Comment by Michelle | Tuesday, June 10, 2008
This message is for Todd-
I am a court reporting student at South Coast College, currently on a year long break after having my daughter. I had been in school for 1 1/2 yrs and was at 120 wpm when I left. Right now I am at a fork in the road between returning to SCC or Cal State Fullerton, and I am looking for some guidance. I am nervous about how long school takes and hitting a wall at a high speed and being stuck forever. My family tells me at least college is a sure thing.. and they worry about the changes in technology. I did read your blog regarding future voice recognition. I don`t personally know anyone that is a CR. I know you are very busy, but if you have a moment, please email me at MHolmes425@yahoo.com. I would love any mentoring or encouragement you could provide.
Thank you so much
Comment by Todd Olivas | Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Dear Michelle,
Thank you for writing and congratulations on your new daughter! While I can`t speak specifically to your personal situation, I can definitely say that FOR ME, this profession saved my life. I struggled with that same dilemma that you mentioned... regular college is a sure thing. You spend your time there, put in the required credit/hours, and they give you a degree. Not so for court reporting. It`s a self-paced program that depends on the individual`s own drive and motivation. Here is a little list of things that you should be doing in order to get out of school quickly:
•I will show up for school. Everyday.
•I will review my theory daily.
•I will type every test no matter what.
•I will start a practice club with some friends on weekends.
•I will allow other people to hold me accountable for monitoring my distractions.
•I will (if at all possible) enroll in both day and night programs.
•I will find a mentor, be a mentor…
Also, if you are having doubts about anything, please have a meeting with Jean Gonzalez the President of South Coast College. She is an awesome educator and motivator and I`m sure she can steer you right!
Best of luck!
-Todd
Comment by Jean Gonzalez | Tuesday, July 1, 2008
With preparing for our accreditation visit, I didn`t have a chance to view your write up of your South Coast College visit. Thanks for the kind words. I want to link the blog you wrote to our blog. How do I do that?
P.S. I just saw Robert Short today. I want to get both of you on our advisory board.
Comment by Todd | Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Jean, you could include HTML code like the following into your page:
(Just copy and paste that code)
Thank you!
-Todd
Comment by Susan Ricker | Thursday, July 22, 2010
I LOVE your blog! I`ve been checking in from time to time, between Court Reporting classes and my job, and do not get to it as often as I`d like - so I`m apologizing in advance if you have already answered this quesiton.
I`m at 190 Q/A and think I`m finally ready to invest in a laptop (I`ve been working on a desktop, both at home and at school). This is a big investment for me and I want to get it right.
Any suggestions? Things/features/etc. you would really suggest making sure you have?
Thanks!
Suze
Comment by Todd | Thursday, July 22, 2010
Hi, Susan. Thanks for stopping by! I would suggest you head on over to http://www.readback.org which is my Q&A website. There is a great bunch of reporters on there would can answer your question in a jiffy.
Comment by Ashley P | Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Hello:)
I stumbled across your blog on readback.org and I`m so glad I found it. Im in my 6th week of my first semester as a court reporting student. I look forward to reading your blogs and staying motivated throughout this process! I`m so excited! Thanks again :)
Comment by Todd Olivas | Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Thank you, Ashley! Keep up the motivation!!
Comment by Susan | Sunday, April 17, 2011
I am a scopist/proofreader/transcriptionist and I am seriously considering going back to CR/captioning school. However, it seems that everyone that I have approached in So. California with respect to my plan has some negativity to share about the industry and the direction that it seems to be taking. I`m very discouraged at the moment and feeling very lost. I`ve found several programs that are online which is what I would need but I`m afraid of investing financially in furthering a career that everyone seems to be telling me is becoming obsolete. Even if that were true on some level of CR, I honestly don`t see how it could be possible for captioning?CART but people have some pretty negative things to say about that as well. I really find myself at a loss as to what to do. I hope someone will respond with some positivity because it`s just all so discouraging.
Comment by Theresa Phillips-Blackwell | Thursday, January 31, 2013
Hi, Todd. I know you won`t remember me, but I also attended South Coast College, and you were actually my teacher in 120s. Anyway, I`ve been reporting now since 2002, and it`s been a great career for me.