For Cynthia Rodriguez, success could never be found in a promotion or the number of zeroes on her paycheck — it’s in how many words she can type per minute.
Right now, she’s at 250.
Rodriguez, 42, is a court reporter in Bakersfield, California. She spends her mornings and afternoons sitting in on all kinds of legal proceedings, from high-profile murder trials to neighbor disputes over street art, transcribing everything that is said on a stenotype machine, a portable word processor.
Court reporters, often referred to as “guardians of the record,” play an integral role in the U.S. legal system.
Interest in the profession has dwindled in recent years, yet court reporting ticks a lot of boxes on job seekers’ wish lists, says Irene Nakamura, a court reporter in California for more than 30 years and Rodriguez’s mentor.
The job doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree, the hours are flexible, it can be done remotely and, according to Nakamura, the pay for skilled reporters is lucrative, ranging from $200 for a half day of work to upward of $100,000 per year.
In 2022, Rodriguez made about $235,315 as a freelance court reporter, according to tax documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. What started as a job to make ends meet, Rodriguez says, has blossomed into a two-decade career that has given her purpose and financial freedom.
After graduating from high school in 1998, Rodriguez struggled to find a job she liked that paid a comfortable wage. By the time she turned 21, she was a newly divorced, single mom of three.
Rodriguez moved back in with her parents and met with a career advisor at Bakersfield Community College, who suggested she enroll in its court reporting program. Excited by the prospect of working in the courtrooms she saw on “Law & Order,” Rodriguez thought, “Why not?”
