Hey Christine. I went to CRID in Dallas online. I had just finished theory and was working on speed. I was just into my 80/100. I haven't practiced on my machine since I left school b/c I had gotten laid off from work and wanted to concentrate on getting back on my feet money wise. That's happened, thank God, and now I have to get up to 120 before I can reapply to CRID. Congratulations on reaching 140. I wish you much luck in reaching 225. I've sent a friend request and would love to chat with your more. I had a great b-day (the big 4-0, although I still feel 19!). I've had friends in town and I think I've drank more this week than I've had my whole life! But it's been a blast. Hope to talk to you soon. Have a great day!
Thanks so much for the b-day greeting. How far along are you in school? I had to take a financial break for a few quarters and I'm about to start back up on my machine to get ready to re-apply. I'm hoping to get back in school in the fall.
Hi, Christine. I'm so glad to be able to help you even a little. If I find the tripod, I'll let you know. I've searched everywhere I thought it could be, but maybe it will show up.
Dear Christine: How thoughtful to receive your card! As a new member, it makes me feel welcome to the CSR Nation network. There's so much to learn and share, so thanks again.
--Gail
It's online. If you're in the SoCal area, you can also go to get-togethers where you can meet other reporters. The Mentors-here's the link. Just click and join.
I don't mind at all being the "steno mom." I can't help myself. I'll apologize in advance because that's probably just the beginning of me sounding like a mom. :)
AND Candice did not start with the Stenomaster/Magnum theory. She started with the longest theory on the market and incorporated the theory into her own after meeting Clay and her "steno mom." :)
She really is amazing and bright and writes probably shorter than I do now.
So the reason why I told you that is you don't have to start with the theory to be successful at it, and your theory is an awesome start for tweaking. I don't think her theory was as easy to tweak as yours.
I talked to Dixie once or twice when I was researching schools for my son. Her school was definitely a front runner, but we ended up opting for Cypress with no regrets. It's an awesome, nearly free school, too.
Spread the word about the Magnum Steno Club to your fellow classmates. It's such an asset to you all.
Hi, Christine. Yeah, I'm another year older . I love your photo slides. It's very motivational. Also noticed you do scoping work. With your permission, I'm going to add you to the list of my backup scopists. As you may know, this profession oftentimes is either feast or famine, and when it's feast time, I can definitely use extra, extra help.
Wish you the best in your endeavors to become a CSR.
I am not officially signed up right now, but I was supposed to do it over the weekend and didn't. I have had a couple free looks.
When you go to a Mark K. seminar, he throws in a week free of the club. I listened to it a lot that week because I was home on vacation and so was rested. I've been doing this so long and have overcome some physical issues, so writing short is really a necessity to me.
You're probably getting close for the dictation, BUT I think you need to be at least up towards 180 or you might get frustrated. I get frustrated with the dictation, BUT if you follow Mark's teachings and his philosophy, the frustration will be worth it.
Why I think it would be great for you to join is he has a brief section and a lecture section. They both would be so awesome for you.
Since you're saving all the big bucks not going to Bryan, I think it would be wise to squeeze some money from somewhere and sign up. It's so cheap, $29.95. If you think of it as signing up for a class, I just don't think it gets any cheaper than that.
He has a lot of info archived that will keep you very busy.
I do think Bryan's theory works well with Mark's theory. By that I mean it will fold into it nicely in an endeavor to "write short, write fast," which is Mark's motto.
As far as my son, yes, I taught him Mark's theory right out of the chute. He got to 200 in two years, even though his school, Cypress College, held him back to finish up his academics.
His girlfiriend -- kind of ex right now, but anyway -- learned a very stroke intensive theory, Gonzales, Walsh, but when she met Clay, she started incorporating the Stenomaster theory, now know as Magnum Steno theory, into her writing, and she zoomed right up there so fast. She only had six errors on the CA CSR last October. Both of them are really doing amazing, and I keep pushing them to get faster and faster because I really think they can be successful one day in the national speed contest.
