Becoming a court reporter Miami Florida is an exciting step. You can expect to be certified in as little as 2 years and you’ll be in high demand. Even better is that you’ll have a very reasonable and stable salary.
What Salary to Expect as a court reporter Miami Florida
- Average annual pay is just less than $50k / year
- Top 10% earn above $100k
Clearly, your salary will depend on your certification and experience however, you can expect an average of around $50k for Florida. This will change per state and so, for example, some of the top Los Angeles and New York court reporters take home an average of $100k per year.
Advantages of Becoming a court reporter Miami Florida
- Flexibility
- In demand
- Variety
Flexibility
The best part about being a court reporter Miami Florida is that you can work with flexible hours because you can be a freelancer. Of course, you can also join a firm and this might be a good idea when starting out on your career.
High Demand
Interestingly, the average job growth rate for court reporters is around 9%. This is much higher than other professions so you can expect to be in constant demand. In fact, most people in the profession are nearing retirement age and sadly, these days, not many are considering becoming a court reporter in Miami Florida.
Variety
Being a court reporter Miami Florida is great fun because you’ll be constantly learning. There is such a wide range of cases that you could be working on. Don’t forget that you can also travel around the country, should you wish. Either way, you’ll never get bored and you’ll feel that you’re contributing something valuable to the legal profession. After all, court officers will rely on your transcript for making any follow-up reviews and decisions after any legal proceeding.
How to Become a court reporter Miami Florida
- Formal Court Reporter Program or Bachelor’s degree
- Florida Professional Reporters Certification
- Maintain Florida Certification
Like most states, Florida has clear steps for booming certified as a court reporter Miami Florida. You can easily research the top court reporter colleges although some of the names that stand out around Florida are: Miami Dade, Atlantic, and Erwin Technical Colleges.
Once you’ve completed your program then you can apply for your professional certification with the Florida Court Reporters Association. This course covers topics such as rules of the court, procedures, and how to actually produce transcripts. Of course, there’s a lot more they cover but you can expect to complete your certification within 1 to 2 years, depending on your commitments.
Once you have your certification, you must maintain it, very much like any other professional certification. You can easily do this through ongoing education and training throughout your working career.
Things to Bear in Mind
- Wellbeing
- Work-life balance
Becoming a court reporter Miami Florida is a very rewarding career with lots of advantages. Like everything though, there are some slight downsides that you might want to consider. For instance, the job requires you to sit in a chair for long periods of time during court proceedings. This can clearly lead to strain injuries. Nevertheless, you can easily counteract this with an exercise and stretching regime.
Also, some court proceedings can take all day and the officers need their copies of the transcripts immediately. You could therefore find yourself working late after the courts have ended. Naturally, this doesn’t happen every day though so as long as you’re willing to cope with an up and down schedule then you’ll be fine. Finally, don’t forget that you can also freelance and be in control of what work you accept or refuse. You’ll quickly develop a sixth sense for the type of court proceeding that can drag on for long periods of time.
Final thoughts on Becoming a court reporter Miami Florida
As you can see, being a court reporter Miami Florida provides you with a stable salary and lots of variety and opportunity to learn. There’s also something exhilarating about being the central figure of a court proceeding with everyone relying on your transcript. The lawyers will be making decisions based on that transcript. So, if this is the kind of responsibility you can enjoy then you shouldn’t hesitate.
Last but not least, you can be certified in just 2 years and the industry is in high need of new people. In this day and age, being in high demand is a luxury that’s hard to ignore. It’s also a great career for freelancing should you ever want more freedom in how you work. Don’t forget that once certified, you can travel all over the country and you can even complete your transcripts by the beach, for example. Either way, you’ll have a great career and you’ll never look back on your decision.