Employment
Marketable SkillsThe work available for qualified CAT
reporters is very varied:CAT Court Reporter
(in Crown or High Court (Courts of Appeal))Real-time reporter
News Captioner / Theatre Captioner
Deposition (American-style)
Army courts-martial
Police disciplinary hearings
SFA Inquiries
Company meetings (AGMs, EGMs etc.)
Public Inquiries
Arbitrations
No one can guarantee work at any particular time, nor does one have a "job for life". There is, however, a shortage of good quality real-time reporters in the UK. Hence, many are recruited, with work permits, from Australia and the USA. Work is gained by approaching the many shorthand writing firms in London and elsewhere. Assistance in this regard will be given by the Principal, who is also a freelance reporter.
Few reporting firms pay students to train "for them". Initial training for verbatim reporting is undertaken by the prospective student at his/her own expense. Firms may consider taking on trainees once they have a speed of approximately 140 words a minute. Students should, however, be aiming for speeds of 200 + wpm with 100% accuracy of stroking as the computer cannot read a badly-stroked note. Sorene Court Reporting and Training Services can help students acheive this goal. Apply
All Stenographers provide their own input machine, but most firms with court contracts will provide software at their court centres or at their offices for the use of reporters. However, serious freelance real-time reporters should expect to provide their own notebook computer complete with software.
The latest state-of-the–art stenography machine produced by the Stenograph Corporation is the Stentura 8000 LX currently retailing at approximately £3,000 plus VAT, although second-hand machines are available. Advice can be obtained from the Principal as to the latest machinery available and, more importantly, information on which are obsolete!
CAT software varies in price but Stenograph’s Case CATalyst is approximately £3,000 plus VAT. It is possible to purchase Case CATalyst second-hand and pay a small transfer of license fee.
Fees paid to verbatim court reporters? This varies from £40 - £66 per day (+ transcripts) at some Crown courts (often full-time work for 240 days a year) right up to £300 per day (but not every day!) as a Real-time Reporter in the private sector! Real-time reporters are also brought in from the private sector to cover trials in the Crown courts.
Transcripts are paid for on a folio rate basis. 72 words equals 1 folio. An average court day may yield 400 – 500 folios. A good CAT reporter could provide a first draft transcript within minutes of the conclusion of the day’s proceedings . An edited transcript will take longer to proofread and correct by editing out untranslated material and inserting punctuation et cetera. At the moment 50p per folio is the lowest fee being paid for an edited transcript. Each firm however has its own rates for attendance and folios.
Fees payable in the private market (ie non-court work or write-outs in court) varies, but are usually higher than that paid under court contracts.
Stenographers are sometimes engaged on a "flat fee" basis ranging from approximately £120 to £180 + per day to include the transcript, if any. The stenographer thereby gains when the day is shorter and fewer words are spoken. The advantage to the body engaging the stenographer is that they know precisely what their costs will be, but so too does the stenographer. Cancellation fees, being a percentage of the day’s attendance, may also be negotiated in the event that a case "goes short".
With the help of Sorene Court Reporting & Training Service, you will develop the necessary skills to forge a fruitful and challenging career as a real-time reporter.
