I’m originally from California but right now I’m working abroad in Japan and will be abroad for a couple more years. I’m wondering how doable it is to be able to learn stenography while being located abroad.

I’m currently doing the NCRA A to Z program and am looking to attend West Valley College in the future (I have emailed them and they said it’s okay for me to attend classes because I still have a California address where I receive mail), and I’m also working part-time so I don’t believe these are issues, but I am a bit worried about having to procure an actual steno machine. (I believe those are the most important matters, but there may be other circumstances to consider that I’m not yet aware of.)

Moreover, I think I’ll be abroad for about 3-4 more years and would like to be able to start working soon after my return if possible. If anyone has any insight about any similar situations or could give me any advice or even say why this is not realistic, I would greatly appreciate it!

Hi! I’m an 18yr old college freshman, currently taking my gen eds at a community college while taking court reporting (stenography- theory 1) online at a different school. My plan for college is to major in business at a school like Fullerton and online art courses while in court reporting school.

Why business:

1. AI is constantly changing and improving. My biggest fear with stenography is one day it is taken over or stenographers only do the transcript editing and sign off and take a huge pay cut (the reason steno is so appealing is its high pay and need). I know I’m secure and will make good money for at least 5-10 years, but after that? If AI advances enough that it is used in the court room, what will happen to us? That is my first reason I want a business degree- so that I’m not left with nothing if I don’t do steno anymore. I can still use it when applying for jobs and make it easier to be hired.

2. I will try to take as many of the businesses classes as I can online so that it is easier and I’m not always running around.

3. I figured a business major may also be the most useful one to go with my other learnings (steno and art). With stenography, you can be a freelancing depo reporter where you likely need some basic finance/business knowledge, or a court reporter where you basically own your own little business selling the transcripts. Also, I want to sell my art- something that requires business knowledge since you literally are an entrepreneur. That leads to my next education:

Why art:

1. I used to always want to do art as a kid- but obviously the reality is art alone isn’t very secure, so Im not doing an art major. Art is my passion and I want to do something to improve in fundamentals and just overall, so I’m planning on taking courses from New Masters Academy (a self-paced online program) so that there aren’t specific deadlines or classes I need to stress over.

2. I would use the education to improve my art and actually sell it- not just for personal improvement.

And finally, why stenography:

1. I learned about stenography through TikTok and it seemed very interesting. I did the A-Z course and really enjoyed it. Now I am in (free) online (zoom) classes at a school here in California (in theory 1 and finished CAT basics) and so far it’s been very enjoyable and easy. I know that with speed building and other necessary classes, eventually it will become much more difficult. That’s where I’m concerned.

2. Court reporters make very good money and there’s a big need for them. I could get a job right out of school and start earning which is very appealing to me.

Obviously, I know this is very ambitious- but I am also a very good student. I am disciplined, organized, do my work, and pay attention in classes. I’m just worried that’s not enough. If you have any advice or opinions please lmk. Thank you!

Hi! I recently posted a question asking about taking another degree alongside court reporting school. Anyone who has taken both simultaneously (or if you know of someone or an influencer who has) I would love to chat with you! I am really confused/stressed about this topic as I’ve gotten so many conflicting replies about it. Anyone who could chat that would mean a lot!! Ty!

Hi all,

Pretty much per title, I'm considering whether this is something I want to pursue. In the brief research I've done so far, it looks like the pathway to actually get started here is pretty uncertain, given Canada seemingly only had a single school that taught captioning and court reporting and then stopped. I'm hoping for some insights on the following:

1. Is this something I would be able to get educated and qualified in while being in Ontario (I'd imagine this involves remote study)?
2. Is there actually work in Ontario, or would I have to move/work remote?

I would greatly appreciate any advice from people who know their stuff. Thanks :^)

does anyone have the magnum steno theory text book either the 4th or 5th edition? they are sold out everywhere! even second hand shopping has been incredibly difficult. obviously willing to pay for book and shipping. doesn’t matter if it’s written in or whatever. TIA!!

I’ll be a full time steno student when I start. From what I’ve heard it’s going to require a lot of time practicing/studying outside of class so I’m glad I’ll have to focus on it.

People who have finished: how long did it take you and if you had to guess, how much time did you typically spend studying or practicing

I know everyone goes at their own pace and it’s really impossible to predict but I’m just curious about people who have finished school and their experience.

