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Court Reporter Degrees

What Degree Does a Court Reporter Need?

Court reporters can actually work in a variety of jobs beyond the courtroom. For instance, they may record speeches, conversations, or meetings. Court reporters working in the courtroom may also assist judges and trial lawyers by organizing and searching for information or making suggestions on courtroom procedure and administration.

To become a novice voice writer, it takes about one year of training. It takes two years to become a proficient realtime voice writer. On average, a realtime stenotypist has 33 months of training. National Court Reporters Association accredited programs, and the requirement for Federal Government employment, mandate the ability to capture at least 225 words per minute.

Some states require licenses for court reporters while others do not. But the National Verbatim Reporters Association does have three voluntary national certifications court reporters can earn: the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), Certificate of Merit (CM), and Real-Time Verbatim Reporter (RVR).

Career Opportunities

Employment opportunities should increase 25% from 2006 to 2016, much faster than the national average for all occupations. Opportunities will most likely be best for those with formal training and certification. In addition, those who specialize in broadcast captioning, webcasting, and Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART), which involves providing transcripts for students who are hard-of-hearing and those learning English as a second language, should have excellent job prospects.

As of May 2006, the median annual earnings of court reporters was $45,610. The highest 10% earned more than $77,000, however the lowest 10% earned under $25,000.

Online Schools Offering Court Reporter Degrees


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