Thanks for all of your interest in my profession...it's something that you see on the telly but really don't think much about until you actually meet a reporter....that's my experience anyway.
Keeping track of things...well, you have to be on your game. I'm pretty old school in that I don't use audio backup hardly at all. When I first began having a tape recorder was verboten. Then laptops came along and our softward has a recording option, and now our machines even can audio record. I definitely can see the benefit of having it, but if there is too much reliance on it, you're in trouble if that audio fails. You better be getting it regardless. I rarely stop people unless I absolutely have to. I find that it interrupts the flow and attorneys get frustrated.
Band, you are right. Reporters were mostly male years ago. They were trained in the military most of them....however, it started to shift in the 80s when women started training, and now it's mainly looked at as predominantly female profession. Far fewer men! I was planning on going to law school myself and even finished my degree. But honestly, when I looked at the cost of law school and what I would be making as a new attorney, it came up as thousands of dollars less.
I can tell you all that this profession pays well. It's one of the few that you can have without a four-year degree. However, the process to get here is not easy. Only 10 percent of people enrolled in court reporting programs actually finish. You have to be dedicated completely. But if you're successful and you're willing to work hard, your efforts will pay off. The good thing about this profession is you can work at home doing captioning, freelance or court work. It's pretty flexible.
If you have any questions, let me know..or PM me.
Thanks!