Hi everyone! I soon will be enrolling in school in January of next year, i was going to enroll this summer but i had to postpone it due to financial complications. But I had a question regarding the official and freelance world of things. I know it's to early to think about this but this is a career I've been looking into day in and out Videos, podcasts of other reporters and speaking to working reporters and how their workload is and the steno world is for them in general. I just want to know what hardships are to be expected with both freelance and Official work

I'm a little put off with freelance as I am fearful mainly of the finance aspect and having to handle that with taxes and what not and also having to contact multiple agencies when in need of work whereas with official work you are guaranteed to have it without having to go look for it. I know it's high demand for Cr's regardless but it is nice to know that you don't have to stress about looking for work after becoming certified. Though the flexibility of freelance work just sounds so amazing and I see a lot of first years going the freelance route versus the official route.

I would love if the working reporters could give me a list of cons for both that I haven't already kind of listed and the pros of why you like it and why you'd prefer it over the other.

Oh and also how would you go about learning grammar rules, I bought the Margie Wake man Wells book I have no idea on how to use it effectively right now, It's pretty intimidating for me and I believe i need a better understanding of grammar before touching it. are there any other sources that you can recommend?

Hii I’m just getting out of theory and starting speed building! I’m probably at 40wpm starting out. My question is - I can’t find what a speed building dictation session should look like at this level. Mostly because I’m still trying to dig in my mind all these fresh new briefs.

For example (at these beginning speeds) I’m listening and writing then boom find a word I can’t seem to remember or I hesitate. Should I keep going and drop it or pause the dictation write it down and come back to it later? What should I be focusing on more at this point? Writing a stroke for every word or prioritizing briefs first? Hope that makes sense and I apologize if that’s a silly question!

Wife is wanting to get into voice writing as a side income/part time work. She would like to work on captions, interview transcriptions, closed caption, pretty much anything not live in the court room.

where would we start? can it just be with a good noise cancelling mic and some software? i've went into the rabbit hole and now more confused than anything.

does she need a training course to get good leads on jobs? anything you can help out with on advise the better. thanks all!

Hi y’all!
I’m an incoming steno student in California and I am getting ready to buy my first machine! (eek!) My school gave a list of options, and I wanted to ask if there were any standouts.

The list is as follows (all are recommended to be purchased used):

- Wave Student Writer
- Luminex Student Writer
- Cybra
- Mira
- Diamonte
- Protege

I will say that I’ve been seeing a lot of Protege writers for sale and I’m not sure if that should put me off. Thank you all in advance!

EDIT: Thank you guys so so much!! I am so glad to be joining such a helpful community <3

Hi everyone! I posted here about four months ago that I was working on passing my 140s. I passed them in July. Now I’m working on 160, but once again it feels so impossible. Feels like I’m not progressing, and when I am writing well it still feels like my fingers are flying at the speed of light and it’ll hard to imagine they could ever possibly go any faster. So I come to you, once again, just looking for words of encouragement. Specifically encouragement from anyone who got through school writing most things out. I brief as much as I can, but I’m also trying to focus on progressing without having to constantly add new briefs that I’ll forget in the moment while writing. So any insight, advice, or encouragement would be so welcomed!

Is anyone selling their Eclipse license? I’m currently a Case CATalyst scopist, but I'm thinking about making the switch. Let me know if you have one you'd part with for a decent price!

I saw a post like this from about 2 years ago, but I'm making a similar post because i need help.

I bought the StenEd dictionary (RTF file) and the textbook on October 7th. I have since received the textbook in the mail, but there has been zero contact regarding the dictionary.

I've responded to the confirmation email as well as submitted a request via their contact us email address, and I have heard zip back.

How long did you have to wait for your file to be sent, and what steps did you have to take to get it?

Thanks!

I’ve been considering going to school for court reporting. A few months ago there were plenty of open court reporter jobs available on the NJ gov website but I’m seeing none at the moment. Is this a sign of the market that NJ is leaning away from court reporters to digital reporters, AI 🙄, etc.?

Any insight before I sign up for classes is appreciated.

Is anyone selling their Eclipse license? I’m currently a Case CATalyst scopist, but I'm thinking about making the switch. Let me know if you have one you'd part with for a decent price!

What’s your favorite/most effective way of studying?

I am studying for the RPR WKT and this question is bothering me.

During a trial, the reporter may request information from

(A) the judge
(B) a juror
(C) an attorney
(D) all of the above

I would have chosen D but the answer guide is saying A. Is there something I'm missing or an explanation someone can give why it would be A ?

Hi I’m looking at moving to the DC area. Can anyone talk w me about basic stuff like notary requirement, do you even need to apply for a certificate of some sort since it’s a non cert state, and average rates?

