task simultaneously.
Future Growth & Expansion
Legislation has mandated that all television programming to be captioned for those with hearing problems. However, this has recently been updated to include new Spanish language programming. Job opportunities for other translating services for those who are hard of hearing or deaf are also expected to rise.
Employment opportunities will also be available for companies who want to use real time technology to broadcast meetings to people all over the world. Many businesses who provide lectures, seminars and educational opportunities will also need court reporters who are proficient in real time technology. These types of positions are not traditional court reporter jobs. They don’t usually need transcripts, and they don’t take place in a courtroom, etc, but they do require the same set of skills that court reporters can proficiently handle. The court reporter salary for real time reporter is higher than average.
There will always be a need for traditional court reporters to be part of the legal process. However, there will be tremendous job opportunities in the future for people who have specialized certifications and areas of expertise. A Certified CART Provider certification (Communication Access Real-time Translation) will increase your employment opportunities because it shows that you are proficient in using real-time technology.
Another reason for the positive employment outlook is that fewer people are entering the profession. This is especially true for the traditional steno machine court reporter. More jobs available with fewer people to work them means court reporter salaries will continue to rise.