The first course you take is Theory. It’s a structured16 week course where you will learn how to write any word in the English language using strokes on the steno machine.
After theory, you should be able to write between 40-60 words in steno. With that completed, you will then start Speed Building. These are year round courses that allow you to improve your speed by listening to tapes, CD’s and live readers who read material to you. Your goal is to reach a speed of 225-240 wpm and qualify to take the state test, which is read at no more than 200 wpm. Once you pass all three parts of the state test, you are a certified shorthand reporter!
The time it takes to complete the program is up to you. For most people the program will take at least three years, however with good practice skills it is possible to finish sooner.
Randy Kizzar
5801 E. Lerdo Hwy.
Shafter, CA 93263
(661) 387-1055
RandyK@westec.org
In order to write the spoken word it is important to have a good command of the English language, written and spoken, in order to turn out verbatim transcripts.
In addition to the machine work/courses, you will be required to take academics such as English, Business Law, Medical Terminology, Anatomy, Punctuation and Legal Terminology.These courses will increase your knowledge and allow you to become familiar with things you know little about. A court reporter has to be prepared to write any spoken word, since everyone else in the room is depending on his or her accuracy.
There are newer machines that allow a reporter to write in “Real Time.” The steno machine is connected directly to a computer, and as you write, the words appear on the screen; thus the name “realtime.” This technology is being used at schools and colleges to provide services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing, in addition to being used in courtrooms all over the country.
We all see those scrolling, rolling crawlers that make their way across the bottom of a television screen. People trained in court reporting do that work! This technology is knows as Captioning. Believe it or not most people in captioning work out of their homes. So, you could work in your office at home in Bakersfield on a feed for a network that is being shown in New York City or Maui, Hawaii.With these options, you have the opportunity to explore where your interest lies by being exposed to speakers who come in and talk about different fields available to the certified shorthand reporter, who is known as a CSR.
Want to travel? As a deposition reporter you go to offices or conference rooms where attorney’s ask questions of witnesses. If you end up in this area of reporting, you could be paid to fly all over the country to work.The pay is for a CSR is excellent and it is possible, for example, to start in the courtroom in Kern County at $4500 per month with benefits on top of that.
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Facts About Court Reporting.doc
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Minimum Qualifications for Court Reporting
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CR Board Rules and Regulations for Schools.doc
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