Yes, I'm a pain in the you-know-what, but I think they both love me anyway. :)
I'm trying to think what else you asked me. Just remind me if I forgot something.
Try to be on your machine every day -- even if it's just for a brief time on the weekends. Work on learning the briefs that come easiest for you.
I always recommend to students to start with the inflected endings being combined in the initial stroke. If you're coming back for the -g, -s, -es, -ed, stop it. :)
99% of the time they can be included in the inital stroke, especially after you start tucking the endings and learning a couple other tricks from Magnum Steno, like an inverted -T for -ed when a word ends in -D.
You should find a section in the book re this one.
Good luck!
Is Dixie the director at your school?
I think you're in an awesome place. I'm partial to community schools. I'm a community school grad myself.
One warning:
Don't spend too much time on the boards where it will take your time away from writing. It's great to stay abreast of the CR world and learn everything you can, but just don't let it take away from the time you have to be on that machine.
Good luck! I'll help you through to the end, if you'd like. It's really an awesome place to be.
I truly love this profession, and I've been reporting a couple of years now. :)
Oh, and I have this deal with the students I mentor:
If you don't see my mistakes, typos, poor grammar, spelling errors, etc., I don't see yours either. So no worries on impressing me.
If you're short on time, just get something down quick and get back to practicing. :)
So nice of you to add the comment on my blog about my son.
Long story short, I taught my son Mark K.'s theory, and he's excelled with it. He now teaches me. Nice turn of events for me.
He was set on doing depos, but when he received his license in December, depos were so slow. He tried quite a few months, and nothing popped.
So . . . when the window opened for court, he jumped on it. He's pretty much worked every day in court for -- I think it's about two months now, and I just don't think they're going to let him go.
He's working in Indio and Palm Springs, so stays out there during the week with his uncle and comes home on the weekends. He worked hard this weekend on an expedite for the trial he's doing. He also took the RPR on Saturday. I really can't believe how busy he is and how well he's handling it.
So glad you ordered the Magnum Steno book.
Did you get Mark's dictionary with it?
It comes with it, but you might have to ask for it. Clay started out with Mark's dictionary, and it was such an awesome tool for him. When you're wondering how to write something, you can have it at your fingertips to look up and see how Mark writes it.
Don't let the science section scare you and a couple of the other ones. I just glance at a couple of them and keep going, thinking someday . . .
I'm glad that you found what I had to say helpful to you and I'm glad that you're going to try CART. I really think that every CR/CR student should try it to find out how hard it really can be and how rewarding it truly is. I provide a service for people that have a hard time living in a hearing world. I think that's part of why I love my job. I have had a lot of students and other hearing impaired people that appreciate what I do and that makes me feel good. When a student passes their classes or gets their degree or license, I helped get them there. That is incredibly rewarding to me.
When I said I don't have to work as much, I did mean because I don't live in CA anymore. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't or don't want to work 40 hours a week either... I do something that I love and I could do it more a week if need be... I just don't have to and don't have to stress over not getting more classes. Does that make sense?
FYI... Colleges/Univeristies can be hard to get into. But if CART is something that you want to try, try seeking out an agency.
Please feel free to ask me any questions that you have. And please do keep in touch.
Thanks so much for contacting me. First of all I am a full time CART provider and I love what I do. Students are students and yes, they do drop classes. But I find that usually when a class drops, one will be added. Just like working for a depo agency, you should never just work for one. Same with CART, you should never just work for one agency, so that you can always pick up more work. You can also try to work for a college/university, which in my opinion is the way to go. Some colleges offer different things like benefits or saving for retirement. You will get steady work during the school year, but have Christmas and most of the time have summers off... which would be good if you have children. I usually save for those times and try and plan different things to do during that time. I have a friend who goes back to depos during that time. I have never had any desire to do depos and is not an option for me. You also do CART for other things besides classrooms, so you could do different meetings or things also during that time.
