What Is a Stenographer and How to Become One
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What Does a Stenographer Do?
As a stenographer, your responsibilities are to transcribe courtroom proceedings, depositions, other legal meetings, public meetings, or real-time closed captioning for a live event. Your duties are to quickly and accurately type testimonies to ensure that there is a record for posterity or so that those who are hard of hearing can easily understand what is being said. In this role, you typically use a stenography machine which is a specialized typing machine that allows you to type much faster and be more accurate than you would if using a traditional keyboard.
How to Become a Stenographer
To become a stenographer, you need to meet several professional and educational qualifications. Most court stenographers have a high school diploma or G.E.D. certificate as well as advanced training in court reporting and stenography from a vocational school or community college. Court reporting programs typically take 2 to 5 years to complete and include instruction about grammar, shorthand, phonetics, spoken word transcription, and classes focused on improving your listening skills. Many states require court stenographers to be certified. In general, you need experience and familiarity with concepts and practices in the field. Voluntary certification is also available for stenographers who work in captioning and other transcription-based services.
