r/stenography

Hello everyone! I am a 32 year old single mom, and I am looking into switching my career. I'm in CA. I have a job where I usually deal with court orders, depositions, lawyers and such so I know the processes, timelines and pace to a certain extent. I have never taken a stenography class though. From your experiences, is it too late to start? sometimes I feel I will not be capable of learning (based only on videos I watched while researching). I don't have a "bad" job per se, but I know that in regards to salary, I'd be doing much better. I just to improve my situation and be able to offer my son the best education I can. Thanks for reading :)

Hi everyone. I've been freelance for about 4 years for context. Lately I've kind of been losing my mind, and I seriously need advice on how to compartmentalize with this often overbearing and exhausting career.

I want to preface this by saying I am not trying to be ungrateful. I really am glad I have work and stable income and I don't want this to seem like I am taking it for granted. It's just that lately every time I've been able to take time off it is plagued by pages. I feel like I have no time to catch up in life at all

I told my firm to only schedule me 3 days a week. Somehow despite this every day of the week I am bombarded with emails, do this job, no wait that one cancelled, wait this one was backordered, this one is expedited, PLEASE COVER AN ALL DAY HEARING, etc. I can genuinely scroll through my email and see at least 10 emails per day even on days off.

My scopists have all become very busy too, so I feel like I have no support system when it comes to pages piling up. I have been working on most transcripts myself and my God does that consume HOURS of your time. Either way, I proofread everything because I sadly have not had great experiences with proofreaders and I feel very protective over the final product and want to ensure its quality myself. Maybe I am punishing myself that way.

Because of this I am really starting to hate this job, which I shouldn't. On paper, it's amazing, interesting legal cases, different locations every day (sometimes remote), freelance so I can dictate my schedule, yippee ! But somehow it seems even if I cut back my days, or I don't, or I send out pages, or I don't, it all ends the same way. My "free time" and all my weekends are spent in total guilt that I'm not actively working on pages, because I know I have to do it eventually anyway so there's no escape and I should "just get it done". I am losing enjoyment in things because I am so scatterbrained and constantly staring at calendars and lists constantly just trying to tell myself it's okay to not be working right now. It's just so all-consuming.

How do you guys handle this? Am I blowing this out of proportion? Am I doing something wrong that I could be doing better? Any and all advice is welcome!!!

Hey, I'm new here but have been home-studying steno for a few years now with StenEd materials. I know there's a lot of discussion about long vs short theories and the pros and cons of each. For example, a lot of people choose Magnum over other theories because it's "short", which I totally understand. But as a StenEd learner, why is StenEd specifically seen as a long theory? While they spend a lot of time emphasizing how to write things out, to me that's just the beginning and there's actually a TON of "short" writing (phrasing, briefs, etc.) included in the theory itself. Is there something I'm missing? Why is StenEd generally considered a "long" theory?

Edit: No shade to Magnum at all! I'm not trying to pit StenEd against Magnum at all. I was just using Magnum as an example of a completely "short" theory

I’m currently a dental assistant and have been in the dental field for about 10 years. We work extremely hard, but I honestly feel like dental assistants are some of the least respected people in the field, which has been frustrating.
I’m thinking about becoming a stenographer/court reporter and I’m curious about the culture in that profession.
For those who are stenographers/court reporters: Do you feel respected by attorneys, judges, and other professionals you work with? Do you feel like your role is valued and that people recognize how skilled and difficult the job is?
TY,

Hello,
I am currently a second year student, a year out from finishing my program at an online court reporting school. My speed is at 120 wpm and I’m doing considerably well balancing school and work.
For reference, I bought my Stentura Protege from Acculaw around 3 years ago. It was listed as one of the credible sites to purchase from.

Around two weeks ago, I began having problems with my machine connecting to my Case Catalyst.

I called Stenography tech support, who I pay for my monthly subscription, and the tech support person told me I should try getting a 9 pin cable to connect instead of using the USB cord (which was included w/my machine). I get one, I plug it in and it seems to work fine.
Fast-forward, school is starting Monday and I’m attempting to plug my machine up and it’s saying the same issue “Looking For Machine”. I call tech support and the same tech support person from 2 weeks ago tells me that “since our latest update, our program no longer supports your machine. It is not currently our top priority to update it so I don’t have a timeline to give to you as that machine is 3 decades old and only ‘older’ users use it so it’ll get fixed eventually but I can’t give you a date. I recommend buying a student machine from our website.”

I hang up. I call Acculaw, they offer $100 cash or $200 credit for the machine for parts. They tell me I should consider rent-to-own a professional machine, a Diamanté, which would require a security deposit of $1000, 89/monthly. I ask about cheaper options, he says another ‘lower tier’ one is about $500 deposit, 59/monthly.
I am a bit frazzled. I need help. What should I do? This could throw my entire semester off as each semester is 15 weeks and it could take weeks to get a new one.

