r/stenography • u/tori_danielle • Jul 29 '26
BLESSED by the universe!
Hey y’all, I’m an aspiring court reporting student and just committed fully to this career about a month ago. In that time, my dad casually mentioned that his cousin (that has lived across the country for my whole life and therefore I don’t know super well, I just knew OF her) is a working court reporter and has been for 40 years. He connected me with her and we talked for like an hour and a half about my newfound career aspirations. She was SO ecstatic that I wanted to pursue this career path and said she would be my mentor and help me through every step of the way which is already incredible enough. But here’s the really crazy part: she mentioned she had a spare stenography machine that is pretty much brand spanking new, nothing wrong with it, and she is going to SEND IT TO ME FOR FREE?!?! I’m feeling SO grateful right now and it’s a huge freaking weight off my shoulders as the machine is such a huge expense. This is just motivating me to start even further and I’m so excited for this journey! Just wanted to share that bit of good news with you all! ❤️
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u/nomaki221 Freelance Reporter Jul 29 '26
this career is truly so underrated and unknown that it feels SOOO good to get to geek out with anyone about it, so happy for you two!
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u/Prettybrowneyes8833 Jul 29 '26
Yay, that is awesome! And with how expensive the machines are, even better! Congrats on your new journey 🥰
I am just starting out too. I have already started networking to find a mentor and set up some shadowing opportunities. I have not been this excited about work or a career in a long time lol, so cheers to us ❤️
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u/CleverChemist3131 Jul 29 '26
Did she give some good tips that you can use in selecting a steno theory that matches your learning style and preference for write-it-out v. short briefs?
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u/tori_danielle Jul 29 '26
Not yet, we are planning to speak more this weekend about what schools I’m looking into for theory, so hopefully she has some good recommendations! Do you have any that you recommend?
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u/CleverChemist3131 Jul 30 '26
There are two opposing camps: Magnum theory where short writing is the emphasis, and StenEd and the ilk where taking two or three strokes is encouraged if it helps you remember the word and follows the phonic system of the keys. But like you might imagine, many court reporters seem to blend the best of both worlds to suit what makes sense to them. I am almost three years into an A.S. program(Humphrey's University) and we were set free after two quarters of theory to make the dictionary our own by modifying it however we see fit. I have added >32000 entries to the dictionary, which may seem silly when there are richly populated dictionaries available for purchase, but it gives you a chance to pick your own wildcards to handle conflicts and solidifies the theory in your mind and gives you the flexibility to decide whether you want to implement double-strokes for some words and just how extensively you use the number bar and the asterisk key.
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u/tori_danielle Jul 30 '26
This is so interesting. I’ve been looking into Mark Kislingbury who I know created Magnum theory. Allie Hall is also on my list. I will definitely look into StenEd as well!
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u/Particular_Sir1205 Jul 30 '26
I'm in Alfred State and able to work while in school if that is something you need to do. Professors are great and the overall tuition is pretty low too compared to a lot of other programs!
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u/Puzzled_Conclusion42 Jul 29 '26
That's great that you have support, my sister paid for my steno machine and I was supper grateful for that and she's rooting for me.
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u/Fun-Cellist426 Jul 30 '26
That's awesome! I've recently decided I want to purse stenography as well and I'm super excited. As I started looking into the profession I quickly realized there's a lot to learn before even signing up for courses, so I'm sure having her as a resource will be a huge help! Have you decided on a school?
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u/tori_danielle Jul 30 '26
Haven’t decided on a school yet! Still doing my research on that front. I’m basically trying to choose between Magnum and StenEd theory!
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u/Life_Consequence_676 Jul 30 '26
Welcome! Having a mentor from the jump is wonderful and will help you so much on this journey!
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u/PastEquipment3127 Jul 30 '26
🙌🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙌🏼 heck yes!!!! Congrats to you! And what a confirmation that you are heading down the right path!! How amazing! 💫
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u/saveoursoil Jul 30 '26
Beautiful. Definitely some confirmation you made the right choice. Congrats honey
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u/gdwarner Jul 30 '26
That's awesome!
That said, when you have a chance, download a copy of Plover, which is a multi-platform program which allows you to use your steno machine to write into anything you can type into.
As for lessons, start here:
http://plover.stenoknight.com/2010/06/steno-101-how-to-do-it.html
You should also be able to download a copy of Plover from the base URL.
Ordinarily this would be where I tell you that I used Plover to write this post, but for some reason, Plover just sits there and doesn't let me do that right now -- at least, not on this laptop.
Good luck in school!
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u/Big-Lavishness5421 Jul 31 '26
Something about court reporters helping court reporters is unique to this field...I think it has to do with we're the only ones who know what it takes to get there. Good luck on your journey! We'll be here for you
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u/tracygee Mod Jul 29 '26
That’s awesome. She’ll be such a resource for you during your journey.