What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners in the U.S. earn more than $72,420 a year — the middle 80% land between $42,130 and $130,560. About 12,870 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$72,420typical pay / year
12,870people in this work
$130,560+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Keeping the record4
Transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings
+Transcribe the full pretrial and trial audio into a certified, time‑stamped transcript, resolve unreadable…
Transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings
+Transcribe the full pretrial and trial audio into a certified, time‑stamped transcript, resolve unreadable steno by replaying flagged segments, accurately mark exhibits, and deliver the rough draft to the lead attorney by Tuesday for review.
The tools that do the workAdvantage Software Total Eclipsejob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Transcribe the hearings in court
+Transcribe the courtroom hearing audio into a verbatim transcript with speaker IDs and line numbering, flag…
Transcribe the hearings in court
+Transcribe the courtroom hearing audio into a verbatim transcript with speaker IDs and line numbering, flag sidebars and bench conferences, run a second-pass playback for accuracy and send the draft to the presiding attorney by end of day.
The tools that do the workCheetah International SmartCATESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
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Proofread transcripts for correct spelling
+Proofread the completed transcript for correct spelling of proper names, legal terms and case citations,…
Proofread transcripts for correct spelling
+Proofread the completed transcript for correct spelling of proper names, legal terms and case citations, compare disputed passages to the audio, apply style corrections, and return a certified final transcript to the filing attorney by Thursday noon.
The tools that do the workAudioScribe SpeechCATMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements
+Ask the witness and counsel to repeat or clarify any inaudible statements on the record immediately, state…
Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements
+Ask the witness and counsel to repeat or clarify any inaudible statements on the record immediately, state the time and context, and annotate the transcript with the clarification and who provided it before continuing.
The tools that do the workAdvantage Software Total Eclipsejob descriptionsO*NET
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Fixing1
Attend depositions, hearings, proceedings, and other events
+Attend the scheduled deposition and hearing, record verbatim testimony with exhibit handling notes and…
Attend depositions, hearings, proceedings, and other events
+Attend the scheduled deposition and hearing, record verbatim testimony with exhibit handling notes and realtime flagging of objections, then upload the session audio and a rough transcript to the case folder within four hours of adjournment.
The tools that do the workCourtpagesjob descriptionsWikipedia
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The daily work15
Type court orders for judges.
+Type Judge Ramirez’s signed order from my rough stenograph notes into a clean, numbered court order, match…
Type court orders for judges.
+Type Judge Ramirez’s signed order from my rough stenograph notes into a clean, numbered court order, match the case caption exactly to the filed complaint, add the judge’s signature block, proofread for dates and statute citations, then save final PDF to the case folder by Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Operate stenocaptioning equipment for live or prerecorded broadcasts
+Run the stenocaption feed for the prerecorded hearing, ensure speaker IDs match the hearing exhibit list, run…
Operate stenocaptioning equipment for live or prerecorded broadcasts
+Run the stenocaption feed for the prerecorded hearing, ensure speaker IDs match the hearing exhibit list, run a 5‑minute caption sync test, log any audio dropouts with timestamps, and export the closed caption file and a plain transcript after the broadcast.
The tools that do the workCheetah International SmartCATjob descriptions
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Certify transcripts as accurate and verbatim accounts
+Certify the transcript of the June 2 hearing as a true and verbatim record: compare stenograph notes to the…
Certify transcripts as accurate and verbatim accounts
+Certify the transcript of the June 2 hearing as a true and verbatim record: compare stenograph notes to the draft, correct obvious stenotype mistranslations, add my certification paragraph with signature and date, then save signed PDF and send certified copy to counsel of record.
The tools that do the workAudioScribe SpeechCATWikipedia
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Administer oaths to witnesses (if authorized as a notary)
+Administer the oath to witness Sarah Lopez at 2:30 p.m.; confirm her ID, record the oath wording and my…
Administer oaths to witnesses (if authorized as a notary)
+Administer the oath to witness Sarah Lopez at 2:30 p.m.; confirm her ID, record the oath wording and my notary commission number on the transcript, sign and date the oath page, then file the notarized page with the deposition packet and notify both counsel by email.
