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I am interested in learning stenography and eventually getting a remote job. I am not native but I know B2 level English and I am willing to become fluent in English C2.

Is it realistic to become a stenographer and work remotely from another country? And what advice would you give someone starting

I just finished high school by the way.

I am a current steno student in speeds, working on 140. I’ve passed my 140 JC but now I’m working on Lit to be able to pass a test soon, I hope. I’m just feeling a little … inadequate? Because I feel like my fingers are FLYING at 140 and it’s really making me doubt how I’ll ever be able to get to 200+. I just want to know that everyone felt that way, too. That my brain maybe is perceiving my hands as flying but actually there’s a whole other level of flying that I’ll be able to achieve. I want to believe I’ve got this, but it’s hard not to doubt myself at times.

I started my steno journey 2 months ago but I still haven’t told anyone exactly what I’m doing - they just know I’ve been “studying”. I wanted to keep it to myself at first because I wasn’t sure if it would work out, and honestly if I had a choice I would just not say anything until I got out of school lol but that’s not possible for me.

I don’t know how to stop feeling embarrassed about what I’m doing. Probably because I’m investing all this time, effort, and money into something I’m not even sure will work out in the end. I feel like if I start telling people, I just have to bring up the high dropout rate and that most people take 2-5 years to finish, so I can use that as an excuse for if I fail or don’t get there within 2 years.

I’m also very bad at explaining things in general so I’m anxious about people asking me about stenography/court reporting, especially if they bring up AI. I’m not confident enough to talk about those things so I avoid telling people about what I’m doing. I feel like I need to memorize a list of things to say for if I freeze up.

How do I stop feeling like this?

Hello all! I am a three year court reporting student drop out and am now pursuing scoping. Are there any scopists using Case Cat that would be willing to answer some questions? Thanks in advance!

Hi! I stumbled across stenography work and have been considering it for some time now. One of my coworkers joked about it because I type fast, and I started looking into it. I assume a fast WPM on a qwerty keyboard wouldn’t translate to speeds on a steno machine because it’s an entirely new learning curve. I do have a 100-110wpm on a qwerty keyboard though! I would say I can consistently type at 80-90wpm for long periods of time.

I’m 24 and still finishing my bachelors, regrettably in a field that won’t make me much money (Music). I’ve already invested enough time into this program so I am finishing that just so I can finish undergrad, but would I have a good shot with stenography? Looking past the difficulties, it does seem like a nice job that needs more people in the field. My previous work experience consists of administrative and clerical position, and receptionist work.

hi all, i really need some advice on this bad habit i’ve picked up. when i was at lower speeds, my instructor told me when pushing 20+ words above your target speed, to get something for every stroke, even if it’s random. anything. well, the comma W-B has become that for me, and now i see myself just littering my writing with commas when i push speed. it’s like a nervous tick. it feels like i do it to keep momentum if there’s either a pause in them talking or a pause in my brain processing the next word correctly. for reference, i am testing at 180. the slower the speed from that, the less commas there are, in fact almost none where they are not supposed to be.

i’m trying to be more conscientious while writing at 180+ but that takes more brain power for me to stop it and slows down my speeds. my mentor gave me advice to spend 10 minutes at the end of practice each day to solely focus on dropping unnecessary commas which i am going to start trying. i know 180 is the speed where you just need to let your fingers connect to the sounds you’re hearing, completely bypassing the brain because hesitations happen there, but if i do that and let my fingers fly, its comma mania!! i don’t think it’s been slowing me down with passing my speeds, and i have been very good about editing commas out for tests. it’s never been a hindrance there, but in the future when i have hundreds of pages per transcript and thousands of commas, that may pose an issue.

if anyone has advice or has had a similar problem, let me know. i would really appreciate it!

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions for improving accuracy at higher speeds. I'm between 200-225 right now. I've been told repeatedly that accuracy will just come with time and not to focus on it as much as speed but I only have until the end of July with my school to be able to pass 225 QA tests. I feel like my writing is just a mess, even if it's still relatively or mostly legible. It just isn't good enough and I don't have a lot of time. Another factor at play is that I'm pregnant and some days my brain is just progesterone pudding. Any suggestions or encouragement would be helpful.

Hi there! Does anyone have knowledge about the repair and maintenance of vintage stenography machines? I am hoping to get this Stenograph Reporter Model from ~1947 as a gift for my friend. The seller has informed me that the wheel that advances the paper is only partially functioning and will need tightening, and that I will need to get my own ink and paper to refill the machine. Is this a task that requires specialty tools and knowledge, or could a beginner with a standard toolkit expect to be able to fix it up?

