Prospective Scopist - WANTED: insight, info, & opinions

[Katelyn Zuppan]

Hello! I am 22 years old and am finishing up my bachelors degree in business management this fall. I have worked for a local court reporting firm for the last 4.5 years, so I understand the background of the reporting industry. At one point thought about going to reporting school, but have since started looking in the direction of becoming a scopist and am looking for some personal insight and information in regard to the industry. Listed below are some of the questions running through my mind:

How long did it take you to learn the skill and become efficient?
What is the average salary of a full time scopist?
What are the pros and cons?
Would you recommend this career?

Any information is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Katelyn Zuppan

[Linda Osterhoudt]

I have been a scopist for six years. I basically learned by doing. I had a friend who was a scopist send me jobs and then critique my work. It took probably six months before I felt like I knew what I was doing. The salary is a tough one. It completely depends on how much work you do and how many reporters you work for. This tends to be a feast-or-famine career - sometimes super-busy and other times slow. At least in my experience, there are slow times at the end of the summer and again from mid-December to mid-January. I average about 30 hours a week and my profit is somewhere between $2,000 and $2,500 a month. Of course, I have to pay self-employment tax, but I also can write off a lot of business expenses. I don't think this is a career that you can get rich from, but the plus side, as Kara mentioned, is flexible hours and working from home. I get bored easily so I love scoping because I'm constantly learning new things from the work I do. So yes, I would recommend this career, but you won't make a huge amount of money probably.

[Cathy McElderry - Internet Scoping School]

Katelyn -

I thought I would drop a quick note and let you know that I'm available to help answer any questions you might have about scoping or scopist training. Feel free to check out our website at www.scopeschool.com for information regarding the scopist profession and what Internet Scoping School can offer to help you get started. We offer full course plans or the option to purchase individual units according to what your specific needs are. You are welcome to e-mail me directly at [e-mail] with any questions.

Cathy McElderry
Internet Scoping School

[Devon Roberts]

Hi Katelyn,

I just noticed your post since I haven't had much of a chance to visit the forums this week.
I'm wondering if you received all the information you were looking for.

If not, feel free to check out Scoping Made Affordable through my website of www.joyfulscoping.com.
It's been awesome to see that even though summer can be a bit sporadic in the scoping field, all of the graduates of SMA already have court reporters they are working for.
I also have at least four files to proof of soon-to-be graduates on Eclipse and Case CATalyst.

Let me know if I can answer anything directly for you through email at [e-mail].

Thanks,
Ms. Devon Roberts
www.joyfulscoping.com
[e-mail]