Mounting student loan debt is a major issue among millennials, who sometimes spend close to $100,000 obtaining a four-year degree then find themselves unable to find jobs where their paycheck covers both their student loan payment and living expenses. Increasingly, students are turning to trade schools so they can receive career training at a fraction of the cost.
One trade school option that’s sometimes overlooked is court reporting school. To be a successful court reporter above-average written language skills are required, but a university degree is not. In contrast to a traditional college degree, court reporting schools have almost a 100 percent placement rate (according to a recent Forbes article) court reporting students graduate in two years instead of four, and with less than $20,000 in debt on average.
              Depending on the method of court reporting the student chooses (different methods have different technology and equipment costs), though, the student could obtain a court reporting certification for far less.
That sounds like an attractive option for the right students.
In addition, there is a long-standing court reporting shortage across the country. In some areas, such as California, firms are offering large daily bonuses to court reporters to cover depositions. State court systems have also felt the pinch and had to cancel or delay sessions of court due to the shortage. One North Carolina county was forced to delay a major criminal trial because a court reporter wasn’t available.
              So, how does one become a professional court reporter? There are few brick-and-mortar court reporting schools remaining, but many of the schools that remain offer an online option. This is good news for students who need to work full-time while attending school. North Carolina court reporters, including the team at Legal Media Experts, routinely mentor court reporting students in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The students shadow the reporters during every stage of a deposition, from scheduling to deposition transcript production, to gain hands-on experience while they finish school.
We are always looking to add to our team of professional court reporters and legal videographers. If you’re a court reporting student looking to work in Wilmington, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro, or Chapel Hill, we’d like to hear from you. Call our office at 910-777-5375 for more information.