Stenographer Continued…

A stenographer might work in an office taking dictation and typing letters and reports. A stenographer might also be employed by an author to record and type manuscripts for books, plays, and articles.

Other types of stenographers are court reporters, CART reporters, and stenocaptioners. Court reporters record legal proceedings and produce transcripts. Stenocaptioners create captions for television broadcasts to make them accessible for the hearing-impaired. CART reporters use a system called Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) to provide personalized service to hearing-impaired clients who prefer reading text to using sign language. A CART reporter accompanies their client to meetings, college classes, and other events as needed, and provides an instant translation of speech to text via specialized equipment linked to a laptop computer.

Stenographers may also use their skills for data entry, proofreading legal transcripts, and medical and legal transcription.

What is Shorthand?

Shorthand is a method of writing rapidly using abbreviations and symbols. Shorthand can be used to take notes or to accurately capture the spoken word. The stenographer can write shorthand with either a pen and pad or a stenotype machine, a device similar to a typewriter.
About 20 years ago, computer-aided transcription (CAT) was introduced. The CAT system allows a stenotype machine to be linked to a computer and to create an instantaneous transcript from the stenographer's shorthand. The continued development and refinement of voice- and speech-recognition software may further improve stenographic capabilities.
Education and Training

For an office stenographer the training provided in business school may be sufficient, but a court reporter needs two to four years of education. Accurate transcription for the courtroom requires not only speed and accuracy with shorthand, but also an understanding of grammar, familiarity with the law and legal terminology, and computer skills. In many states, a court reporter is required to pass a certification exam.

Stenocaptioners and CART reporters must learn to translate speech into text in real time, and also must be able to correctly interpret and spell the names of people, places, and things that may be discussed.

There are over 150 stenographer training programs at various schools, colleges, and universities in the US. Many schools offer distance-learning programs that allow students to attend classes over the internet.

Certifications

There are a number of different certifications available, reflecting various stenographic skills and levels of ability. Many of these certifications require continuing education. There are also professional codes of ethics for court reporters and stenocaptioners that deal with impartiality, accuracy, and honesty.

By Carla Wakeman