The determining factor here is whether your school offers a captioning program. If they do, you're a big step ahead, because you’ve learning about current events and about writing TV material such as news, sports, entertainment, and finance. It also means you have a broad understanding of the requirements of captioning and the goals you will need to set in terms of speed, accuracy, depth of knowledge, and dictionary.

Keep in mind that, while you may want to become a captioner when you complete your program, you may not automatically qualify for a position as a captioner or immediately land a captioning job. That’s why you should also focus on your judicial skills, by practicing and testing in Q&A and learning everything you can about judicial reporting in freelance and official environments. This could be just the beginning of a long and successful career, so be patient and open to the options available; know that all areas of reporting and captioning offer unique and rewarding opportunities.

In addition, understand that there is a lot more to court reporting than writing on your machine. Before you can enter the workforce, you must learn about procedures, technology, professionalism, and employment opportunities, and recognize the difference between work as an independent contractor and as an employee. No student can be prepared to enter the workforce without a broad knowledge of the field. Developing this knowledge base is not just the responsibility of your instructors; it’s yours, too.

So, how do you develop that knowledge?

• Become a student member of the National Court Reporters Association and of your state association.
• Read the Journal of Court Reporting and keep up to date on all areas affecting your profession.
• Become an active participant in online student discussions; practice networking and learning from your colleagues. The relationships you build as a student will last long into your career as a court reporter or captioner and will bring many opportunities for growth.
• Attend student seminars at state and national conventions.
• Join specialty online forums that concentrate on your area of interest.

No less than graduation speed of 200-225 wpm. The syllabic density of captioning material will be far more difficult to handle than normal judicial material. Many reporting students have called me to say, "I can't get the speed requirements in school, so I'd like to become a captioner." Captioning is a highly specialized end of the reporting field and demands the best of skills: speed, accuracy, and broad knowledge in all television-related areas.

Absolutely! But in most cases, graduates have applied for in-house positions, where we can watch more closely and provide intensive, technically sophisticated training.

VITAC offline captioners are typically journalism or communications majors and are hired for in-house positions in our Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles offices. My advice to reporting students is to stay focused on the task at hand: getting through the speed requirements and completing the reporting program. Reporting is a difficult program, and success demands all of your time and energy. The same advice applies to scoping and proofreading for working reporters. While this experience can be valuable, it’s more important to give your reporting program your full attention. There will be plenty of time to learn the field and make money, but first finish school and get into the workforce!

It depends. How deep into your program are you? What’s the content of the boot camp? I wouldn’t encourage any student under 200 wpm to sign up for a boot camp. Nor would I recommend that a student attempt a captioning boot camp without having taken captioning courses in school. There's good reason for this: we don't want the student to be blown away by the level of expertise it takes to become a captioner. Keep in mind that even the most experienced court reporters may take years to develop their writing, dictionaries, and knowledge to the point that they are qualified to caption. And these are highly skilled writers. What I would recommend is a seminar that presents entry-level information on preparation for a captioning career. Intense boot camps and workshops not only move at a rapid pace but are normally rather expensive. Gather knowledge through state- or nationally sponsored reporting events, or online forums and seminars, until you’re ready to participate in a full-blown boot camp.