Stenographing Careers: Court Reporting, Scopists, etc.

[karmashines]

Anyone here involved in some sort of stenographing career such as court reporting, scoping, or closed-captioning reporting? I am thinking about taking a course in court reporting to make my legal transcription go faster. If you are already a fast typist, is it easy to transition to the steno machine? And how is the job market... is it easy to find work-at-home jobs in this field? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[cheriescopes]

Hi Karmashines!
I currently work as a scopist and proofreader. My previous background was in the legal field working as an admin assistant and an accountant for attorneys. Scoping isn't really so much typing as it is editing, and it's all done through software that converts the steno into English for you. So you don't really have to learn steno or have a steno machine unless you want to be a court reporter, you just need a scoping software program. I think the page rate is lower than transcription, but you go faster since it is editing and not from scratch. Hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions.

[karmashines]

Hi Karmashines!
I currently work as a scopist and proofreader. My previous background was in the legal field working as an admin assistant and an accountant for attorneys. Scoping isn't really so much typing as it is editing, and it's all done through software that converts the steno into English for you. So you don't really have to learn steno or have a steno machine unless you want to be a court reporter, you just need a scoping software program. I think the page rate is lower than transcription, but you go faster since it is editing and not from scratch. Hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions.

Do you have any work at home steno leads? Also, what schools would you suggest I go to acquire this skill?

[cheriescopes]

I would recommend Judy Barrett's scopist training program, the website is www.scopingcareers.com

There are a few sites where you can find work opportunities, like Scoping Central, Scopists.com, Depoman. Lately it is picking up, but a lot of people had been slow for a while.

[hym8ncgirl]

I worked as a court reporter several years ago.

Required lots and training and then I had to take tests to become certified on the use of the equipment and also certified by the Supreme Court of the state I live in.

Had to be able to take dictation at 250 wpm minimum with minimal errors. I had 97% accuracy, and it was quite a challenge.

I didn't work in the field long, because I found it difficult to break into the field where I live.

I did depositions for attorneys in their offices rather than being in actual courtrooms. I didn't want a full-time job tied to a specific courtroom. I wanted the freedom of being freelance. But it came at a cost -- Some attorneys took from nine months to one year to pay me, which made life pretty difficult, especially considering the amount of money I'd spent on training courses, a few thousand dollars for equipment, and then the fees and travel costs for testing and licensing.

I have no idea about working as a scopist. I had never heard of it until I found Judy's course online while I was searching for something.

Sounds interesting.

[ChristineScopes]

If you are considering taking a scoping course, I highly recommend the Best Scoping Techniques course. It is a self-paced online course which teaches you steno, how to edit transcripts, research techniques, proper grammar and punctuation for court reporter transcripts, business practices, marketing, and much, much more. The course is extremely comprehensive. I learned an incredible amount from this course and could not have become a successful scopist without it.

I researched very thoroughly all the scoping course options before selecting BeST, and I felt the BeST course was the most comprehensive and professional course out there. The instructors were always there to quickly help when I had questions. Even now, years after graduation, they are always just an e-mail or phone call away if I have questions or need personal guidance.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me privately to discuss in greater detail. cb@ontimescoping.com

[cheriescopes]

Here is a link to a page that lists all the online scopist training schools and links to their websites:

Scoping School Links

It might be a good idea to call each one to see which instructor is most compatible with you, check their business license and for complaints with the BBB. There are a few good ones out there, so finding a scopist school that is right for you should not be a problem.

[karmashines]

Thanks everyone for the information.