Stenotech - The Court Reporting Store: Latest News

Where are the jobs now and where will they be in five years

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:34:40 +0000

The economy's current state might be better than it was in the tail end of 2008, but it definitely has room for improvement. The unemployment rate cracked 10 percent and companies continue to cut jobs. People want to find jobs now, and understandably so.

The march toward recovery is frustratingly slow, however, which means job seekers who are looking for work today also need to keep an eye on the future. Industries that aren't thriving today will bounce back and grow in the coming years. Therefore, you can job hunt now and still work toward your long-term career goals.

Where the jobs are now

In his new book, "Where the Jobs Are Now," Joe Watson looks at the industries that are hiring right now, despite the sluggish economy. Some sectors are booming because of increased demands -- some related to the economy. Watson identifies seven industries experiencing a boon right now: health care, biotechnology, education, green energy, government, security and information technology.

Why? Well, the answer is different for each industry. Right now, many professionals are returning to school to earn a degree, get a certification or brush up on the latest technology. Therefore an increase in education jobs, from the administrative level to teaching positions, makes sense. An aging population is putting more demands on health care workers and also emphasizing the importance of biotechnology. New technology and a cultural desire for sustainability are increasing the need for green technology. The reasons go on and on, but ultimately they all prove that certain needs don't disappear just because of a sour economy.

Which industries will grow

Meanwhile, for other industries, growth isn't happening just yet, but it will soon. The economy won't stay in its current state forever, and depending on the source, some people claim we're on an upswing right now. Regardless, throughout the next five years some sectors will rise above others, says Toon van Beeck, senior analyst for industry research firm IBISWorld. "Some industries on the list have taken a major hit during the recessions," he explains. "But as economic conditions improve, resurgence in global demand and rising commodity prices will boost conditions in those sectors."

"Some industries on the list have taken a major hit during the recessions," he explains. "But as economic conditions improve, resurgence in global demand and rising commodity prices will boost conditions in those sectors."

Perhaps you can't predict the future, but IBISWorld analyzed more than 700 U.S. industries in order to understand where the jobs will be in the near future. Based on IBISWorld's number crunching, here are 10 industries that will have the fastest employment growth in the next five years:

1. Voice over Internet protocol providers (VoIP)

2009 employees: 17,110

Projected 2014 employees: 34,850

Annualized growth: 15.3 percent

2. Private equity, hedge funds and investment vehicles

2009 employees: 35,200

Projected 2014 employees: 58,700

Annualized growth: 10.8 percent

3. Single-family home building

2009 employees: 435,000

Projected 2014 employees: 655,000

Annualized growth: 8.5 percent

4. Car and automobile manufacturing

2009 employees: 50,756

Projected 2014 employees: 73,950

Annualized growth: 7.8 percent

5. Environmental consulting

2009 employees: 122,922

Projected 2014 employees: 176,519

Annualized growth: 7.5 percent

6. Multi-family housing construction

2009 employees: 60,000

Projected 2014 employees: 86,000

Annualized growth: 7.5 percent

7. Search engines

2009 employees: 29,530

Projected 2014 employees: 40,850

Annualized growth: 6.7 percent

8. New car dealers

2009 employees: 750,825

Projected 2014 employees: 1,033,679

Annualized growth: 6.6 percent

9. Court reporting services

2009 employees: 271,843

Projected 2014 employees: 370,993

Annualized growth: 6.4 percent

10. Oil and gas machinery manufacturing

2009 employees: 45,169

Projected 2014 employees: 60,716

Annualized growth: 6.1 percent

Where the jobs are now

Which industries will grow

1. Voice over Internet protocol providers (VoIP)

2009 employees: 17,110

Projected 2014 employees: 34,850

Annualized growth: 15.3 percent

2. Private equity, hedge funds and investment vehicles

2009 employees: 35,200

Projected 2014 employees: 58,700

Annualized growth: 10.8 percent

3. Single-family home building

2009 employees: 435,000

Projected 2014 employees: 655,000

Annualized growth: 8.5 percent

4. Car and automobile manufacturing

2009 employees: 50,756

Projected 2014 employees: 73,950

Annualized growth: 7.8 percent

5. Environmental consulting

2009 employees: 122,922

Projected 2014 employees: 176,519

Annualized growth: 7.5 percent

6. Multi-family housing construction

2009 employees: 60,000

Projected 2014 employees: 86,000

Annualized growth: 7.5 percent

7. Search engines

2009 employees: 29,530

Projected 2014 employees: 40,850

Annualized growth: 6.7 percent

8. New car dealers

2009 employees: 750,825

Projected 2014 employees: 1,033,679

Annualized growth: 6.6 percent

9. Court reporting services

2009 employees: 271,843

Projected 2014 employees: 370,993

Annualized growth: 6.4 percent

10. Oil and gas machinery manufacturing

2009 employees: 45,169

Projected 2014 employees: 60,716

Annualized growth: 6.1 percent

Difference Between Briefs & Phrases

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:23:20 +0000

Court Reporting Contest - 280 Words Per Minute!

