career change

[susan osborne]

Hi, everyone. I'm considering a career change. I've been a freelance court reporter for 17 years (back in my previous life). At that time, I had never heard of scopists; every reporter did their own thing, from start to finish. Anyhow, I left reporting and went to medical transcription, which is where I am now. I like transcribing; it's just the craziness of all the ESL doctors that is drivng me nuts. I'm wondering if there are any scopists who went from being a court reporter (or medical transcriptionist) into the field of scoping? What was the process? Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Sabrina]

Susan,

Hello! I was a court reporter for 11 years prior to becoming a scopist. I chose the career change so that I could be home with my newborn son at the time, who's know about to turn three. It's been kind of rocky trying to build a client base because reporters are reluctant to try out scopists, I've found. And from reading some posts on here, I understand why. I do believe that the scopists out there that have been reporters make the best scopists because we know what a transcript needs to look like as the end product.

Anyway, when I stopped reporting, I was using Case CATalyst, so that's the software I scope with. I have recently purchased Eclipse Edit and am in the process of getting trained on that. Good luck in your new career!

[susan osborne]

Sabrina,

Thanks for your reply. I would imagine that building a client base would take time. Are there firms that hire scopists and then assign them jobs, or do most scopists find their own clients? Have you found your clients locally or through other avenues? Do you now have as much work as you would like or are you still building your client base?

I think that previously having been a court reporter would be a really positive thing for a scopist. Producing a good transcript is more than just knowing where to put commas, etc.

Susan.

[Tina Givens]

Susan,

I am a reporter that took some time off a few years ago and scoped for about a year. I gotta run, but e-mail me at tmgscoping at charter dot net and I'll fill you in from my perspective.

[Sabrina]

Susan,

To answer your questions, I haven't found any firms that hire scopists and assign them jobs, but I have heard there are some out there. I have even solicited reporting firms and inquired about being "their" scopist, but I had no positive responses.

I have had the same clients for three years. I have two pretty regular clients and one that sends me stuff on occasion. I by no means have as much work as I'd like, and I'm always advertising somewhere. My son starts preschool (insert tears) this fall, and I will have a little more time on my hands, so I would love to have at least one full-time reporter. Sites such as this, I think, are great because networking, like in any business, is key.

You are so right, "producing a transcript is more than just knowing where to put commas." And as a former reporter, you definitely will have an edge over others in the field. Use that to your advantage, and good luck to you!

Sabrina Schneider
S.O.S. Scoping Services
www.sosscoping.com