Court reporters held about 20,800 jobs in 2014. The industries that employed the most court reporters were as follows:
Local government, excluding education and hospitals
34%
State government, excluding education and hospitals
32
Business support services
24
Many court reporters work for state or local government in courts or legislatures. Many also work as freelance reporters and are hired by law firms or corporations for pretrial depositions and other events on an as-needed basis.
Many court reporters must travel to various courthouses or offices in different locations. However, some broadcast captioners and Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) providers work remotely from either their home or a central office.
Because of the speed and accuracy required to capture a verbatim record and the time-sensitive nature of legal proceedings, some court reporting positions may be stressful.
Work Schedules
Court reporters who work in a court setting typically work full time recording events and preparing transcripts. Freelance reporters have more flexibility in setting their work schedules.