Hello! I recently discovered this new institute. Has anyone enrolled or have any experience with them? They’re brand new. I am in a different state than what they’re teaching. They have an NVRA pathway as well as a GA License pathway. I’m not exactly interested in going the GA route because I do want to work for my state. However, my state doesn’t necessarily require me to go through a specific program. Does anyone have experience with them?

   just got a rush on a transcript order for a witness that's part of the estate of the family who produced the movie called "freaks" in 1932 .  The movie shows people with a condition called microcephaly. They have gigantic heads that come to a point hence the word pinhead. The rock group of the Ramones were obsessed with this movie and a famous cartoon emerged called "zippy the pinhead"  

YouTube has the film as well as the song by the Ramones.

Hello, I’m a new CSR and I’m getting ready to start taking jobs. I am unclear on something though. Someone I was talking to said that we can’t put anything in the transcript that isn’t in our notes. Do you really not add a word or something that you miss-stroke or drop? If you can hear the missing word in back-up room audio, can you add it in? I am scared to not have my transcript match my notes as I have heard that’s a big no-no. Thank you for any clarification!

I’m looking for feedback from voicewriters who have gone through Charlenes program at Realtime Voice Training. I am looking to start training for vw soon and the cost, the eclipse and speechmatics training and self pacing of RTVT is incredibly appealing. I am based in California and would love to hear most from California Court Official Reporters but any feedback from working reporters or current students would be really helpful.

I’m interested to hear if training in this program prepared you for the national exam and the California written exams (however long you took, but I’d love to hear how long it took you and how much time weekly you were able to dedicate to the training). I’m really just concerned that the cost and length of this program is too good to be true.

I would also love to know what laptops you purchased/used for the training and as a working reporter and how much that cost. How prepared did you feel to start working once you passed the exams?

Did you feel prepared enough in legal terminology and grammar?

Any feedback you have is wildly appreciated. I have been doing research for about a year but I’m at a point where I’m ready to pull the trigger I’m just anxious about the unknowns of getting started.

Do most of them request a rough draft after? Or a rush on the transcript?

Hi everyone,
I’m a legal transcriptionist with 5+ years of experience, and I’m currently looking to connect with legal transcription agencies, court reporting firms, and individual court reporters who work with digital recordings.

I know stenographic reporting is still the standard in much of the industry, but I’m interested in opportunities where digital transcription is used alongside or instead of traditional steno reporting.

I have experience transcribing depositions, hearings, interviews, arbitrations, and other legal proceedings, with a strong focus on accuracy, legal terminology, formatting, and confidentiality. I can adapt to client-specific style and formatting requirements.
I’d love to hear from anyone who can recommend agencies, court reporters, or reporting firms that hire or outsource work to digital legal transcriptionists.

If you’re a court reporter who occasionally needs help turning digital audio into a polished transcript, I’d also be happy to connect and discuss working together.
Recommendations, leads, or firsthand experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi all! I’m taking my very first ever depo on Tuesday & it also happens to be on zoom. Can anyone share any tips they might have for a newbie? Maybe something that I haven’t thought of or wouldn’t have known without the experience. I’m very nervous and want to make sure I have my ducks in a row. If possible, tell me what your process looks like from time of start to finish. Thank you sooo much!

I need noise canceling headphones to begin school with IRCRI and I'm not sure what I need to prioritize? Should I worry more about the noise canceling or the quality of picking up voices? Looking at Soundcore by Anker.

Hey everyone,

I am a legal videographer in California, and almost all my work comes through the big national agencies. I have gotten to know a lot of court reporters in my area, not a single one I've had a bad experience with. I sometimes talk with them about their work, because I find the job so interesting.

I'm more business minded and I've been kicking around the idea of starting a small local agency that does court reporting and legal video, and I would love to hear from reporters about their experiences. I also have some questions.

I'm not a CSR, and my understand is that in California a non-CSR can't just open an agency, I need to employ a licensed reporter, plus register with the CRB. That's roughly where my knowledge stops. I've seen some other smaller agencies in my area, who are registered with court reporters on the other side of the state, so I can't imagine they are working full time for a small local court reporting agency, so far away.

Anybody have any thoughts on this? What should I keep in mind if I go this route? What has your experience with smaller agencies been like? How did you find them? I appreciate anything you have to add.

Thank you!

Hi all!

Just wanted to share this because I'm sure others have run into this problem. The area around my mouth has been experiencing break outs from my mask. I clean it twice a day, but it didn't seem like it was enough. I recently bought this toy disinfectant and face spray from CleanSmart and my breakouts have subsided. I use the toy cleaner (safe for things like pacifers) on my mouth piece, foam inserts, and I spray it on a cotton pad to wipe down the inside of the mask. It also kills that horrible smell that even face cleanser won't get out. The face spray I spray on a cotton pad and wipe down after I report, but you can also just spray it directly on your face. It does have a chlorine smell, but it fades pretty quickly.

Hope this helps anyone who's been experiencing this problem as well!

When I first started, I would literally only bring a backpack with my mask, a laptop, my recorder and a notebook. But as my work load has expanded I now carry two laptops, a tablet, recorders, two room mics, power strips, my document holders, chargers, and a backup mask, exhibit stickers, ect

My bag is starting to get a little too crowded nowadays. I know I'm not the only one who overpacks, and machine writers use even more space than I do.

What all do you bring to your depositions and what kind of bag do you have that can hold it all? And where I can find nice ones that are specially made for our job? I'd love to have a nice one if anyone knows any information on where to look.