Your second question is really hard to answer because there are two schools of thought on that one. Some believe that you shouldn't even consider doing CART until you're licensed. I didn't do CART until I had been working in the field for over a year and a friend of mine told me to try it. I've worked with non-licensed CART providers and CSRs trying to do CART and I have found that some of the best writers I've worked with don't have a license. I've also worked with girls at 180, still in school, and they worked really hard and did a great job. I think if you're a strong writer, have a strong dictionary and are willing to work hard for your student by inputting words into your dictionary on your free time, then you could probably do a great job. The pros would be building your dictionary. The cons would be that classes can be very difficult and you have to be willing to admit that a class is beyond your reach. This is someone's education and education is expensive. They deserve to have someone who can do a good job and work hard for them. It's not about you making money while you try to put yourself through school, which is what a lot of CR students do. They just want to work and think this is an easy way to make money and I don't have to get every word. I guess that will lead to another one of your questions... yes, you should be as verbatim as possible, but you don't have to be. You're not sitting in a courtroom or a depo and if someone's talking fast, you can't say "Can you slow down, please." This a classroom and you can't participate or talk. So if a prof is talking very fast, then you have to do what you can do and get the gist of what the prof is saying. Accuracy is everything. Better to be accurate than to have stuff they can't read. I would never tell anyone it's encouraged that you paraphrase. The student deserves to know all that is being said in their class. This is their class, and you're not taking notes. Let the typewell writers paraphrase. Part of having a CART provider is the ability to be verbatim. But if a prof repeats himself, then you don't have to write it again... unless of course it's something that the prof really wants the students to grasp because it will be on their test. You will really know something like that by being in the classroom.
I write verbatim. Do I also paraphrase? Of course. Sometimes the profs are talking so fast one sentence will sound like a word and you've got no clue as to what they just said. You can't go back and say, excuse me, what did you just say? You will just have to pick up context and do the best you can.
If it is something that you're interested in, I would contact an agency in your area. I see you're in LA. I'm originally a So. Cal. girl myself and the three agencies I work for are out there in CA. I've worked as a CART provider for 8 years now and I've been doing remote for 3 1/2 years, and I don't work as steady as I would if I were onsite, but my life has completely changed and I don't need to work as much as I was when I lived out there and I can pursue other interests. CART was never an option for me in school. My pursuit was always court. But after doing CART and working as a hearing reporter... I knew CART was for me. I don't make as much money as most reporters make, but I do what I love and I have no regrets.
I hope that this has answered some of your questions... if you have anymore please feel free to ask. If you have any interest in it at all, I would say try it... you might like it. :)
Christine (Steno Nerd)'s Comments
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Marcie
Good luck with your 160!
Margaret
--Gail
The Mentors-here's the link. Just click and join.
Just stay steadfast and never give up. You're on your way to being a "Super Reporter!"
Keep me posted!
I don't mind at all being the "steno mom." I can't help myself. I'll apologize in advance because that's probably just the beginning of me sounding like a mom. :)
AND Candice did not start with the Stenomaster/Magnum theory. She started with the longest theory on the market and incorporated the theory into her own after meeting Clay and her "steno mom." :)
She really is amazing and bright and writes probably shorter than I do now.
So the reason why I told you that is you don't have to start with the theory to be successful at it, and your theory is an awesome start for tweaking. I don't think her theory was as easy to tweak as yours.
I talked to Dixie once or twice when I was researching schools for my son. Her school was definitely a front runner, but we ended up opting for Cypress with no regrets. It's an awesome, nearly free school, too.
Spread the word about the Magnum Steno Club to your fellow classmates. It's such an asset to you all.
Off to work . . .
Glad you like the Schroder pic! Wait until I get that next one finished ....
--gdw
------------------------
"For a Good (steno) Time ...."
http://www.cheapandsleazy.net
Wish you the best in your endeavors to become a CSR.
When you go to a Mark K. seminar, he throws in a week free of the club. I listened to it a lot that week because I was home on vacation and so was rested. I've been doing this so long and have overcome some physical issues, so writing short is really a necessity to me.
