Whether you grew up watching episodes of Law and Order or have just always had an interest in the legal system, you have many reasons to pursue a career that interfaces with law. But not everyone is cut out to be an attorney. If you’re interested in being in the courtroom for work but aren’t quite sure that you want to spend the time to become a lawyer, you’ll find a few options to get you into a career with law. One popular option is the field of court reporting, which also sets you up for success in other careers such as audio transcription. Here’s what you need to know about the day-to-day job duties of a court reporter.

Put in its simplest terms, a court reporter is responsible for creating a written record of all courtroom proceedings. Such a record includes verbatim transcription of anything stated by a witness, attorney, or by the judge. These documents may be referenced throughout the court case as a way of determining whether or not someone is staying consistent with their testimony, and in some cases may be grounds for perjury. A judge or attorney may ask for a portion of a report to be reread aloud by the court reporter, which can be especially beneficial during cases that last longer than a few days. As a court reporter, you are the official memory of the courtroom, helping all parties keep an objective, accurate view of the proceedings.

To perform their job duties, a court reporter will usually use specialized equipment for stenography to complete their work in a speedy and accurate manner. If you’re a fast typist on the computer, that may be a good sign that the field of court reporting is a good choice for you. Court reporters must be able to type at least 180 words a minute, although some reporters type closer to 225 words per minute. If you’d like to see how you measure up, you can find plenty of online typing tests to help you determine your current speed and accuracy. You’ll also find many online resources that you can turn to if you’re interested in bulking up on your typing skills.

Most court reporters are licensed in a few different areas, and their licensure will affect where they work and what sorts of duties they perform. Judicial reporting is one of the most common specializations for a court reporter to receive a license in, allowing them to correctly transcribe what happens in the courtroom. Many times, it’s helpful to have some local knowledge of the law, too, when you’re focusing on judicial reporting, as this can help you stay competitive in the field. For this reason, if you’ve recently moved to St. Augustine from Kentucky, you’ll want to brush up on local statutes before throwing your hat in the ring, because courtrooms will be more likely to look for court reporters in Miami and surrounding areas than from a different state.

By obtaining different licenses, you may even be able to expand your work beyond the courtroom, providing your services in transcription and typing to schools, churches, or community centers in need of closed- or open-captioning as part of their accessibility efforts. Some court reporters also take work as closed-captioners, working with TV studios and broadcast companies to provide closed captions during different televised events. Others use their skills to help the deaf community, as part of a program that provides Communications Access Realtime Reporting. Just because you start out in the courtroom doesn’t mean that you can only work on trials. Many people find that with the great pay and fulfilling opportunities afforded to them by becoming a stenographer, the sky’s the limit in their newfound profession.