r/courtreporting

Some days I really love this job... some days it's the bane of my existence and I'm rethinking my entire life's choices.

Anyone who is looking to get in to make a quick buck... prepare yourselves. There's always going to be a week where everyone goes over their scheduled deposition time (and into your editing transcript time), everyone orders the 100-plus-page transcript, a rush, bad audio, choppy spoken word, the witness rambles and goes into page-long responses, crappy attorneys and poorly-asked questions leading to back-to-back confusion, hours on the phone with support because your software is acting strange. You're out of juice mentally and physically, so you just want to relax, but the transcripts are piling up and they're asking when it will be turned in.

I'm looking forward to the next fat check and the week I'm going to take off to recharge.

That was all. :)

Is there a better feeling than when the depo turns into a full‑blown audio demolition derby — overlapping questions, objections mid‑syllable, witness answering the wrong attorney, two people insisting “No, I wasn’t done,” and one guy who thinks shouting is a form of punctuation — and somehow still nail the readback like a seasoned Jedi.

Today I finish reading back this entire page of chaos, on the spot btw, and the room goes dead silent.

Both attorneys are just staring at me, processing what they actually said.

Then one goes, “Can you read that again?”
So I do.

The attorney was like "See. So now we've heard it two times."

And the other attorney, after hearing it TWICE, goes:
"I didn’t hear that.”

Anyway, if anyone needs me, I’ll be basking in the tiny, fleeting glory of being the only person in the room who actually knew what was said.

Can anyone please explain to me the cost of Speechmatics after we graduate from the student version. I understand the software cost about $6000, but do we also have to keep purchasing boost minutes? I’m sorry if it’s a stupid question, just genuinely confused. Or is that there is just a flat fee to cover everything. Is support also an added cost?

I feel like an imposter. I'm currently testing at 140/160 but I feel like I can't actually write at that speed. How did I get here? How can I pass tests but not actually write?? I feel severe guilt (?) and anxiety about it all.

Edit: Thanks, everyone. I'll try to stay positive. I'm sure you all k ow it can be difficult to do.

Sorry if this has been asked before. I'm halfway through BeST scoping school and trying to choose between these two CAT programs. I'm most concerned with having regular work for the next 10+ years. From what I understand, more court reporters currently use CaseCat but Eclipse is gaining popularity especially with speech writers who make up almost 50% of current court reporting students. Do you think this is accurate? Which do you prefer?