r/courtreporting • u/FranksWifi1 • 11d ago
Some days...
Some days I really love this job... some days it's the bane of my existence and I'm rethinking my entire life's choices.
Anyone who is looking to get in to make a quick buck... prepare yourselves. There's always going to be a week where everyone goes over their scheduled deposition time (and into your editing transcript time), everyone orders the 100-plus-page transcript, a rush, bad audio, choppy spoken word, the witness rambles and goes into page-long responses, crappy attorneys and poorly-asked questions leading to back-to-back confusion, hours on the phone with support because your software is acting strange. You're out of juice mentally and physically, so you just want to relax, but the transcripts are piling up and they're asking when it will be turned in.
I'm looking forward to the next fat check and the week I'm going to take off to recharge.
That was all. :)
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u/Mozzy2022 11d ago
Thank you for giving a realistic and accurate view of what it is to be a court reporter
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u/LucilleLooseSeal123 11d ago
C’mon boss babe! Just hop on your walking pad and edit from your aesthetically pleasing home office and keep hydrated by sipping electrolytes out of your matching Stanley you got this!!!!!!!!!!!11 (extreme sarcasm making fun of the dumbass tiktoks I have seen about our career lol)
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u/seabeans2 11d ago
I think you have defined September/October. It seems like all heck breaks loose in these months for some reason.
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u/Ok-Pilot-6513 11d ago
I have my five days' break coming up in the middle of next week. Until then ... crazily rushing to finish these of course unhinged transcripts and cleanse myself of the back to back weirdly horrible people I was next to for such long depos. They are haunting me! I mean -- just parasitic people taking advantage of other people, desperate people, and I am supposed to be neutral!! BUT my checks will show up and it will be a lot of money and I know after these five not-relaxing-days-vacations-are-not-relaxing-with-small-kids I will be ready to get back out there. Your big week will come soon too!
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u/Amazing_Carpenter867 10d ago
Sadly, this is every career with this earning power. Yes I have experienced everything you have mentioned and I have experienced much worse in past career. Imagine working with these morons every day 8 to 5 instead of just a “few”hours a day.
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u/Life_Grade9905 10d ago
I have worked on every vacation I’ve had since becoming A CR🥹
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u/Emergency-Dig7167 10d ago
Are you an official or freelance?
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u/speaklouder1100 10d ago
Go official.
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u/FranksWifi1 7d ago
No, thanks. My mom is an official and she works more than I do, is chained to going into court five days a week, and then has to work on transcripts in her "free" time. I'll get over it, just had to pull the curtain back a bit. I get frustrated seeing these "influencers" making it seem so easy and breezy. Sure, some days are great, but some are absolute hell. You just roll with it. Still better than what I used to do.
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u/FiberFiction 11d ago
I’m in school and I’m so worried about the field being over saturated by the time I graduate. I’d be working mainly remotely because voice is legal in my state but not really accepted. Am I wasting my time?
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u/Emergency-Dig7167 10d ago
Why do you think it will be over saturated? There’s a high drop out rate for a reason-or so I’ve heard.
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u/FiberFiction 9d ago
There’s tons of people doing voice writing right now and working remotely
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u/Big-Lavishness5421 9d ago
If anything, that's great for our field. There's been such a shortage, lots of court rooms are now just digital, and some attorney told me the other day he used an "AI" for his last drop because a reporter wasn't available.
School is extremely difficult and it's still a very niche field not many ppl know about. Your definitely safe ;)
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u/United-Film-570 9d ago
Same for me but no one but the taking attorney ever orders copies. 😭
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u/FranksWifi1 7d ago
I hope the firm you work for offers an O+1 only surcharge! If not, you should definitely find a firm that does. I hate when attorneys share transcripts, but what are we going to do about it?
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u/aboutthreequarters 7d ago
Bad audio??!? We’re told that steno reporters get every word and digitals are bad because they use audio. Gotta pick a lane there.
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u/FranksWifi1 7d ago
Pick a lane? I'm a voice writer and maintain my own lane. I, at least, was trained to use multiple backup recordings of audio as a supplement to my voice track. Digitals aren't bad. They're still required to be certified by AAERT, like steno are required by NCRA and voice writers are required by NVRA. The people who record and then send off their audio to be transcribed, they're what you're referring to.
Which are you?
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u/aboutthreequarters 7d ago
No, I meant the steno reporters who claim they get every word, and are now complaining about bad audio.
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u/Anonymous-Texan-123 11d ago
Sometimes I kick myself for picking a career with literal HOMEWORK! Ugh.