I’m currently in a cert state so I have no idea how it works there. I know there’s some finnicky stuff w this area like # of lines on pages.

Any thoughts are helpful, would also love to make a couple friends that don’t mind me asking future questions that I haven’t thought of yet!

Looking to start this coming March at Mark Kislingbury school for machine steno. Anyone else gone there? What was it like? What was your experience? Thanks in advance!!

These are 5 minute tests in Ev360.

I use a formula to calculate the wpm based on acc:
=C1050 * MIN(1, MAX(0, (E2 - 50 / 47.5 ^ 0.78)))

Earlier on I was spamming 140 tests just hoping it would eventually 'level out' but then decide to drop down for better accuracy.

I consider below 83 a fail, and above 93 a pass (move up or down wpm) so I have a good bubble to practice in.

Some of the later transcripts in Ev360 are messed up and includes extra text, which is why there's a lot of 0s on the graph.

Any advice on bringing down the SD and being more consistent? The contents of the literary audio varies a lot, so it feels very very difficulty. whole lot of historical political mumbo jumbo

Just asking for ideas about what ppl think works

How in depth is it? I know they check credit, but how "clean" do they expect your credit report to be? Will a cleaned up credit history (paid off defaults from a couple of years ago) be a deal breaker? Do they interview family/friends?

Hey all,
i’m 26f single childfree psych graduate looking to shift gears from childcare. I have been an assistant teacher and bartender for the past 3 years but recently i’ve faced life-altering health issues and burnout from managing both simultaneously.

I’m currently working very part time and looking into some other options. After doing a lot of soul searching, I don’t think I am mentally or physically stable enough to pursue a Master’s in psych to become a counselor or teacher which was my original plan.

My main options rn are either radiography or stenography but i’m leaning towards stenography because i’ve always been interested in the legal field. I don’t think i’m equipped to be a lawyer but I still to this day watch depositions for fun and I took a couple of practice LSATs raw and got 165s on both. i’m also good at learning languages as opposed to science and math which makes me think i’m better suited for this type of role and would be more successful in steno school instead of radiography.

With that being said, i’m looking into pay transparency, what time management/work life balance and day to day looks like and insight on the field itself.
I have chronic health issues (pending MS and diagnosed bipolar 1) and in a perfect world i’d love to have the flexibility of freelancing and working when I have spurts of energy and also having the flexibility to travel as most of my family is abroad if that’s an option with this career.

Thank you so much for reading 🙏

I have been in school for a while and now suddenly my right wrist and forearm hurts.

During school, I would usually have a blanket over me or have a big jacket that acts as a padding underneath to support my wrists and for them to rest on. Recently, I have stopped using my blanket or wearing big jackets, and now my right wrist hurts.

I have my machine low around my crotch area and tilted slightly and where my wrists rests on my thighs. I’ve always had it like that, but now that I don’t do any sort of padding underneath my wrists and now my right wrist is starting to hurt really bad. my left wrist fine, but my right wrist hurts so much. It’s like numb and there’s so much tension.

I tried raising my machine and it still hurts and also I don’t write as well as my wrists aren’t supported and so it feels like my hands are floating and it feels weird. I tried not tilting but it still hurts. I don’t know what to do.

What do you guys think and recommend?

Hi all, I've been *TikTok influenced*, and I'd love to start school at the beginning of the year. I'm really drawn to steno, but I've heard/seen that voice schools are less expensive and less time intensive to get through.

I've been accepted to a relatively new voice school, True Script Court Reporting Institute. They're very slow to respond to emails, and their website is on again/off again active... it's seeming very scammy at this point, and I don't want to pay them until I can verify that I'm not going to loose out on my money. I did have a Zoom meeting with them and it all seemed legit, so I'll just wait until I get a response at this point.

Tell me if this exists- an online stenography program that can be done in 6 months. Is that realistic? I've heard that programs can be completed quickly, but the speed is what takes people so long. I already have a Bachelor's and I'm not looking to get another degree, only the skills and certifications. If a voice program can in actuality only take 6 months to get fully prepped to start working, I'd trade steno for voice.

I've been in contact with two local court reporting businesses (Utah) who sounded hesitant to recommend doing voice training, but at the same time one admitted that they do about 50/50 voice/steno depositions, and the other said that voice do most of the virtual work.

As far as schools go, what online options have good reputations and shorter times to completion? Who should I avoid? Suggestions and opinions on voice versus steno? I'd love any and all feedback.