My teachers are helping me but our Catalyst person simply said to update my system and my driver (which I’ve already done both) and “if not, and tech support is unable to assist her, there’s nothing more I can suggest.”

TLDR: Case Catalyst no longer supports my Stenture Protege, class starts today and I don’t have a working machine. What should I do?

*UPDATE
Thankfully, a user on here was able to help me and my machine is back working on the program so if anyone sees this, don’t feel discouraged and don’t be too hasty in panic buying a new one.

Hello Y'all. I was wanting to start the A to Z course and was wondering what kinds of I pad to get. Wanted to hear y'alls recommendation about which ones would be best fit. Thank you!

Has anyone bought a used Lumi II from Stenograph? I'd like to know how your experience went. I'm thinking of buying one from them, since they are selling it at the same price as Stenoworks' used Lumi IIs.

Thank you!

I'm about to start court reporting school

Wondering if anyone is selling their student writer machine

Thanks in advance!

I m like turning 18 in few months i want to learn stenography for being stenographer so which is best for ssc stenography where should i consider Like in ncr or online.

I just signed up for the first month with Careerluv. I emailed Laura with my name for Eclipse, and am having my new student onboarding on Zoom for Monday. The problem is I called the number to get my eclipse software. I was instructed to go to a website and fill it out. This was on Friday and I didn’t receive anything nor do I know what I’m supposed to be receiving? My guess is I may need the software for Monday’s Zoom to possibly go over how to use the software. I plan on calling again tomorrow, and resubmitting my info on website again. Can anyone let me know what I’m supposed to be receiving? A confirmation email, or anything? I’m so confused and feel a little left in the dark. Also, do I need the software before the zoom call? I’ll push it back if need be.

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!!

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!

For context I already learned theory and everything and did speed building for a few months until I took a break for a few months since March due to severe burnout. Now that it's been a few months, and my boyfriend and I moved into a new house so we have lots of space and my mental health is getting better since quitting my toxic job, I'm feeling ready to jump back into it.

With that being said, is it necessary to go back to school at this point? Or can I just pay for ev360 and finish it out myself? Before I took a break I just freshly passed my first 120 entering 140. I'm curious how realistic this is. I was with Allie Hall and I love and adore her so much, but as of right now if I don't have to spend the money I'd like to save if I can.

Edit: sorry forgot to mention I'm in CA!

Hi! Looking for advice! I'll try to keep this brief.

Over a decade ago, I was at a school for Steno. It then closed down due to the owner being shady with the money (which doesn't seem to be uncommon?) Anyway, though I tried to continue without the school, in the end I chose to drop Steno and focus on working.

Well. Now I'm in my 30s in a career I desperately wish to leave. I've dug my Protege out of storage and have it up and running with Plover. I've been amazed at how much my fingers remember. However, I can't find my books (I've moved like four times) so I can't refresh myself on the theory (Phoenix 2.0). Right now I'm on the fence about repurchasing them, because I can't find many (free) resources online.

I'm not opposed to incorporating a different theory, I've just been struggling with half-remembered theory, muscle memory, and a notepad full of briefs I found in my machine bag.

Additional info that may or may not be relevant: I completed theory courses, and was working on speedbuilding. I'm pretty sure I cleared 140wpm, but I did stagnate. Admittedly, I wasn't practicing as much as I should have.

So I guess I'm seeking advice from people who returned to Steno after dropping it, and Phoenix Theory users that either switched to another theory or incorporated one into the Phoenix they already knew.

Right now my goal is to remaster theory and do some speedbuilding on my own before I commit to a program to get me the rest of the way.

I really would appreciate any advice at all!

Hello everyone! I'm trying to drill larger numbers but I can't figure this out. How would you write larger numbers, with or without commas? Mark's book doesn't show me examples of how to write out more detailed numbers that doesn't end in all zeros. For example, I tried to write out 1253 like TWEFL/HUPB/TPEFT/THRAOE but it displays like "120053". Even WUN/THOU/TPEFT/TPOUR is "1,000 54". Even when I write out the number 1 as WUPB, it always displays as "one". I'm wracking my brain over here haha

I just heard about someone using a "ditto" outline that repeats the last bank. I'm also aware of "wildcard briefs" which can be used in various ways to complete a phrase. Do you guys know of any other techniques like this? Kind of interested to see what else is out there.

Hi all!

Baby steno here, just finishing the NRCA A to Z course and getting ready to start learning theory in earnest.

Does anyone have examples of how they used a paper planner while they were learning? I have an undated planner I’m going to use and a pretty good idea how I want to use it but just wanted to see if anyone had any genius tips or sections they used to keep track of things as they were learning.

Thanks!