Huge learning curve

[Kyung]

There is always news thing you can learn in this profession, whether you want to or not.

There is a huge learning curve for me right now going into the courts. And I despair of ever getting better. It's like starting all over again from my first year out as a reporter. It's learning about new formats, new parentheticals, new forms, new administrative details. So much to learn and so little time. I really don't know how full-time officials make it their first year. I only work in court a couple of days a month, but the administrative details consume hours of my time.

Then there is the whole transcript production thing. The format is very different from the freelance world. The hard part is that there is no "format guideline" set in stone. Overall, the basics are sort of familiar, but every reporter has tweaked it just slightly enough that it is very, very confusing. You would think being the Federal court that they would hand down a "This is the guidelines." But no.

I look at my court transcripts and they are just so much crappier than my depo transcript, just in every way possible. Lots of new briefs to learn, new terminology.

So why do I keep butting my head against the wall? Like I said, it's just like the first year out being a new reporter. And I know it will get better. Thank goodness I have the luxury of not being in court everyday and can take my time learning new stuff and have the time to ask other reporters the answers to questions that just simply baffle me no end.

Some day I know that I will get to the point where I can blithely send my court transcripts off to the scopist. I remember I did not even get a scopist until my third year as a court reporter. Hopefully, after a year or so, my dictionary will be up to shape and things will get easier.

[Patricia Babits]

I've never worked in court, so I have no advice.
I remember when I was in qualifiers. I was such a fool, I thought everything would be great once I passed that CSR. It's only the beginning.
Hang in there!

[Jessica K. Belcher]

OT -- I love the handy "stop following" button at the bottom!

[Jessica K. Belcher]

Well, I couldn't tell that you were being sarcastic with the last poster at first. I missed that. I thought you were sincere. I'm not a big forum junkie, so I guess I don't pick up on those things so well. It's kinda hard to pick up on those things sometimes. I was just giving what I thought was a little constructive advice. I'm glad you could appreciate the others' advice. Good luck to you anyway! Take care.

[Kyung]

Anthony - Thank you.

Anne - I'm glad to see that you got it.

Cassandra - Thank you.

I write bec. this is a forum where I can vent. Venting to my husband gives me no satisfaction at all. He just doesn't understand. You guys get it.

I write bec. I want other reporters to realize that they're not alone. Yeah. There are thousands of great reporters out there who have 99.9 percent untran rate and they have beautiful transcripts at the end of the job and there are those that do not.

For those who do not, they usually don't speak out bec. they are afraid to be judge by their peers as "unworthy" or "not good enough" to be court reporters. I figure if I start writing about my learning process from the beginning and continue writing about it, hopefully my blogs will become more positive and show that I am learning. But as with depos, there will be great days and crappy days. And I don't think it's beneficial for me to write about just the happy days or the great days. I will write about the crappy days too.

I also write bec. I do get great suggestions from other reporters who have already been through what I am currently going through and I really appreciate those suggestions.

And granted, I write to whine a little. Just a little. Okay, maybe a lot. But we're all entitled to whine a little or a lot.

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

Kyung, every time you break new ground, whether it be on the job or in life, there will always be a learning curve. My first six months in federal court were hell. I almost wanted to quit- and this was after 10 years in the state system as an official. I though I knew it all and the job would be a piece of cake. Not so. I learned that I am in unfamilar territory and that I have to take it one day at a time.

So hang in there. By the way, if there was something as rushing into things too soon, I'd still be at the Workers' Compensation Board, my first officialship, or still at my first freelance firm. So go for it!!!

[Anne Brownell]

I like your facetious sense of humor, Kyung, on your first comeback response. Keep up the interesting conversation starters. Court is so different from depositions, which are much more controlled environments. The focus and concentration required in court forces one to develop almost a seventh sense because of all the extraneous buzz - attorneys talking to their clients while the judge is speaking, crying babies in the hallways, attorneys shuffling through their files right under the microphone, observers in the peanut gallery (courtroom) chit chatting while cases are being heard, attorneys who sound like they have marbles or cotton in their mouths, cars screeching their tires outside, bailiffs who are thinking about what they're gonna have for dinner while all this is going on....and the list goes on. Like the saying goes, if it doesn't kill you, it'll just makes you stronger.

[Jessica K. Belcher]

Yeah, don't give up. I can tell you have the hunger for wanting to do better. It's just hard work, period. You just have to develop your way of doing things, and that, of course, takes time. That's what I've learned in my almost five years of being an official.

I think even a few of the best have doubts about their abilities sometimes and get discouraged.

For me, court reporting is a neverending work in progress. I think you will get to the point that you're more comfortable with your work as long as you have that will to do better and remain confident, but that is the only way. And maybe it's just a matter of you analyzing what you do in preparation for your couple of days in court. When do you do that preparation, how long do you prepare? I know you say you've put in hours, but you may just need a couple more before your start feeling you've got the hang of things more. Maybe look at past fed transcripts you've done and figure out how you should have done something differently and maybe that way when that instance takes place again, you'll know how to handle it and it'll be one last thing. You really have to own the courtroom to some extent, (sorry, Judge), if you're going to feel more confident about your work product and your method of preparing your transcript, logging your information, etc., IMO.

Personally, I don't do a lot of realtime unless I'm doing trials lately, but in between those trials I pick up untrans I have in random hearings I have and almost immediately put them in my dictionary. You'll be amazed at how your tran rate gets better. That shaves off 50, if not more, percent of your stress. For myself, I'm a strong believer in not taking on anything that I think I can't handle for fear that I look incompetent.

Maybe federal court is a little over your head, but you had to have known that YOU COULD DO IT in your heart to at least take the leap. Or were you just in love with the idea of doing federal work not quite sure what to expect? Well, whatever the reason, A LOT of good people feel that they're in over their head first starting out. I think you just need to befriend a fed reporter there and maybe that will give you the encouragement you need. That's what I would do. I'm doing what I do mainly because I sought guidance from well-respected people that have been there and done that. Just a thought -- or THOUGHTS. lol

[Kyung]

Thanks for the constructive feedback. I know in the long run that it will work out and that court transcripts will become easier. As I said, it's a "learning curve."

I guess I won't give up on court reporting just yet. :)

[Anne Brownell]

Kyung, hang in there. I have faith in you and can relate that it can be stressful, but once you get your formats and captions you'll find it gets easier. There's got to be an underlying reason why you decided to work in court, and I'm sure it's a good one. So more power to ya.

[Tami]

I thought the same thing, Judy!

Of course it looks like they can still be erased. :)