By Gail Hochman, Court and Freelance Reporter: In this time when employment and career opportunities are scare, it seems difficult to believe that there is a new profession you can enter. Voice Writing, the method of court reporting whereby words are translated into text as they are spoken, is a career that offers financial security, independence and most important, continued growth.
Voice writing, in my personal estimation, is one of the best career options for the frum community. It offers much flexibility; you don’t have to work any day that you don’t want to and your earning potential is great. For a household that needs great income, as all frum people know, this is something that can really help.
There is an exploding demand for reporting services and an acute shorate of reporters nationally. Voice writers are in great demand at meetings and depositions. They can work as independent freelancers or in colleges and universities to assist the hearing impaired in their classes.
I would be most happy to schedule a demo for anyone that is interested in this exciting profession. Feel free to call me at 212-964-8500 or email me at [email protected]
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6 Responses
Many young and midage adults are now studying for this profession, and pleased with the p/t hours and decent salaries.
A few comments from someone who’s been in the court reporting industry for 25 years.
1. Voice writing is in very limited use. The firm I work for handles 125 depositions a day in NY alone, and not one of our clients would agree to use a voicewriter.
2. Voicewriters are generally only used at the very lower end of the litigation spectrum – simple accident cases, slip-and-fall cases, where the ONLY concern is cost. 99% of litigation above that would never consider voicewriters.
3. I thought YW doesn’t give free advertising?
4. I personally know two people who spent the $20,000 fee to get trained in voicewriting, and they told me it’s a complete waste of time. There is almost no chance of earning six figures with this profession. It tops out at about $50,000 a year – not nearly enough for most Frum households.
5. On the other hand, the top court reporter in the firm I work for will make $300,000 this year alone.
LESSON: Don’t take the “Easy way out,” and don’t believe the hype. Becoming a “real” court reporter will take more time, but the rewards will be much greater.
By the way – I’m not a court reporter 🙂
I know a yungerman in Brooklyn who is attending Brooklyn College speech therapy school. He will be able upon graduation to obtain part-time or full-time positions, either in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. This is a good thought for girls, too, since part-time means the women can see their children to school in the morning and welcome them home in the afternoon. And, if they work for the Board of Ed, they also have the public school holidays and vacation and retirement benefits.
Finally,
Anyone in the court reporting industry knows, (or any profession for that matter), that nothing can ever go out with simple spelling errors or mistakes.
So, Ms. Hochman:
“opportunities are scare,” I’m not sure what that means.
And I’m sure I don’t know what “an acute shorate” is.
🙂
Eliezer, this one is for you. I AM a working full-time voice writer unlike you who seems to know “eveything” about voice writing. At the moment I am making a six figure salary and I’m extremely happy with my job. I’ve never had a shortage of jobs. I am terribly sorry that your company as it so seems had a bad experience with voice writing and I am very happy that YOUR court reporter is doing so well and I hope my spelling is up to your standards.
For someone to comment on this profession when they themselves are not even a court reporter, I think is ridiculous. I have been in the field for over 30 years and have welcomed the changes that technology has afforded us. Why struggle to get through reporting school(I have taught in 3 schools for 18 years) and have seen very poor results. If technology can make it easier, let that be. I am so proud and happy to say we have produced working court reporters who are making a great income using voice recognition. Have a great day.