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:21:57 +0000

California Defeats ER Measure

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:58:54 +0000

CALIFORNIA DEFEATS ER MEASURE

In the wake of disparaging remarks made by the governor, California court reporters have scored a huge victory. On June 10, the Budget Committee rejected the Legislative Analyst's Office's proposal to replace official court reporters with digital recording and removed the language from the budget proposal.

As is the case in many states, budget concerns have hounded California. Governor Schwarzenegger took to the NPR airwaves on June 8 to voice his distress about the budget and to cite examples of measures that could be taken to reduce the budget shortfall. Included among his ideas was a comment that court reporters could easily be replaced by digital means.

Despite this public belittling of the profession, court reporters in California continued to fight the proposal to replace official court reporters with digital recording and have scored this impressive victory.

NCRA President Karen Yates, CRR, CBC, CCP, praised the court reporters' efforts: "The Board of Directors of NCRA was delighted to learn of the victory by the reporters in California in the battle against the proposal to replace official court reporters with digital audio equipment in the state's courtrooms. Even in the face of a terrible budget crisis, and despite the ill-informed comments of Governor Schwarzenegger, the three associations in California joined together to accomplish their goal. We know that other challenges lie ahead for California's reporters. For now, we offer heartfelt congratulations on this success."

Nation Faces Critical Shortage of Certified Court Reporters

Tue, 05 May 2009 10:23:04 +0000

Many years ago some experts predicted that technology would cause a shortage of jobs for court reporters, leaving many in the career with no employment opportunities. In fact, members of the profession are in more demand today than ever before. Here are a few case studies showing how the opportunities are booming.

New York City - State Blunder Scares Away Certified Court Reporters

There are eight million people in New York City and only 405 of them are court reporters.

Several years ago the state implemented a pilot program to use electronic recordings in courts. Fear of losing their jobs to technology meant that few young people chose the career path. Training programs shut down and at one point only two schools in the city were offering court reporting courses.

After a substantial drop in student population, the state realized its error and has tried to correct it. Their actions have led to an increase in court reporting schools but there is still a critical shortage of reporters in the city.

Florida Doesn’t Learn from New York’s Mistake

Oblivious to history, Florida recently announced a similar program to use electronic recordings. Pinellas-Pasco judicial court spokesman Ron Stuart said, “I think this is inevitable and it’s progress. It’s going to be a more accurate system. We certainly have no plans to go back.”

Rick Greenspan, president of the Florida Court Reporters Association disagrees, saying, “The best voice-to-text machine that anyone ever developed is the live human being.” Many experts in the field are expecting the state to experience some shortage of certified court reporters.

Even the Bahamas is Suffering

The Bahamian government is facing a serious shortage of native-born reporters, turning to recruiting them from the US. There are only 33 reporters in the country and 18 of them are immigrants.

Many Bahamians attend court reporting classes at Kilgore College in Texas. One student said, “Many court cases go unrecorded because there aren’t enough court reporters. The shortage has created a large backlog in our court system.”

Career Opportunities are Everywhere

These examples are typical of the job climate all over the country. Massachusetts, Wisconsin, California and other states are all experiencing loss of critical court reporting services as students fear being replaced by a tape recorder.

The reality is that technology has only increased the opportunities in the profession. Television and web broadcasts will always need reporters capable of real-time closed captioning. Private businesses are finding more opportunities every day to employ reporters.

Courtrooms will always need certified court reporters as well. A tape recorder can’t ask a mumbling witness (or judge) to repeat himself or ensure that the names of everyone present are entered into the record. The reporter is the only person in the room focused on nothing but creating an accurate record of the proceedings.

Technology has never been a danger to the court reporting profession. Increasing job prospect and soaring salaries make this one of the best career opportunities around today.

Advantage Gets New Patent for the Upcoming Passport

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:26:01 +0000

ADVANTAGE TECHNOLOGY GRANTED PATENT FOR STENO MACHINE SHADOW-TRACKING

Advantage Technology, the developer of the Passport steno machine, has been granted a patent entitled "Electronic Key Depth Sensing Device and Method for Interpreting Actuation Levels of a Key Device." This technology allows the Passport to track the intensity of your "shadows" and to display them much as they would appear on steno paper. The shadow-tracking information can help the CAT software determine which keys were inadvertently pressed or not pressed hard enough, dramatically improving the accuracy of translation.

