How much does a court reporters and simultaneous captioner make?

The median pay is $34.82 per hour — roughly $72,500 a year, with the real range running from about $20.26/hr (10th percentile) to $62.77/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What does a court reporters and simultaneous captioner actually do all day?

Record verbatim proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks. Proofread transcripts for correct spelling of words. Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements.

Arts & Media

Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

Use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, retrieve, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information. Includes stenocaptioners who operate computerized stenographic captioning equipment to provide captions of live or prerecorded broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.

What it pays
Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners earn a median of $34.82/hr — about $72,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $20.26/hr; the top 10% earn $62.77/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

Record verbatim proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks.
Proofread transcripts for correct spelling of words.
Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements.
Provide transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges, lawyers, or the public.
Transcribe recorded proceedings in accordance with established formats.
Log and store exhibits from court proceedings.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).

The feel of the work

The work is mostly indoors; time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 25.6% of court reporters and simultaneous captioners are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused.

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Quick questions

How much does a court reporters and simultaneous captioner make?: The median pay is $34.82 per hour — roughly $72,500 a year, with the real range running from about $20.26/hr (10th percentile) to $62.77/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a court reporters and simultaneous captioner?: The typical entry-level education is: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
What does a court reporters and simultaneous captioner actually do all day?: Record verbatim proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks. Proofread transcripts for correct spelling of words. Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

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