The tools that do the workCorel WordPerfect OfficeWikipedia
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Maintain certification and licensure through relevant associations
+Renew my state court reporter license and national certification this quarter: gather my CE certificates,…
Maintain certification and licensure through relevant associations
+Renew my state court reporter license and national certification this quarter: gather my CE certificates, complete the renewal form, pay the fees, upload documents to the board portal, and add renewal expiry to my professional calendar with a reminder 90 days before.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookWikipedia
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Type in word processors or other software
+Draft the deposition transcript in a standard word format from steno file and synced audio, apply speaker…
Type in word processors or other software
+Draft the deposition transcript in a standard word format from steno file and synced audio, apply speaker labels and exhibit references, run a style and grammar pass, paginate, then export a searchable PDF and upload it to the case management folder.
The tools that do the workAdvantage Software Total EclipseESCO
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Issue the official hearings of the legal case
+Issue the official hearing transcript for State v. Ramirez, include hearing date July 9, assign official…
Issue the official hearings of the legal case
+Issue the official hearing transcript for State v. Ramirez, include hearing date July 9, assign official stamp and case number, confirm verbatim exhibits attached, file to the clerk and copy counsel by Thursday close of business.
The tools that do the workCourtpagesESCO
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Use free typing techniques
+Practice five 15‑minute free‑typing drills focused on courtroom shorthand, review error log from yesterday,…
Use free typing techniques
+Practice five 15‑minute free‑typing drills focused on courtroom shorthand, review error log from yesterday, and save clean text samples for tomorrow’s proceedings.
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Transcription methods
+Outline my standard transcription workflow: timecode insertion, speaker IDs, unresolved word notes, and final…
Transcription methods
+Outline my standard transcription workflow: timecode insertion, speaker IDs, unresolved word notes, and final proof steps, then run it on yesterday’s deposition to flag problem areas.
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Use stenotype machines
+Set the stenotype machine to courtroom dictionary, run a ten‑minute calibration with sample testimony, export…
Use stenotype machines
+Set the stenotype machine to courtroom dictionary, run a ten‑minute calibration with sample testimony, export the keystroke log and link it to today’s job file for error checking.
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Digitise documents
+Scan and OCR the bound exhibits from today’s hearing, attach searchable PDFs to the case folder, verify page…
Digitise documents
+Scan and OCR the bound exhibits from today’s hearing, attach searchable PDFs to the case folder, verify page order against exhibit list, and email counsel a download link by noon.
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Legal terminology
+Compile a one‑page legal terminology reference for the Diaz trial with court‑specific spellings,…
Legal terminology
+Compile a one‑page legal terminology reference for the Diaz trial with court‑specific spellings, abbreviations, and witness names, then upload it to the job folder for the team to use tomorrow.
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Record court procedures
+Record today’s evidentiary hearing from 09:00 to 12:30, capture verbatim proceedings, speaker changes,…
Record court procedures
+Record today’s evidentiary hearing from 09:00 to 12:30, capture verbatim proceedings, speaker changes, objections and rulings, mark exhibits and time stamps, and produce a rough realtime feed for counsel by 14:30 today.
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Court procedures
+Run the morning docket, record each docket call and bench conference with appearances, case numbers and…
Court procedures
+Run the morning docket, record each docket call and bench conference with appearances, case numbers and orders issued, timestamp the entries, and file the procedural log in the Diaz case folder before the 10:45 recess.
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Type error-free documents
+Transcribe the depositional transcript flagged for errors, proofread for grammar and legal style, correct…
Type error-free documents
+Transcribe the depositional transcript flagged for errors, proofread for grammar and legal style, correct stenotype translation mistakes, validate exhibit references, and deliver an error‑free final transcript by Friday 17:00.
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Says who?
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Activities this job lives in
The human activities behind the tasks — each with its honest AI ceiling.
The logs, files & records this job keeps
Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.
Related careers
Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.
The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses