r/courtreporting

I am a 140/160 student, and I feel absolutely incompetent. I can't even write at 120 anymore. I have put so much time and money into this so far (20k!), and I feel completely lost and incompetent. I've come so far that I feel that I can't waste what I've already accomplished. I love stenography, but I feel like I'm about to have a mental breakdown.

Does anyone have any suggestions or encouragement they can offer? I am so stressed out.

Hi all! Considering enrolling in voice writing at IRCRI tonight after a month of research. I’m in WA state. Interested in freelance. Curious how others have their business setup as a beginner. LLC or S-Corp? Any type of business insurance?

Hi everyone!

I’m currently attending RTVT and am close to finishing. I was wondering if any California reporters, or test takers, that subscribed to the NVRA membership ($75 for students) remember if they send an email regarding upcoming California test dates and when the sale will open? I am trying to schedule my exam for 2027, but the dates have not been released yet. It appears that the exam dates are being released now about 3 months prior, and California test dates are usually at the beginning of the year. I am trying to lock in my seat but don’t want to keep constantly monitoring the website for random openings. Additionally, does anyone know when the following year’s (2027) exam dates are released?

Thanks for the help!

Hi friends. It's my first week at RVT, and have been trying to speak at 140 WPM but I am struggling uncontrollably. I continuously fall behind, mispronounce words, etc. does anyone have any tips? I have been seeing others on TikTok starting off and they're breezing through as a voice steno noobie. I am constantly comparing myself, and keep getting frustrated.

I think I’m going to pull the trigger and enroll but need some encouragement and real life success stories.

Sorry if this is a dumb question bu I'm finding that I know how to write certain briefs and phrases on my machine but I don't know how to do the readback, either because I forgot it or it looks foreign. Would you suggest that I just go through each and every single chapter one by one and practice readbacks that way?

This is my first post ever on Reddit so here it goes nothing. I have been certified for almost a year. I started out in court and lasted about 5 months because it was too much to handle. I took some time off in March, April and I started doing freelance depos here in California in May. It has been great so far, but lately I've been doubting myself and second-guessing everything that I do instead of feeling more confident. My question is for those veteran reporters, how did it feel your first year reporting?

The CRB here in California is soooob strict and I just feel like I can get in trouble for any little thing. Just recently I was messing around with my settings on Eclipse, and I think I threw off my MTFS. I will try to get some help on that tomorrow.

I just feel like I'm a year in and I'm barely getting my head above water. How did you feel your first year? How did you deal with the overwhelming requirements and standards?

I have been taking it pretty slow only one to two depos a week so I can learn as I go.

Hey all, I’m considering pursuing a new career in scoping since I need something very flexible, can do from home, and on my own timeline. My concern is the realistic income someone can actually make doing this, especially part time. I know about the price breakdowns per page but if you are a scopist and can speak from experience how much you actually can bring in working ~ 20 hrs/week that would be so helpful to get a gauge on if this is practical and profitable enough for me to pursue.

I have officially bought all the supplies for RVT. I just get so worried that digital is going to slowly take over or my state even though it technically allows voice writers will cause problems. (Iowa). How does anyone else deal with this fear and worry?

Hi all, I have been really considering making the career switch to court reporting in the near future, more likely voice writing than steno. One question I had was what do the logistics look like for getting licensure in one state and practicing in another? Is it relatively straight forward to get employment in a state other than where you did your schooling?

I currently live in CA and am playing with the idea of moving back to be with family in FL. If I stayed in CA for schooling I was looking at West Valley College's Court Reporting program. Does anyone know of any similarly low-priced programs in FL?

Thanks - any insight appreciated!

So i have three tickets. One for swerving, one for not having my headlights on at night, and one for not having my cars insurance on me at that time. They told me to show the three tickets and the new insurance. They said a picture of the insurance was fine. But what else should I bring and how should I act?

I've been working on this quiz for the past three days. It seems like I always get one question wrong, and I don't really know which one. I tried using AI to help, and it got worse lol (and they say AI will replace court reporters).

These are my answers. Which one is incorrect?!

1. True or false:  To write initial R, use the left-hand index finger to depress the R- key.

/ TRUE
FALSE

2. True or false:  To write final R, use the right-hand index finger to depress the -R key.

/ TRUE
FALSE

3. Which of the following is the best answer?

/ BR, DR, FR, GR, KR, and PR are examples of consonant blends using initial R.
HR, DR, FR, GR, KR, and PR are examples of consonant blends using initial R.
BR, DR, WR, GR, KR, and PR are examples of consonant blends using initial R.
BR, DR, FR, GR, SR, and PR are examples of consonant blends using initial R.

4. True or false:  Final -RD, -RG, -RJ, -RK, -RL, -RM, -RN, and -RP can be written in the same stroke as "final-consonant combinations."

/ TRUE
FALSE

5. Which of the following is the best answer?

/ Write OR for words that rhyme with the word "or" in English, such as "chore" and "door."
Write OR for words that rhyme with the word "or" in English, such as "corn" and "poor."
Write OR for words that rhyme with the word "or" in English, such as "chore" and "corn."
All of the above.

6. Select the correct outline for the word: forge

PERPL

TKARBG

TKARPB

/ TPORPBLG

7. Select the correct outline for the word: barge

TKARBG

/ PWARPBLG

PERPL

HARP

8. Select the correct outline for the word: quirk

/ KWEURBG

TKARBG

TPORPBLG

TPAOER

9. Select the correct outline for the word: perm

HARP

TPAOER

/ PERPL

PWARPBLG

10. Select the correct outline for the word: dark

KEWURBG

/ TKARBG

TPORPBLG

PWARPBLG

11. Select the correct outline for the word: darn

TKARBG

/ TKARPB

TPAOER

TKPWARD

12. Select the correct outline for the word: fear

HARP

TKARPB

PERPL

/ TPAOER

13. Select the correct outline for the word: harp

/ HARP

PERPL

TPAOER

TKARBG

14. Select the correct outline for the word: girl

TPAOER

PERPL

/ TKPWEURL

TKARPB

15. Select the correct outline for the word: guard

TKPWEURL

TKARBG

/ TKPWARD

TPAOER

Hi there!

I came across a video explaining how digital court reporting, specifically voice writing, is great option for stay at home parents, flexible hours, great pay etc. It seems all too good to be true. While doing more research it really seems the the voice writing would be insanely difficult for me and how my brain works. Digital seems ideal but is it really a scam? Two community colleges in my area offer self-paced programs that take about 6-11 months, are those as bad as the trainings I've seen people bash on in the community? Digital reporting seems to be accepted in my state and it seems like a line of work I am really interested in but not if its disliked by so many to the point that its useless/not accepted. Any and all feedback is welcome!

I'm about to start court reporting school

Wondering if anyone is selling their student writer machine

Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I would really appreciate some input here!

A little background... I enrolled in a couple educational courses this semester for Court Reporting school. It starts the week of August 24 and I just got the memo that I would probably be able to get an add code for the Theory A class since I've been waitlisted. The thing is, I won't know until the 24th, which doesn't leave much time for me to inform my job that I'll need reduced hours.

With the idea that I wouldn't be able to get off the waitlist for Theory A, I registered for Project Steno in October in place of taking a for credit Theory class at my school. I'm sure I can withdraw my registration considering Theory is a 6 credit course and I'm still working full time, but I still think Project Steno would be a great opportunity because of the provided CATalyst software and potential scholarships I can apply for.

ANOTHER issue is that the school only offers Theory B in spring semester, so my next opportunity to take Theory A is next fall and I wouldn't be able to sign up for a Theory class in spring at all.

Would you suggest I take the year to get my educational courses out of the way, plus complete Project Steno, A-Z and others and get some practice in until next fall 2027 OR should I take the Theory class this semester and hopefully move on to Theory B next semester? If the former, how do you suggest I practice on my own in the meantime? If the latter, are Theory classes going to be incredibly difficult to pass having never taken the basic online courses like A-Z or Project Steno? I'd hate to drop tuition money and end up failing a class I'd have to wait until the following year to retake...

I'm really conflicted with my timeline right now. I know that regardless, I will not take only 2 years to complete school because I still need to work almost full time, but will delaying taking Theory for a whole year make it much harder for me to finish within 3 or 4?

Thanks in advance!!

Hello!

I’m considering making a career change into voice reporting. I’m hoping I can get someone from Indiana to tell me a little about your experience voice writing? I’m having a hard time finding anyone mentioning Indiana….. so I’m taking that as a bad sign.

1. Is there enough work?
2. What does your typical schedule look like?
3. Where did you go to school?

Or anything else you feel may be helpful to help make a decision on whether or not this may be a promising field here.

This is a question for freelancers, preferably reporters from FL or other similar no-write states.

In your opinion, which jobs have the highest chances of there being at least an O&1 from one of the parties (excluding realtime jobs)?

Platintiff depos? Defendant depos? Personal injury? Med mal? Anything but workman's comp or EUOs?

I'm sick and tired of only getting appearance and cancellation fees and no reliable transcript income!

It is long, and boring, but I cannot help but leave it here, for it might lead to ideas far greater than I could ever come up with talking to a rock.

I'm considering voice writing programs, but my state (OH) isn't widely using voice writing yet. For the few people I know who are doing voicewriting depos in Ohio, their rates are ABYSMAL. I've heard that once you're CVR credentialed, you may be able to do freelance/remote work for other states, though I know the rules (i.e., notary requirements, which states need their own separate exam, reciprocity, etc.) vary a lot state to state.

For anyone who's been through a program: did your instructor(s) give solid guidance on navigating that side of things (which states are more voice-writer-friendly, which pay the best, what extra certs are worth pursuing, how the legal/licensing stuff actually works for remote depo work), or is that mostly something people figure out on their own after graduating? Trying to weigh programs partly on how much career-planning support they offer. Any insight appreciated!