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Court Reporting

Types of Degrees Court Reporting Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Court Reporting have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	150
Associate’s Degree	81
Bachelor’s Degree	1
Master’s Degree	85

What Court Reporting Majors Need to Know

Programs in Court Reporting develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Court Reporting graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Court Reporting emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.8 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Court Reporting program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Time Management — Importance 3 / 5; level 2.6 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Court Reporting careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Court Reporting graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Documenting/Recording Information	4.8 / 7
Working with Computers	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Processing Information	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.8 / 7
Performing Administrative Activities	3.5 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.4 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	3.4 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Court Reporting professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking	Voice recognition software	—
HTH Engineering Start-Stop PowerPlay	Word processing software	—
Stenovations Digital CAT	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
ForTheRecord TheRecord Player	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Stenograph Case CATalyst	Word processing software	—
Equative TimeLedger	Time accounting software	—
VocEdit	Word processing software	—
OMTI ReporterBase	Data base user interface and query software	—
Advantage Software Total Eclipse	Word processing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Court Reporting graduates include:

• Realtime Court Reporter
• Transcript Clerk
• Electronic Court Recorder
• Court Recording Monitor
• Court Recorder
• Voice Writing Reporter
• Judicial Reporter
• Court Reporter
• Digital Reporter
• Realtime Captioner
• Hearings Reporter
• Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR)
• Shorthand Reporter
• Recorder
• Court Stenographer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Court Reporting graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Postsecondary certificate	74.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	11.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	5.5%
Some college courses	5.2%
First professional degree	2.9%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Court Reporting?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 93.9% of Court Reporting degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	357	93.9%
Men	23	6.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Court Reporting graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	196	51.6%
Asian	18	4.7%
Hispanic or Latino	118	31.1%
Black or African American	21	5.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.5%
Two or More Races	4	1.1%
Race Unknown	20	5.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Court Reporting Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Court Reporting graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,277
4 years	$37,648
5 years	$42,965

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $42,965 — roughly 15% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Court Reporting Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Court Reporting. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	11	2
Bachelor’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Court Reporting Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Court Reporting graduates earn a median of $37,648 four years after completion — about 1% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Legal Support Services	22.03
Court Interpreter	22.0304
Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary	22.0301
Legal Assistant/Paralegal	22.0302
Legal Support Services, Other	22.0399
Scopist	22.0305

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.