APRIL 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 83
Plaza College training the next generations of court reporters
BY MADELINE NELSON
With courts in dire need of new reporters, one Queens institution is
coming through to train the next generation of stenographers.
Plaza College in Forest Hills became the only college in the city to
offer a degree in court reporting after the merging of New York
Career Institute with Plaza College last year.
Court reporters sit in on trials and other court proceedings, and
use stenograph machines to document what is being said, who is
speaking, and in what manner.
Court reporting is undergoing a resurgence after a decline in the
1990s with the entry of electronic recorders and funding shortage.
Lack of human interaction can make scripts written by recorders
indecipherable.
Charles Callahan III, president of Plaza College, oversaw the teachout
of New York career Institute at Plaza College.
“Everyone is thinking that court reporting is going away. It can’t go
away. Sometimes, court reporters have to testify to what was said in
a court. You can’t cross examine a machine,” Callahan said.
Over the next five years, an estimate of 5,000 court reporting jobs
are expected to become available because of retirements. A degree
or certification in court reporting is the first step towards getting a
job in the field.
The Court Reporting Industry Outlook Report by Ducker Worldwide
states “firm owners are actively courting court reporters from other
parts of the country and students who successfully emerge from
court reporting school are quick to find lucrative opportunities
awaiting.”
Plaza College’s Court Reporting (AOS) two-year, Associate degree-level
program teaches students how to use a stenotype machine, along
with standard law courses and a mandatory internship. This program
is 75 credits total and designed to bring each student’s typing speed
up to 225 words per minute. The college also offers a 60-credit Court
Reporting Certificate program for those that already possess a degree.
According to Callahan, the program currently has more than 200
students. Students from as far as Pennsylvania have come to Plaza
College for the program.
“It’s a fabulous career, especially for individuals who have other
interests,” Callahan said. “We have students who are opera singers,
artists, and entrepreneurs. This craft allows them to pursue their dreams.”
After graduating, court reporters can earn more certifications and
associations to get a variety of high profile jobs. There are other
prestigious jobs in the general field for those with court reporting
degrees or certification, including closed-captioning for the hearing
impaired. Producers of live sports events and television shows also
hire stenographers to write captions.
In addition to their salaries, court reporters own the transcripts
they produce and make an average of $3.25/page during trials and
depositions. Project Steno reports that “it does not take long for skilled
court reporters to surpass $100,000 in annual earnings.” Median annual
wage for court reporters is $98,000 in the state of New York.
“It will provide wonderful career opportunities for individuals going
forward. Two people graduated last week and are beginning work
already,” Callahan said. “We are looking to keep relevant programs
that cannot be offshored.”