08
February
2021
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23:50 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Profession among best kept secrets … National Court Reporting and Captioning Week for 2021 is this week (Feb. 6-13)

Del Mar College program celebrating training and job opportunities for judicial reporters and captioners in Coastal Bend and across the country

Article by Melinda Eddleman

The profession may be one of the best kept secrets locally and across the country. Its impact by capturing the spoken word and translating what is said into readable, searchable, permanent text is invaluable. And, the profession is cause for celebration just before Valentine’s Day as the National Court Reporting Association (NCRA) marks their ninth annual Court Reporting and Captioning Week, which began Feb. 6 and runs through Feb. 13.

Themed “All you need is love and steno,” the NCRA’s 2021 weeklong celebration recognizes the importance that judicial reporters and captioners play and the viability of the profession.

Del Mar College’s Court Reporting program with the Public Service Department will celebrate this week, too.

“We’re reminding our students about the great career they are training for, so we have a virtual presentation to show to them that emphasizes all the great aspects of court reporting,” says Dolores Gonzalez, CRI, associate professor of Court Reporting and program director.

Using facts from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, the DMC Court Reporting faculty presentation will cover attributes associated with the profession, such as employment of court reporters and captioners is projected to grow 9 percent between 2019 and 2029, which is a much faster rate than the national average among other careers; about 1,400 job openings are projected for each year, on average, over the next 10 years; many court reporters earn well above the national median wage of $60, 130; and the variety of careers the profession can provide.

 Gonzalez says that the College’s program has approximately 75 to 80 students currently enrolled. “I also estimate that 90 to 95% of the jobs in the South Texas region, including official court reporters in the district and county courts, along with freelancers, are Del Mar College graduates,” she adds. 

According to the NCRA, court reporters earn more than $60,000 on average with an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 court reporters working across the country. And, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that job openings in the profession continue to outnumber job seekers.

As a Court Reporting program graduate, individuals can pursue one of the following types of jobs, including an official court reporter in a courtroom; a freelance reporter working for a single firm or as an independent contractor; a captioner for both closed and offline captioning that includes live television programming or as a Communication Access Realtime Translating CART) provider for the deaf or hard of hearing; or a scopist or transcriber to provide services to courts, firms or companies.

The DMC Court Reporting program offers training that quickly allows students to enter the profession, including an Enhanced Skills Certificate for Judicial Realtime/CART/Captioning, a Certificate in Information Reporting/Scoping, a Certificate in Court Reporting – Level II and an Associate in Applied Science degree in Court Reporting.

Learn more online about the College’s program at www.delmar.edu/degrees/court-reporting/index.html or contact the DMC Public Service Department at 361-698-1724.

 

 

About Del Mar College

Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.