Man spat at Court Stenographer

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:15:09 +0000

FREDERICTON - A Fredericton man with hepatitis C who spat at a court worker during a court appearance earlier this week earned an 80-day stay in provincial jail yesterday.

Robbie Keith MacDonald, 30, of no fixed address pleaded guilty in provincial court yesterday to a total of five charges, three stemming from an incident April 2 and two stemming from a court appearance Monday.

Crown prosecutor Hilary Drain said MacDonald was in court in custody Monday for a bail hearing, after being charged with assaulting his mother and sister April 2, along with an associated count of probation violation.

MacDonald failed in his bid for freedom at that hearing, the prosecutor said, and he was clearly unhappy about it.

He gestured rudely to the investigating officer in court and as he was forcibly removed from the courtroom, MacDonald looked right at the court stenographer and spat at her.

That constituted an assault, and with it came another breach of probation.

The steno wasn't struck, the prosecutor said, but his actions were of concern, as he contracted hepatitis C due to past drug use.

Hepatitis C is a communicable liver disease that can lead to liver failure.

MacDonald's arrest arose as a result of aggressive behaviour at his parents' home April 2.

Drain said his family was trying to get him to behave when he placed his sister in a choke hold, exacerbating a neck injury she'd already sustained.

MacDonald did the same to his mother.

Duty counsel Joseph FitzPatrick said his client's behaviour last week was the result of drug use and a child-like inability to control his actions.

Judge Mary Jane Richards said spitting at someone is repulsive.

A letter from MacDonald's parents and sister that was filed with the court yesterday clearly shows they care about him, the judge said. They indicated they'd be willing to take MacDonald back in if his behaviour improves.

Richards sentenced him to 30 days in jail on each breach of probation, five days for the assault on his sister and 15 days for spitting at the steno, for a total of 80 days.

Richards also imposed 12 months of probation for MacDonald's assault on his mother.

She asked MacDonald if he wanted drug treatment and counselling included as conditions of his probation.

The accused declined, noting he wants to leave the area upon his release from jail.

"No, I want to go to Whistler, B.C.," he said.

SSC’s Court Reporting Students Pass State Certification

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:09:23 +0000

SSC’s Court Reporting Students Pass State Certification

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 2:03 PM CDT

The South Suburban College Court Reporting Program announces three local students who have passed the December 2008 Illinois Certified Shorthand Reporter Examination (CSR) to become licensed professional court reporters in the state of Illinois:

Jennifer Altepeter, a 2006 graduate of Andrew High School and resident of Tinley Park;

Jackie Doyle, who attended Reavis High School for three years but graduated from Edgerton High School in Wisconsin; and

Charlene Carlson, a 1999 graduate of Lincoln Way Central High School.

The CSR is a very demanding, nerve-wracking examination which only true speed champions can pass. The CSR includes five minutes of Testimony material at 225 words per minute (3.75 words per second), five minutes of General Dictation material at 200 words per minute, and a written knowledge exam. Out of 1,125 total words, candidates are allowed only 57 errors.

“To bring these ladies up to speed they practiced almost daily for three years completing thousands of hours of speed-building’” said Don Dalton, Court Reporting Coordinator. “I congratulate them on their outstanding accomplishment; they should be proud.”

Reporters are in high demand and may work in areas such as judicial reporting, broadcast captioning, steno interpreting and web casting. In addition to the excellent earnings, court reporters have opportunities for travel, exposure to high-profile cases, and self-employment. Court reporting has always been a recession-proof profession as the wheels of justice must continue to turn even in difficult economic times. Program graduates are able to choose from many positions after they pass their certification exams.

Following their certifications, Jennifer Altepeter took immediate employment at Jensen Reporting Service in Chicago along with Jackie Doyle, a mother of three who is expecting her fourth child in June. Charlene Carlson is weighing her options and has not yet decided where she will take employment.

SSC’s Court Reporting program was recently granted the maximum term of approval by the National Court Reporters Association. At the exit interview, the visitation team referred to SSC’s court reporting program as a “premium program.” All of SSC’s Court Reporting classes are held at the University and College Center in Oak Forest - 16333 South Kilbourn Avenue, Oak Forest, IL. For more information, contact Don Dalton at 708-596-2000 ext. 3216.

Funny! Court Steno Stand-up

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:36:50 +0000

Menopausal and pooped, the court steno ends up at the Hollywood Improv; Kathy Taylor

Can You Read That Back, Please!

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:28:42 +0000

A great example of what goes through a court reporter’s mind sitting in court all day.

CLICK HERE to watch the video ….