Career
Court reporters and simultaneous captioners
Record every word said in court and on screen.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Provide transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges, lawyers, or the public.
- Record symbols on computer storage media and use computer aided transcription to translate and display them as text.
- Record verbatim proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks.
- Record depositions and other proceedings for attorneys.
- Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
AI
BLS now cites artificial intelligence in this occupation's outlook: “share decreases as simultaneous captioning is increasingly done by artificial intelligence (AI), especially for video content.”
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then creation & expression?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Provide transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges, lawyers, or the public.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
Under 2 years of education after high school (postsecondary nondegree award), for a median of $72,420 a year and 1,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Voice Writing Technology/TechnicianCIP 10.0204
- Court Reporting and Captioning/Court ReporterCIP 22.0303
- Court InterpreterCIP 22.0304
- ScopistCIP 22.0305
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$55,570 · -5.2%
- Court, Municipal, and License Clerks$48,700 · +3.4%
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants$62,890 · -0.3%
- Word Processors and Typists$49,280 · -34.4%
- File Clerks$43,600 · -15.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.