Top view of steno machine from Facebook Marketplace

Front view of steno machine from Facebook Marketplace

What I believe to be the same model, from Made in Chicago Museum

I know very little about stenography or repair projects like this in general, so any information or guidance is appreciated. Thank you so much for your time and have a lovely day!

***THIS HAS BEEN RESOLVED. THANK YOU SO MUCH***

Thanks, everyone, for the help! Amazing how quickly everyone jumped in—reminded me of school days. Glad the camaraderie is still alive. May your invoices always be paid on time, and may your only busts be the ones you secretly hope for when you’re all caught up and heading to the beach. Amen😄

Both of my laptops are running Windows 11.

Everything was working fine until I installed the latest Windows updates over the weekend. But now Case CATalyst will not recognize my machine at all.

Windows 11 appears to be actively blocking the USB driver. The driver isn't showing as corrupted or missing—the system is literally reporting that Windows has blocked it.

I've spent hours trying different fixes, and nothing has worked so far.

I can't call Stenograph because they're closed, and even when they're open, I've sometimes waited more than an hour to reach someone. I really don't want to risk not being able to work tomorrow.

Has anyone else run into this after a recent Windows 11 update? Were you able to fix it?

I am wondering what states reciprocate the RPR. Specifically states that don’t have residency requirements for to be notary in said state.

Hi, everyone! I'm a 200wpm steno student. I sat for the May 2026 RPR skills tests (just Literary & Jury Charge), and made a 92 on both my 180wpm Literary and 200wpm Jury Charge. So frustrating because it was so close!

I'm planning to retest in July for all 3 legs this time and see what happens.

For those of you who have passed any or all legs of the RPR, do y'all have any study / prep tricks that you'd recommend?

I realize there are similar questions on here regarding RPR prep, but just want to see what's all out there. Even if it's something totally random and weird, lol! Any advice is appreciated!

Thank y'all so much.

- Steno Student

Hi everyone! I'm looking for some advice here. I went to school & graduated with my court reporting degree in 2015. I did closed captioning for a little while after the fact & did some freelance reporting but i had a consistent job with benefits back in the day so i chose consistency over freelancing. I kind of want to get back into the field.

what recommendations do you have on coming back? i'm surprisingly still at 200wpm so i know i need more practice. i've been looking for remote opportunities or just more opportunities to spend at home to be with my kids. not sure how feasible that is, but wanted some insight!

Just checked out NCRA's free A-Z program based on advice I saw on an archived post. But when I looked into the program you need the machine as well.

I'm interested in scoping and I've seen a lot of reporters say that if a scopist doesn't know how to read raw steno they're not worth hiring. I'm a middle-aged l loser with a high school degree and I'm stuck in a bit of an abusive situation and have been for some time. I'm looking for skills that can help me gradually cobble together some work (not allowed to work unless it's from home, and with AI and everything all of the remote jobs I qualify for don't really exist anymore). I know that it would take a long time for scoping to come anywhere near supporting me, if it ever does, but I'm interested in it and I feel like it would be a viable option for supplemental income over time.

Tl;dr I don't have a ton of money and I want to learn how to read steno without necessarily having to learn to type it. Wouldn't be able to bring a machine in the house, and almost all of my time is spent in the house, so. Any tips?

Also, quick tangent, but with all the theories and all the individual briefs that y'all use...how do you ever read each other's notes successfully? Do you just kind of intuit your way through or does it get kind of nebulous in briefs-heavy writing?

I purchased it as advised by the pamphlet my instructors at West Valley College emailed us weeks before, but I haven’t received a download file, link, or email after my order was processed by the company. I only have the order confirmation email.

I’m not sure what to do in order to access the book for my classes in two days other than to wait for the first class to ask the instructor or find the answer on reddit.

Has anyone purchased it before and know how to access the online book?

I've seen those stenoob keyboards and they are way cheaper than a machine, but do they work for softwares? Would they work for a CR program as a student? I've asked chatgpt and apparently the "Pro 3" model is compatible with casecatalyst and works for RealTime but it'd be great if you guys could guide me

I know the court reporter does not offer read/sign for federal cases unless specifically requested. Most of my state cases the attorney usually will just say "we'll waive" or "we'll read" while still on the record without me having to bring anything up, but if they do not, is it the reporter's responsibility to offer it? I can't find anything clear in my state manual regarding whether it is the reporter's responsibility or the attorney's responsibility to offer read/sign.