Court reporters may be employed by court agencies to provide transcription in court, or they may work as freelancers. In the freelance capacity, they may either work for themselves or work for court reporting agencies as an independent contractor.
In a courtroom environment, they may make suggestions regarding proper procedure, do research for items in the official record, and assist in other ways. Importantly, realtime reporting has proven beneficial for the judiciary, and many judges insist that their reporter be realtime capable.
Many court reporters work outside the courtroom in depositions and other situations that require an official legal transcript, such as arbitration hearings or other formal proceedings. Court reporters also often provide realtime transcription for public events, religious services, webcasts, and educational services.
Former court reporters and graduates of court reporting schools are employed by television producers and stations in order to provide realtime closed captioning of live programs for the hearing-impaired.
There are differing accounts of the earnings for court reporters. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics had earnings of between $30,680 and $60,760 for the middle 50% of court reporters. Due to large backlogs and resultant high overtime pay, salaries can however be much higher.