Frequently Asked Questions

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The answer to this is varies whether you are a freelance reporter or a court official.  It also varies county to county.  You may make less as an official in a smaller area, but the cost of living could be significantly less. You can keep up with current job listings throughout the state to get a feel for average salaries.  Note that any salary for a court official does not include any money made from requested transcripts.  That money is in addition to what is listed.

Freelance reporters work as much or as little as they choose to.  Being a full-time freelance court reporter requires discipline with finances and taxes as well as organization to manage an ever changing schedule.

There are also court reporters who work as full-time subs for the court officials.  Unfortunately, not every county in Texas has machine writers that will allow voice writers to sub.  They also will not allow students to shadow them as they prepare for certification.  Know that we are working toward these changes for the health of Texas court reporting for many years to come.

If you look up the average salary of court reporters in Texas, you will see figures in the $50,000 to $60,000 range.  Remember that this is an average, and our industry includes a high percentage of parents who have children home and are working part time.  The benefit of court reporting is the flexibility.  If you work full time, you can easily exceed that average in your first year.  The more you develop your skills, the more you can accept more challenging jobs and watch your income grow.

Join us on our Facebook group to ask more questions of actual certified Texas voice writers.

Schooling for voice writing depends on the program.  If you can utilize financial aid, your program may be structured under a two-year umbrella to obtain an associate's degree.  Some students test with the state and certify before they have completed their coursework.  If you are reliant on financial aid, you will have to finish all required classes to avoid losing that aid, even if you are already out working.  Speak with your financial aid office to have a clear picture of the expectations.

If you attend a self-paced program, the coursework could be something as short as 20 weeks. That does not mean you will be working in 20 weeks.  It also does not mean you won't be working sooner than 20 weeks.  To certify in Texas, you have to pass your skills tests (speed tests), but you also have to pass a written knowledge test.  Even if you pass your skills portion and can voice write at certification speeds, you cannot work in Texas until you have passed the WKT (written knowledge test).  The WKT consists of 55 multiple choice questions from the following categories: grammar and punctuation, spelling and vocabulary (general and medical), Texas Court Procedures (Civil and Criminal) and Policies, Rules, and Regulations. 

If you adequately prepare for the WKT while following your program, it is possible to complete school and certify in Texas in six months

If you are transitioning from machine school to voice writing school, you may be able to certify significantly sooner depending on the level of speed practice your brain has already been trained on, as well as your preparation for the WKT.

As with everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

You are not wrong!  In Texas you can certify using a steno voice mask or a steno machine.  At Texas Court Reporting, we represent all things pertaining to voice writing. If you are interested in learning more about the steno machine, you can start here and here.

For as many individuals as there are, there are as many reasons for choosing to be a voice mask writer or a machine writer.  Only you can decide what is best for you.  Just know that Texas Court Reporting fully supports whatever decision you make.  There is not a right or wrong way to go as long as you make it fit your life and circumstances. 

Following are some of the facts that helped us determine our choice:

• Voice writing does not add as much stress to your back, arms, and wrists.
• The graduation rate for machine school is around 10%.  The graduation rate for voice school is around 80%
• We receive the same certification and do the same job as machine writers.
• We are paid the same.  

There are some reasons that voice writing might not be a good fit for someone:

• Extreme contact dermatitis issues (although many voice writers have tricks to work around this).
• An aversion to having anything on or against your face.
• You might hate the idea of using your voice all day, but love the idea of using your hands all day.
• Some people just think the mask looks weird.  That's fair!  You do you!

Both methods are stellar and the language/theory and technology around both are amazing.  You will find that most voice writers in Texas actually started their school journey by learning machine writing.  We are big fans of both methods and encourage you to learn as much as you can about both as you make a decision on your preference.  

You can join our Facebook group called Texas Court Reporting to ask specific questions of voice writers in our state. 

You can reach out to the Texas Court Reporter's Association to ask specific questions of machine writers in our state. 

To be a CSR on the voice mask or machine, you must hear everything that is being said and send that information into your  Computer-assisted translation (CAT) software.  

