Careers

Court reporters use portable steno machines and laptop computers and can work from almost anywhere.

There are many exciting opportunities for court reporters in Canada and overseas.

In legal proceedings, court reporters are the guardians of the record. Court reporters are present in legal examinations and court cases. They take down the words spoken by everyone during the proceedings and afterwards prepare a formal transcript of what was said. The transcript helps safeguard everyone's rights in the legal process.

Realtime Court Reporting

Realtime court reporters are the elite of the profession; they turn spoken words into text as quickly and accurately as the speakers say them. Our realtime court reporters are not just fast, but well-trained in courtroom procedures, legal and medical terminology, English grammar, and the best transcript production practices. Graduates with a realtime court reporting diploma can choose from a variety of lucrative careers.

Click on each job title for an expanded description.

• Realtime Court Reporting
In addition to creating a word-for-word transcript after the proceedings, realtime reporters can also provide instant transcripts on computer screens as the trial or deposition is actually taking place. This expertise is a terrific tool for lawyers and judges, who benefit from accessing testimony as both spoken word and written text at the same time. Realtime reporting also allows lawyers from different parts of the world to take part in the proceedings at all times. Realtime transcription is also key in ensuring that deaf or hearing-impaired persons are afforded the same legal benefits as hearing persons.

Realtime reporters are highly sought-after in court proceedings. In addition to having access to high-profile jobs, realtime reporters are able to complete their transcripts swiftly, so that they spend less time editing transcripts and more time reporting.
• Broadcast Captioning
Realtime stenographers can work as captioners. By turning live speech into text, captioners provide access to live television programs for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

People who are deaf or hard-of-hearing number in the 2.8 million range in Canada alone. Television captions allow them to understand and enjoy live TV broadcasts such as news, emergency broadcasts, sports events, the Olympics, the Oscars, the Emmys. This comprehension is especially critical in times of weather disasters or national emergencies. According to the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission), broadcasters are required to caption all programming, except for advertising.

Captioners generally work at home as freelance professionals and are paid an hourly wage, usually of more than $90 per hour. Captioning work is ideal for stay-at-home parents and anyone looking to make a lucrative wage from the comfort of their own home.
• CART Service Provider
Able to turn spoken words into readable text as quickly as they are spoken, realtime reporters can provide specialized speech-to-text translation for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. This practice is called Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART).

CART reporters work with deaf or hard-of-hearing persons in high schools and colleges. They attend classes and translate lectures and classroom discussions into readable text, allowing students who are deaf or hard of hearing to follow and participate. With over 2.8 million deaf or hard-of-hearing people in Canada, the demand for CART services exceeds the capacity to provide them, particularly with an aging Baby Boomer population (9.6 million Canadians) that will continue to need these services up until retirement.

CART reporters also provide services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people at conferences, in business settings, in churches, at weddings, at cultural events, in doctors' offices -- just about everywhere.
• Webcasting
As online conferences grow in popularity, reporters have lately found their services to be in great demand on the Internet. Online conferences, meetings, and webinars are rapidly increasing in popularity. Webcasting reporters deliver realtime reporting for sales meetings, press conferences, product introductions, and technical training seminars, providing instant transmission to all parties involved. As participants speak into telephones or microphones, the court reporter translates the spoken words into text, in real time. The words appear on everyone's computers, accompanied by any relevant documents or graphics. Webcasting is a lucrative career, and participating reporters can make between $100 and $200 per hour.

Court Reporting

The name of our diploma is "court reporting," but the ability to turn the spoken word into text is highly in demand in fields and professions outside the courtroom as well.

• Non-Realtime Court Reporting
Non-realtime court reporters attend examinations and court proceedings and capture the words spoken by everyone during the proceeding. Using extensive audio backup, reporters then prepare a transcript of the proceeding. Reporters create high-quality transcripts using their sound knowledge of legal and medical terminology, English grammar, and court reporting procedures.
• Medical Transcription
Machine shorthand transcription is a highly transferable skill that is also extensively used in the always-burgeoning field of medicine.

Medical transcriptionists listen to voice recordings created by doctors and other health professionals and transcribe these recordings into written reports covering patients' medical records, surgical proceedings, discharge summaries, or other medical documentation. Medical transcriptionists work for hospitals, clinics, or third-party transcription providers, or they may be self-employed. Medical Transcription, like Scoping and Broadcast Captioning, is an ideal career for a person who needs or prefers to work from home.

The conversion of spoken medical language to text is a difficult and specialized craft, but stenography, grammar, and medical terminology are skills that CCVS students can use in order to enter this extensive and engaging field.
• Scopistry
Scopists are hired by reporters to edit and proofread transcripts while the reporters themselves work in court or take depositions. Scopists take the rough draft of proceedings, identify and correct mistranslated homonyms (for example, "here" instead of "hear"), and research proper names or technical terms that were not in the court reporter's computer dictionary. Then scopists make any necessary edits, fix grammar and punctuation, ensure the transcript is in the requested format, and send the transcript back to the court reporter. In the case of simultaneous display, scopists make corrections or highlight any questions as the transcript scrolls on the computer screen. Scopists need excellent language and research skills, as well as a fine eye for detail. As is the case with Broadcast Captioning, Scoping is an ideal career for a person who needs or prefers to work from home.
• Offline Webcasting
Television captions allow people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing to understand and enjoy both live and pre-recorded television programming. Non-realtime reporters can create captions for pre-recorded video material, such as movies and television shows. Good English skills and a facility for learning about new technology are essential for captioners. Captioning work is ideal for stay-at-home parents and anyone who needs or prefers to work from the comfort of their own home.
• Note Taking
Non-realtime reporters can provide note-taking services for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in a variety of settings. Note-takers capture the essence of what is said in a classroom, lecture, conference, or meeting and make the notes available to their clients.