| California has one of the highest unemployment | | | | entering the field has been dropping. There are |
| rates in the nation and state residents are looking | | | | many reasons for this decline but the two leading |
| for new career opportunities. They want jobs | | | | causes appear to be a misunderstanding of a role |
| that are in high demand with long-term growth | | | | of a certified court reporter, and the mistaken |
| potential. There is good news for residents of | | | | belief that technology will spell the end of the |
| California. Court reporters have more job | | | | profession. |
| opportunities than ever and a recent federal | | | | California court reporters are often seen as |
| study backs this up. | | | | low-level clerical workers when in fact they are |
| California Court Reporters in Great Demand | | | | well-respected legal professionals. They are well |
| The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released | | | | trained in legal procedures and have extensive |
| the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009, a | | | | knowledge of the jargon of many technical fields. |
| comprehensive study of job trends throughout | | | | According to a 2006 survey by the National Court |
| the nation. The OOH predicts that the number of | | | | Reporters Association (NCRA), reporters |
| jobs will increase by 25% over the next several | | | | employed by court systems have an average |
| years. This trend is driven by an increase in the | | | | income of over $72,000 per year. |
| number of court cases but also by new federal | | | | Advances in recording and speech recognition |
| regulations requiring more closed captioning to | | | | technology have never endangered the careers |
| allow equal access to deaf and hard of hearing | | | | of California court reporters. These new tools |
| citizens. | | | | make their jobs easier, but nothing will ever |
| California court reporters are employed in a | | | | replace the trained ear of a professional witness |
| variety of settings other than the court room. | | | | and record keeper. |
| Private businesses often use court reporters to | | | | A Demanding And Rewarding Field |
| create official transcripts of functions such as | | | | California court reporters must complete a |
| conferences or labor negotiations. | | | | rigorous training program before they can |
| As mentioned, the biggest trend in court reporting | | | | complete certification and work in the field. The |
| has been the increased demand for real-time | | | | curriculum is very demanding and has a high |
| captioning of television and web broadcasts. For | | | | dropout rate. For the reporters who complete the |
| decades, closed captioning has kept a large | | | | program, a long career as a highly paid and |
| percentage of California court reporters employed. | | | | esteemed professional is waiting. |
| The increased demand for real-time rather than | | | | The current shortage of reporters effectively |
| pre-recorded captioning has created new | | | | guarantees employment for new graduates. The |
| opportunities in the profession. | | | | NCRA and other organizations continue to |
| Demand Up but Graduation Down | | | | promote the court reporting profession, educating |
| Even as the number of jobs for California court | | | | new students in the exciting and lucrative career |
| reporters increases, the number of students | | | | that could be theirs. |