Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

What the job really is

Use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, retrieve, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information. Includes stenocaptioners who operate computerized stenographic captioning equipment to provide captions of live or prerecorded broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.

At a glance

• Sector: Arts, Design & Media
• O*NET-SOC code: 27-3092
• O*NET job zone: 3 — medium preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Record verbatim proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks.
• Proofread transcripts for correct spelling of words.
• Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements.
• Provide transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges, lawyers, or the public.
• Transcribe recorded proceedings in accordance with established formats.
• Log and store exhibits from court proceedings.
• File and store shorthand notes of court session.
• File a legible transcript of records of a court case with the court clerk's office.
• Verify accuracy of transcripts by checking copies against original records of proceedings and accuracy of rulings by checking with judges.
• Respond to requests during court sessions to read portions of the proceedings already recorded.
• Record symbols on computer storage media and use computer aided transcription to translate and display them as text.
• Take notes in shorthand or use a stenotype or shorthand machine that prints letters on a paper tape.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Acclaim Legal Acclaim DepoManage, Acculaw Court Reporters Billing Scheduling Job Management System ABSMS, Advantage Software Total Eclipse, Audio tape recorders, AudioScribe SpeechCAT, Chase Software Solutions Court Reporting Software, Cheetah International SmartCAT, Corel WordPerfect Office Suite

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
• Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
• Paralegals and Legal Assistants
• Word Processors and Typists
• File Clerks
• Correspondence Clerks
• Medical Transcriptionists
• Office Clerks, General

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 3 (medium preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.