Advice welcomed for a new scopist

[Robin Newberger]

Hello,

I need input from court reporters and scopists, please! I have been studying court reporting from home for a couple of years and want to start doing some scoping. I have a strong interest in scoping, mainly because I enjoy editing. Do you ever find yourself wishing you could correct all those atrocious spelling and grammatical errors you see online? This comes naturally to me. Who knows, maybe I'll enjoy being a scopist instead of a CR. By the way, I've been told that only one space is used following a period. It used to be two. This is a hard habit to break and I don't see why someone changed it in the first place! Anyway, I am eager to hear from you all on the subject of scoping.

I can read and write steno, I have Digital CAT, I enjoy editing and I possess a strong work ethic. How do I, as an inexperienced scopist start working? I would love to find a reporter who is willing to work with me and mold me. I am very teachable. I will not "guess" on something if I am unsure about it. I will always do the research. This is something I do even if I'm composing a simple email. It comes naturally to a person who respects the English language, her job and her reporter.

I welcome your advice and comments. I need your help to enter this field! I feel as though I have pretty much everything I need to work as a scopist, but I don't know how to put it all together cohesively. I don't know how to get started. Please share your experiences with me.

Thank you!

[Cathy McElderry - Internet Scoping School]

Robin –

It sounds like you have the makings of an excellent scopist! I wanted to let you know that our online school offers various modules that might help you get the jump start you are looking for. Our program is broken down into different modules so you only have to pay for the training you need. You can visit our website at www.scopeschool.com and check out the options available. It sounds like you might just need information on effective marketing which is covered in our Successful Professional Scopist module. In addition to our training, we also offer a mentoring program where we connect you with a veteran scopist who can help you gain working experience and they will also walk you through the first few wobbly steps of this new career. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to e-mail me directly at [e-mail].

It sounds like you’re going to be some lucky reporter’s dream come true!
Cathy

[Lois Whitley]

Robin,

I've been a scopist for 18 years now. When I'm looking for more work/clients, I first go through the most current NCRA Court Reporters Sourcebook for Case Catalyst reporters in my immediate area. I pick the ones that show e-mail addresses and send an individual e-mail to each indicating my services, fees, etc. I put as the subject line something like "Scopist Available" so that when I get any responses, it shows up right away and I don't delete the message thinking it's spam. I also market my services on various forums such as Stenograph, Yahoo Scopists, Scopists.com, etc. You can quickly find a number of scopist websites just by going through Google.

Good Luck,

Lois

[Robin Newberger]

Hi Lois-
Thanks for the valuable info. I really appreciate it.

[Karen A. Jones]

By the way, I've been told that only one space is used following a period. It used to be two. >>

Robin, you may find this in printed material, but it's not the case with transcripts. CAT software automatically puts in two spaces after a period. Now, if you want to change that, it's a mighty big task.

Good luck with scoping! It definitely has its advantages, but you'll make more reporting. It's just a personal choice. My advice for finding clients: Be as active as you can in all the reporting forums that exist.