You're probably getting close for the dictation, BUT I think you need to be at least up towards 180 or you might get frustrated. I get frustrated with the dictation, BUT if you follow Mark's teachings and his philosophy, the frustration will be worth it.
Why I think it would be great for you to join is he has a brief section and a lecture section. They both would be so awesome for you.
Since you're saving all the big bucks not going to Bryan, I think it would be wise to squeeze some money from somewhere and sign up. It's so cheap, $29.95. If you think of it as signing up for a class, I just don't think it gets any cheaper than that.
He has a lot of info archived that will keep you very busy.
I do think Bryan's theory works well with Mark's theory. By that I mean it will fold into it nicely in an endeavor to "write short, write fast," which is Mark's motto.
As far as my son, yes, I taught him Mark's theory right out of the chute. He got to 200 in two years, even though his school, Cypress College, held him back to finish up his academics.
His girlfiriend -- kind of ex right now, but anyway -- learned a very stroke intensive theory, Gonzales, Walsh, but when she met Clay, she started incorporating the Stenomaster theory, now know as Magnum Steno theory, into her writing, and she zoomed right up there so fast. She only had six errors on the CA CSR last October. Both of them are really doing amazing, and I keep pushing them to get faster and faster because I really think they can be successful one day in the national speed contest.
Yes, I'm a pain in the you-know-what, but I think they both love me anyway. :)
I'm trying to think what else you asked me. Just remind me if I forgot something.
Try to be on your machine every day -- even if it's just for a brief time on the weekends. Work on learning the briefs that come easiest for you.
I always recommend to students to start with the inflected endings being combined in the initial stroke. If you're coming back for the -g, -s, -es, -ed, stop it. :)
99% of the time they can be included in the inital stroke, especially after you start tucking the endings and learning a couple other tricks from Magnum Steno, like an inverted -T for -ed when a word ends in -D.
You should find a section in the book re this one.
Good luck!
Is Dixie the director at your school?
I think you're in an awesome place. I'm partial to community schools. I'm a community school grad myself.
One warning:
Don't spend too much time on the boards where it will take your time away from writing. It's great to stay abreast of the CR world and learn everything you can, but just don't let it take away from the time you have to be on that machine.
Good luck! I'll help you through to the end, if you'd like. It's really an awesome place to be.
I truly love this profession, and I've been reporting a couple of years now. :)
Oh, and I have this deal with the students I mentor:
If you don't see my mistakes, typos, poor grammar, spelling errors, etc., I don't see yours either. So no worries on impressing me.
If you're short on time, just get something down quick and get back to practicing. :)
So nice of you to add the comment on my blog about my son.
Long story short, I taught my son Mark K.'s theory, and he's excelled with it. He now teaches me. Nice turn of events for me.
He was set on doing depos, but when he received his license in December, depos were so slow. He tried quite a few months, and nothing popped.
So . . . when the window opened for court, he jumped on it. He's pretty much worked every day in court for -- I think it's about two months now, and I just don't think they're going to let him go.
He's working in Indio and Palm Springs, so stays out there during the week with his uncle and comes home on the weekends. He worked hard this weekend on an expedite for the trial he's doing. He also took the RPR on Saturday. I really can't believe how busy he is and how well he's handling it.
So glad you ordered the Magnum Steno book.
Did you get Mark's dictionary with it?
It comes with it, but you might have to ask for it. Clay started out with Mark's dictionary, and it was such an awesome tool for him. When you're wondering how to write something, you can have it at your fingertips to look up and see how Mark writes it.
Don't let the science section scare you and a couple of the other ones. I just glance at a couple of them and keep going, thinking someday . . .
I'm glad that you found what I had to say helpful to you and I'm glad that you're going to try CART. I really think that every CR/CR student should try it to find out how hard it really can be and how rewarding it truly is. I provide a service for people that have a hard time living in a hearing world. I think that's part of why I love my job. I have had a lot of students and other hearing impaired people that appreciate what I do and that makes me feel good. When a student passes their classes or gets their degree or license, I helped get them there. That is incredibly rewarding to me.
