| The state of the job market in California is | | | | Salaries and benefits for California court reporters |
| currently uncertain. The unemployment rate is one | | | | Some individuals shy away from the court |
| of the highest in the country, and many | | | | reporting business because they mistakenly |
| companies are moving to other parts of the | | | | believe that the job does not pay a sufficient |
| United States to avoid the high cost of doing | | | | salary. In actuality, the average income of an |
| business in the Golden State. | | | | accredited court reporter last year was almost |
| However, one job sector that looks stronger than | | | | $72,000. |
| ever is court reporting. California court reporters | | | | Other growth areas in California court reporting |
| can look forward to a future of rising salaries and | | | | In addition to standard court reporting services, |
| job security at a time when other industries are | | | | many other peripheral services are bringing about |
| failing. | | | | growth in the industry. In California, there has |
| Why is court reporter a good career choice in | | | | been a significant rise in the demand for real-time |
| California? | | | | closed-captioning for the hearing impaired. This is a |
| There are several reasons why court reporting is | | | | task perfectly suited for court reporters who are, |
| such a good career move for Californians in | | | | by design, skilled at transposing the spoken word |
| today's job market. | | | | into text quickly and accurately. |
| - The job cannot be outsourced. While many | | | | Also, many non-legal-related fields are utilizing the |
| positions in the customer service industry or | | | | skills of court reporters. Businesses throughout |
| industrial sector are being sent overseas, it is | | | | the state use court reporters at internal |
| impossible to do so with a court reporter. They | | | | meetings, shareholder functions and other events |
| must be present at the proceedings, so finding | | | | where maintaining a written record of the |
| cheaper labor in another country is not an option. | | | | proceedings is crucial. |
| - Court reporters cannot be replaced by | | | | A challenging field to enter |
| technology. While there have been significant | | | | Court reporters must undergo rigorous training |
| advances in speech recognition software, a human | | | | before they can begin their careers. In fact, the |
| being will always be required in order to execute a | | | | challenging nature of this training is one reason |
| court reporting job accurately and intelligently. | | | | why court reporters are in such high demand. |
| - There is a growing demand for court reporters. | | | | According to several sources, as many as half of |
| California court reporters have the advantage of | | | | those individuals who begin training as a court |
| living in one of the most litigious states in the | | | | reporter drop out before their education is |
| country. And as the number of court cases | | | | complete. |
| continues to grow, so too will the need for people | | | | But for those who stick with it, the benefits can |
| to record them. | | | | be considerable. And the difficultly of the training |
| In fact, a nationwide study by the Bureau of | | | | process insures that every law firm who requests |
| Labor Statistics found that court reporting job | | | | a California court reporter is getting a high-quality |
| openings will increase by 25% over the next | | | | individual who will be able to execute the job with |
| several years. | | | | proficiency and professionalism. |