How Certified Court Reporters in Whitby can Obtain Certification

certified court reporters whitby

Certified court reporters in Whitby can have a very well-paid career. In the first year, they can earn a starting salary of $40,000, and with more years of experience on their belt they can earn more or less $100,000 a year. Aside from the legal realm, court reporters can also find many opportunities that cater to their expertise. They can engage in translation services, in real-time and broadcast captioning services and more.

Court reporters today are required to obtain a certain level of education to develop specific skill sets and also have current knowledge of technology to become competitive in the marketplace. Typically, court reporters get a diploma for associate degree programs such as court reporting or stenography and then obtain licensure and certification.

Educational requirements includes proficiency in the English language, basic grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, as well as legal terminology. Those who wish to extend their scope to medical transcribing are required to learn general transcription. Most court reporting education nowadays will include training in stenography and voice writing software in order to keep up with modern technological developments,.

In Canada, only two schools are registered with the National Court Reporters Association, which is an internationally recognized group that identifies schools  from all around the world that offer high quality court stenography programs. These two schools are NCRA-certified, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and The Canadian Centre for Verbatim Studies (CCVS) located in Toronto.

Court reporters with certification have the greatest chance for career growth. Certification requirements will vary from state to state. Certified Court Reporters in Whitby, Ontario, for example, can earn CCR designation in any of these three certification agencies:

1. The Court Reporters' Association of Ontario (CRAO) – You must register and become a member of the CRAO and pass a two-part exam to earn your CCR designation. 
2. 
   The National Court Reporting Association (NCRA) - Take the NCRA Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) skills test that requires applicants to transcribe a two-voice question and answer at 200 words per minute with a 96% accuracy to earn CCR status. 
3. 
   Chartered Shorthand Reporters’ Association of Ontario - The CSRAO certification will require candidates to pass the NCRA’s Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) knowledge and skills test, plus a Canadian knowledge test.

There are numerous advantages once a person achieves CCR certification. It signifies a level of expertise and professionalism in the field of court reporting, a distinction that you can take anywhere that gives you a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Credentials and continued education are an essential part of becoming successful in this day and age.  Certification shows that a reporter has achieved a minimum of expertise in his line of work. It’s best to maintain certification annually, and also  to attain greater expertise through continued education to help you gain knowledge of new technologies and new ideas. In such a competitive and challenging industry, it’s very important for certified court reporters in Whitby to keep up-to-date and be well-informed of the field they work in, particularly in areas such as technology which changes so rapidly.