In the world of freelance court reporting, there is a lot of freedom and flexibility in your schedule, when you work and how you work. This is one of the many perks of the job! Unlike a court reporter who is assigned to a courtroom and goes to work at a courthouse every day, our days are largely dependent on if and when we are taking depositions and how heavy of a workload we carry. We’ve talked a lot about what a court reporter does on a broad scale, but what does our daily life look like?
Maria Taylor, one of the newest hires at Susan Frye Court Reporting, graciously documented an average working day. Keep in mind, this is just one example of the day of a court reporter:
6 AM: Wake up and work on transcripts or gradually ease into the work day
7 AM: Get ready and drive to location of deposition
7:30 AM: I like to arrive 30 minutes prior to a deposition to set up and be prepared
8 AM: The deposition begins. Depositions can be a lengthy process. Fuel and hydrate appropriately! (Bathroom breaks can sometimes be a luxury.)
3 PM: Head home after the deposition wraps up. On deposition days, I like to spend my evenings away from work and with my kids.
Maria takes about 3 to 4 depositions per week. On average, Maria spends an additional 10-12 hours working on a deposition outside of the actual time reporting it. This work includes cleaning up transcripts, re-reading transcripts, and sending transcripts in for production.
When she doesn’t have a deposition scheduled for the day, Maria works from home. We only need our steno machine to work! And maybe a comfy chair! On these days, she likes to spend extra time working in the evenings when her kids are in bed. Of course, this work is completed in her pajamas!
As you can see from Maria’s schedule, every day can be different. Some days are purely work- from-home days, and other days include seeing multiple attorneys for depositions. Many of our court reporters have young children and enjoy the flexibility the career of a freelance court reporter offers.
