With the rising costs of a college education and other detractors that can be discouraging for someone looking to pursue a degree in higher education, many often wonder if it is worth the time, effort, and expense to even try to take the first step down the path toward a good career. Many people look at the economy and the job market in the United States and think that it is as bad as it has ever been and that it will likely not get any better.
The truth of the matter, however, is that while the American job market is not quite as strong as most would like it to be, it is not as bad as many reports claim it to be. And one career that has proven itself a stalwart even in the worst economic times is that of the court reporter.
Court reporters are almost never not in demand and there is a very high potential for those who pursue this career to make six figures. Court reporting has gone largely unnoticed by job seekers looking to start a serious career or make a career change primarily because there is a widespread misconception that court reporting requires years of schooling. But the truth is that court reporters often only need a two-year associates degree and the demand for them is always high.
The National Court Reporters Association performed a study recently that found that the demand for court reporting professionals will exceed the supply by 2018. That means that by 2018, there will be nearly 6,000 new court reporter jobs available across the country. The NCRA’s director of marketing, Christina Llewellen, says that “the demand [for court reporters] never ends. If a court reporting student comes out with the skills that are required in today’s marketplace, he or she is certainly guaranteed employment somewhere in this country.”