Machine writers do this with a steno machine.  To be a machine writer, you must learn an entirely new language and how to use an entirely new instrument at the same time. It can take hundreds or thousands of repetitions of key combination for it to become muscle memory in your brain.  It's a new language!  Most machine students will start their speed building process at around 60-80 words per minute.  

Voice writers do this with their voice and the English language.  What do we have going for us?  We already speak English!  The average person speaks at about 140-160 words per minute.  Our brains are able to process at that speed already, so most voice students start their speed building process around that speed range.  We also move up to 225 faster because we are using a language we have had perfected since early childhood.

Machine schools have stated that the average time in school for those who graduate is three years.  However, if a student changes programs, they are unable to follow them and track those numbers.  We do know that older students take longer to finish. This is due to the muscle memory information mentioned above combined with less brain plasticity.  The younger you are, the easier your brain learns new things (the fewer repetitions required).

Voice schools tout that the average time in school is closer to a year.  Again, none of these stats are hard and fast.  The certification rates do appear to be pretty solid: 

10% for machine and 80% for voice.

We've all heard that as well.  You might also hear that machine writers are the preferred method in Texas.  It's strange that this myth continues to circle our state as we are all working as much as we choose to work!    

We have voice writers working as freelance deposition reporters in person and remotely covering every corner of the state.

We now have voice writers working as subs and court officials in all of the largest counties in the state as well as smaller regions.  Our voice writing court officials working in Texas are respected assets to the court, many providing real time feeds to their judges.

Harris County courts voted to officially affirm and welcome voice writers in August of 2022.  

The Bexar County Court Reporters Association allows full voting membership to voice writers.

In January of 2024,  the Dallas Court Reporters Association passed a bylaws amendment to allow voice writers to be Professional Members.  They are one of our largest regional associations in Texas. 

TEXDRA (Texas Deposition Reporters Association) has allowed full membership of voice writers for years and they have had a voice writer serving on their Board of Directors. 

The resistance to voice writers is nothing new.  It reflects the resistance that pen writers had for machine writers when that technology became the norm.  For an interesting history of the voice writing method and the struggle of acceptance, watch The StenoMask Story.

Nothing fishy, unless by "fishy" you mean "fantastic."  Over the last several years, there has been a solid push for more advocacy and education around voice writing. More and more states are allowing voice writers to certify.  It is no longer this niche way to take that record that will be a Plan B if a machine writer gets severe carpal tunnel. We now know it has always been an equal and excellent choice for working in Texas. 

Many areas of our state struggle with a shortage of court reporters, and we are finally seeing an increase in certifications because of voice writing.  Voice certifications in Texas have grown and will continue to grow.  We are just getting started, and it is exciting!

Voice writers can take down the record without our voices being heard.  If a voice writer is loud and distracting, then they can improve their skill or find themselves working less.  This is not an issue found only with voice writers.  For every complaint about a voice writer, there has been a poorly trained machine writer receiving the same complaint, whether it's pounding the keys or not knowing how to handle procedures or not carefully preparing their transcript.  There are poor voice schools and there are poor machine schools.  There are underprepared self-taught voice writers and underprepared self-taught machine writers. 

Here at Texas Court Reporting, we believe these are gaps to be studied and addressed while also offering mentorship and support with these struggling new reporters.  Their success is everyone's success!

Here is a quick glossary of the many initials you will hear tossed around in the court reporting community:

CSR - Certified Shorthand Reporter.  This is the certification you must obtain to work in Texas.

TEXDRA - Texas Deposition Reporters Association.   TEXDRA is our Texas association.  It is the only state association for both voice and machine writers.  Student membership is free for Texas residents and just $20 for those out-of-state.  This association provides wrap-around support from school to retirement.

NVRA - National Verbatim Reporters Association.  NVRA is our national association.  It is the only national association that certifies and supports both machine and voice writers.

CVR - Certified Verbatim Reporter.  This is the national certification for voice writers.  You do not need this certification to work in Texas; however, achieving more certifications pushes you to increase your skills and can sometimes help with pay raises.  You can learn more about NVRA certifications here. 

TCRA - Texas Court Reporters Association.  TCRA is a Texas organization that provides support for machine writers only.

NCRA - National Court Reporters Association. NCRA is a national organization that provides support for machine writers only.