Court Reporting: Job Prospects and Salary

Employment opportunities are expected to grow faster than average through 2016 – up to 25%. The growing number of televised live performances and TV shows – such as the many reality TV programs – as well as the continuing need for accurate transcripts in courts and depositions mean that job opportunities will abound. Recent federal legislation also mandates that Spanish-language programs must be captioned by 2010, giving increased opportunities to Spanish-speaking court reporters.

Court reporters had median annual earnings of $45,610 in May of 2006. The middle 50% earned between $33,160 and $61,530. Median annual earnings in May of 2006 were $45,080 for court reporters working in local government and $41,720 for those working in business support services.

A number of different criteria can affect compensation and compensation methods for court reporters. These include the type of reporting job, the experience of the individual reporter, the level of certification achieved and the region of the country. Official court reporters earn both a salary and a per-page fee for transcripts. Freelance court reporting is also an option. Freelance court reporters are paid per job and receive a per-page fee for transcripts. Captionists can earn a salary with benefits if they work as employees of a captioning company or an hourly wage if they work as independent contractors.

Citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Court Reporters, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos152.htm (visited June 06, 2008).