Speaker 1: It's a profession you may not have considered, but one that could pay you six figures without a four year degree.

Speaker 2: Yeah, in some markets like Houston, there is a tremendous need for court reporters. This morning, our Rochelle Turner explains everything you need to know about that profession.

Speaker 3: Ready? Moved into your college dorm or apartment, it's time to move back out. This speed test competition, listening keeps you focused, but accuracy wins the game.

Speaker 4: Without packing up your entire life being thrown into the mix, these court reporters are hard at work writing each word they hear. First, create an essentials list. This is a room full of court reporters. They're the folks responsible for recording every spoken word during court proceedings, and they do it lightning fast using a device called a steno machine. So if you look at the keyboard, there's consonants and vowels and consonants and probably 50 percent of what you say. I'm taking it syllable by syllable. The role of a court reporter is critical during trials, both criminal and civil. I know right now there's a shortage of court reporters nationwide that it once did in great abundance, although there is no magical number of how many positions that need to be filled. Organizations like the National Court Reporters Association want more people involved in the career. This is what I want to do. Caroline Coronado is the official court reporter for Judge Michael Inglehart and the 151st Civil District Court. She's been a court reporter for 26 years because I love the English language and the grammar punctuation.

Speaker 5: I was good at that in school, so I enjoyed it. So I said, you know, I love typing. I love a great challenge.

Speaker 4: Coronado always knew she wanted to be in the courtroom.

Speaker 5: We want to ensure that everyone, all the parties know that we are impartial and we're here just to do our job. So we're not for one side or the other. We're here to make sure that what happens in the courtroom is going to be documented correctly.

Speaker 4: And just because you're trained as a court reporter doesn't mean you have to stay in the courtroom. It's a versatile role that includes being a freelancer. You can also work with people who are hard of hearing or work in the United States Congress. Catherine Thomas is a captioner.

Speaker 6: One of my jobs is to go to school with a student that is deaf or hard of hearing. And I'm almost like their personal captioner. I caption the class directly for them so they can participate just as fully as a hearing student.

Speaker 4: The opportunities are endless. It typically takes 18 to 24 months to earn a certificate or degree from a court reporter program that can cost between four and twelve thousand dollars, depending on the state you work in. On average, court reporters can earn more than sixty thousand dollars a year.

Speaker 7: The salary is is very, very good. I mean, you know, when you compare it to even some of the careers that that do require a four year degree, you're making sometimes a lot of the time even more than than somebody that does have a four year degree.

Speaker 8: In certain markets, there's not that need, but in other markets, there's a tremendous need. So if you look at federal federal reporters, state reporters that are working in the state judicial system or the federal judicial system, they are dying for members and those jobs pay six figures right out of the gate.

Speaker 4: So another perk of the job is being able to set your own schedule or even travel for work. But this isn't the only alternative to college. There are other successful career paths that you can explore without earning a bachelor's degree. Take a look. We have real estate agent, carpenters, firefighters, sheet metal workers, electricians, occupational therapy assistants, web developers, air traffic controller. There is just so much. But we had the most incredible time, me and my photographer, Vladimir Moquette. We went to the National Court Reporters Association. They have an annual convention and it was in Houston this year. We saw thousands of court reporters and we spoke to hundreds of people, I mean, so many people and got to hear their story. So it's a really neat opportunity if you're just not feeling, you know, if you want to go to school, but if you love writing, if you love listening, this may be the perfect career for you because, you know, there's a need of so many court reporters everywhere. And you can pretty much work when you want, where you want, in other states.

Speaker 1: And the world's been changing so fast, people are looking for new opportunities. And maybe a change. Maybe it's time for a change.

Speaker 2: I'm always so curious watching them in court when we cover stories in court. There's only a few keys and they're so fast, so fast. Yes. And you mentioned, what, six-figure salary to start.

Speaker 4: Yes, six-figure salary. Without all the debt that goes along with that, a lot of familiar deals. You go to like a, you go to one of these court reporting schools where they teach you everything. And there's also, I'm going to link it to the story, but there's also several programs that will let you take home that stenograph, that machine you saw. It's not your typical keyboard. It's really different, but they will let you take that home for free to kind of get a feel to see if this is something that you want to do. So once you learn those different keys, you're set. But it's a very important job because when you are in the courtroom, you know, you want to make sure everything is balanced and that you have everything, you know, on the record. The official record, sure. They're so needed. So it's really cool. So have good listening skills. This was great. That's awesome. Yeah. Good morning. It was great to have you. It was great. And you're not done yet. Yes, there's more. Yeah, there's more. I'm going to be on the plus and I'm, you know, I'm excited. So tune in at seven and eight o'clock on KPRC two stream. And we're going to talk more about this exciting career that many people just don't know about. You know, it's a hidden gem. So, you know, I'm, I'm excited this morning. That's great.

Speaker 2: Looking forward to it. Looking forward to it.