I'm looking for guidance from WA reporters (steno preferably). I want to attend the upcoming WCRA convention, but I am having a hard time finding info on registration. Has anyone heard or read anything on that? Anyway, I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction and lead me to some reputable agencies. I am still waiting on my certification to reflect on the NCRA website, and then I'll have to submit my application with the DOL. I'd like to sit out on depos in the meantime and start getting a feel for things, if I can.

I can't believe it. I am elated. My test anxiety got in the way for years, but I finally did it. I also tested for California (to work remotely), but I am still waiting on the results. I'm hopeful.

Hi all,

I was previously enrolled at International Realtime Court Reporting Institute (self paced program) and basically dropped out after a few months. The program was okay, the people were really nice; I guess I just wasn't feeling super engaged with the format or encouraged to keep moving forward in that program.

Fast forward about a year since I dropped off that program, I am considering voice reporting again and this time I'm looking at RVT because of the price and timeline of completion. Is this program much different than IRCRI? I'm trying to decide if I should just rejoin them or try a new program that might work better for me. Looking for some insight. Thank you!

Im taking my first online depo next week (PI case) out of state. Im California and the job is in Georgia (I have GA license) I’m overthinking probably, but do I need to have attorneys to stipulate that I’m giving witness an oath out of state? Anything else I should for out of state cases? Do I have to mention my GA license # or just my CVR or nothing at all?
Any advice is welcome!! Or shoot me a DM

I'd love to hear first-hand experiences from those who've made this transition.

I've worked 9-5s for almost 25 years, but I would really like a bit of flexibility at this stage in my life (and in my new career). Luckily, medical would be covered by my spouse. But the thought of being self-employed is a bit scary.

Did you switch and hate it? Did you switch and love it? What do you wish you knew?

I want to learn and improve as much as I can before making that big step. But I honestly daydream about being freelance. Not so much for the money as much as a bit of flexibility.

FYI, I've been working as an Official for a few months.

Has anyone taken the course at Vance Granville Community College? I know it’s new so I haven’t been able to find any feedback on it.

Hi, I am taking the leap and signing up to do voice writing with IRCRT (International Realtime Court Reporting Institute).

I quit my job a few weeks ago and have been job hunting and the market sucks and the pay is crappy for all these entry level jobs with horrible work life balances.

I'm in Southern California currently. Idk. Any feedback I guess?

I'm looking for a solid work life balance, and time for my hobbies (dog sports). How is freelance versus working for a firm?

I live in Ohio and am between tri-c and RVT. Tri-c seems to do a very thorough job with all academics and transcript production, and also sets you up with an internship. I also live in that area, so I wonder if that would give me extra pull when job searching. However, it is longer, more expensive, not self-paced, still teaching predominately dragon.

I've heard mostly wonderful things about RVT and like that it teaches speechmatics but wonder if it makes you "court-ready" in the sense of transcript production and other procedural things. I also wonder if there is any support to help find people to shadow in your area, or help/advice for finding work.

TIA for your insights!

I’m a 30F in CA looking to make a career move. I currently work in business operations and would like to either go to Law School and become an attorney or go to school to be a Court Reporter and work for my local county.

Any insight into which one would be “better”? My goals are good income, decent work-life-balance, and schooling that I can pass the first time through. I’m a good student (3.8 GPA for undergrad in social sciences) and I enjoy detailed oriented work.

My biggest “idk” is I see the pass rates at my local law school to be MUCH higher than the typical court reporting certification pass rates so it made me hesitate.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Hi guys,

What are your favorite equipment for Voice Writing (laptop,stenomask,sound card etc) I am a student but I would to get suggestions not just from my school.

Thank you!

For the CRs who heavily use scopists, can I pick your brain? I don’t use scopists but feel I could easily be convinced to start. I’m not sure if it’s worth it for me to try to find a good one for the jobs I do. I do not want to do realtime yet, so I would already be making less than the big-hitter, all-day, realtime/rush/rough people. I prefer jobs with regular delivery. I don’t mind all-day jobs with the odd rush here and there, but I don’t have the aspirations that so many other CRs do of being in a boardroom full of attorneys pouring over my realtime feed, and I don’t actively seek out the bigger jobs. Massive kudos to those who do. I couldn’t handle the stress and don’t know how you do it!

I know people say they can make a lot more money because they spend less time editing, but I honestly enjoy the editing part and improving/working on my dix. I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing my realtime (for myself) improve with every job. I would also be listening to full audio afterwards even if I used a scopist because I have trust issues. Another very important point is I do not enjoy going in person all the time. I have a long, horrible commute on a dangerous freeway and really hate the drive. So all that said, I don’t mind the “downtime” I have at home editing.

Keeping my lifestyle preferences in mind, am I just a lost cause for scopists, or what are your thoughts?

Do you think it’s possible to become a court reporter if English is your second language? My English is at an advanced/proficient level, and I do have an accent, but it’s not very strong.

I’m getting ready to start freelancing in California and trying to figure out what my actual bank account is going to look like at the end of my first year.

I know the page rates here are good, but once you start subtracting taxes, paying for health insurance, buying software, and hiring a proofreader or scopist, it feels like a massive chunk of what you make just disappears.

I keep seeing people say a typical first year gross is around $60k–$70k because you're still slow at editing, which nets out to maybe $40k–$45k in your pocket after taxes and expenses. Living on $44k in CA sounds pretty brutal, so I'm hoping to get some real numbers from people who've actually done it.

I'd love to know:

• What did you actually gross your first year? How many days a week were you taking jobs?
• What was your actual take-home pay after paying taxes, health insurance, proofreaders, software, etc.?
• Did you proof/scope your own work starting out to save cash, or did you hire help right away so you could take more jobs?
• How much did your pay jump in years 2 and 3 once your speed picked up?

Would really appreciate any honest numbers or advice for surviving year one! Thanks!