Court Reporting School or Home Study? Which Is Better?
I got a question via email yesterday from a prospective court reporting student. I thought the question was interesting so I`ve posted it here for others to read.
I hope you can take a minute to help me do my due diligence in the cour reporting field. I am looking at going to school for Court Reporting, so I am contacting as many agencies as possible. I am in Arizona. When you hire reporters to you look for an associates degree or simply the state certification requirements being met? I am very torn between a 2-3 year program iwth a degree (AAS) or doing a short term home study course. Thank you for your time, your response is very appreciated.Dear KB,
-KB From Arizona
Thank you for writing to me! I personally think that court reporting is the best profession in the world! Maybe I`m biased, but I know no other career that affords as much flexibility and good pay as does court reporting.Now about your questions... When I hire court reporters to work for me they are actually independent contractors. They actually don`t work for anybody but themselves. They all receive 1099s at the end of the tax year. They are responsible to pay their own taxes throughout the year. (Remember what I said about flexibility!) But to answer your question, I do not care about an associate`s degree. I look for the state cert and professionalism and that`s it.
Not to sway you either way regarding the 2-3 year program versus the home study course -- BUT -- I`ve never met a working court reporter who did it through the home study method. Now that`s not to say they do not exist. They probably do and perhaps I`ve just never run into them. However, the vast majority -- in fact all -- of the working court reporters I know have all attended programs either at private or community colleges. I personally went to a private school and can attest to the program being a success.
(My school is http://www.southcoastcollege.com)
And I know that many people do very well from the community college programs as well.I guess in a nutshell, the advantage that I perceive about the AAS program is not the degree. It`s the focused intensity of the program itself. Again -- not to say you can`t be focused and intense on your own via a short term self-study course. You personally probably have the drive and the dedication to get through court reporting school or anything else. But maybe for a lot of people having the accountability and teacher support system that a school provides is key to getting out quickly and getting working as a court reporter.
Still, go with whichever one you think is the wisest choice for you! I`m rooting for you!
-Todd
08/07/2007