When I said I don't have to work as much, I did mean because I don't live in CA anymore. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't or don't want to work 40 hours a week either... I do something that I love and I could do it more a week if need be... I just don't have to and don't have to stress over not getting more classes. Does that make sense?
FYI... Colleges/Univeristies can be hard to get into. But if CART is something that you want to try, try seeking out an agency.
Please feel free to ask me any questions that you have. And please do keep in touch.
Good luck in whatever you do decide to do.
Take care,
Dana
Thanks so much for contacting me. First of all I am a full time CART provider and I love what I do. Students are students and yes, they do drop classes. But I find that usually when a class drops, one will be added. Just like working for a depo agency, you should never just work for one. Same with CART, you should never just work for one agency, so that you can always pick up more work. You can also try to work for a college/university, which in my opinion is the way to go. Some colleges offer different things like benefits or saving for retirement. You will get steady work during the school year, but have Christmas and most of the time have summers off... which would be good if you have children. I usually save for those times and try and plan different things to do during that time. I have a friend who goes back to depos during that time. I have never had any desire to do depos and is not an option for me. You also do CART for other things besides classrooms, so you could do different meetings or things also during that time.
Your second question is really hard to answer because there are two schools of thought on that one. Some believe that you shouldn't even consider doing CART until you're licensed. I didn't do CART until I had been working in the field for over a year and a friend of mine told me to try it. I've worked with non-licensed CART providers and CSRs trying to do CART and I have found that some of the best writers I've worked with don't have a license. I've also worked with girls at 180, still in school, and they worked really hard and did a great job. I think if you're a strong writer, have a strong dictionary and are willing to work hard for your student by inputting words into your dictionary on your free time, then you could probably do a great job. The pros would be building your dictionary. The cons would be that classes can be very difficult and you have to be willing to admit that a class is beyond your reach. This is someone's education and education is expensive. They deserve to have someone who can do a good job and work hard for them. It's not about you making money while you try to put yourself through school, which is what a lot of CR students do. They just want to work and think this is an easy way to make money and I don't have to get every word. I guess that will lead to another one of your questions... yes, you should be as verbatim as possible, but you don't have to be. You're not sitting in a courtroom or a depo and if someone's talking fast, you can't say "Can you slow down, please." This a classroom and you can't participate or talk. So if a prof is talking very fast, then you have to do what you can do and get the gist of what the prof is saying. Accuracy is everything. Better to be accurate than to have stuff they can't read. I would never tell anyone it's encouraged that you paraphrase. The student deserves to know all that is being said in their class. This is their class, and you're not taking notes. Let the typewell writers paraphrase. Part of having a CART provider is the ability to be verbatim. But if a prof repeats himself, then you don't have to write it again... unless of course it's something that the prof really wants the students to grasp because it will be on their test. You will really know something like that by being in the classroom.
I write verbatim. Do I also paraphrase? Of course. Sometimes the profs are talking so fast one sentence will sound like a word and you've got no clue as to what they just said. You can't go back and say, excuse me, what did you just say? You will just have to pick up context and do the best you can.
If it is something that you're interested in, I would contact an agency in your area. I see you're in LA. I'm originally a So. Cal. girl myself and the three agencies I work for are out there in CA. I've worked as a CART provider for 8 years now and I've been doing remote for 3 1/2 years, and I don't work as steady as I would if I were onsite, but my life has completely changed and I don't need to work as much as I was when I lived out there and I can pursue other interests. CART was never an option for me in school. My pursuit was always court. But after doing CART and working as a hearing reporter... I knew CART was for me. I don't make as much money as most reporters make, but I do what I love and I have no regrets.
I hope that this has answered some of your questions... if you have anymore please feel free to ask. If you have any interest in it at all, I would say try it... you might like it. :)
Take care,
Dana
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