Course with Instructor $2200
Self-paced course, no instructor, $1600

A complete list of pre-recorded courses are listed HERE!

The ONLY supplies you need to get started is Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional or Legal, a steno mask and/or headset, and Word or WordPerfect. Below is a complete list of things that you will eventually need, and I strongly recommend.

Recommended Products/Hardware:

Court Reporting – Laptop
Caption Provider – Laptop or Desktop
Steno Mask for Court reporting – TalkTech or Martel Electronics
Headset for Caption provider (Do NOT get a gaming headset)
Foot pedal – Any will do.
Flash drive(s)
External Hard Drive

Recommended Software:

* Dragon 16:
I highly recommend Dragon Legal for those interested in a court reporting career. You will get a bigger dictionary that is tailored for the legal profession. Dragon 16 Professional is also acceptable. I train for both Dragon 15v and 16v, Professional and Legal.

* Word or Word Perfect.

* CAT Software – Advantage (Eclipse), Stenograph, ProCat, AudioScribe or other. All of these suppliers will have Student versions. You will eventually need CAT software. I train in Eclipse.

* ExpressScribe: You can get the free version of Express Scribe to listen to your .WAV files.**

Recommended Books & Study Materials

Court Reporting: Bad Grammar/Good Punctuation, Margie Wakeman Wells. $85
The Gregg Reference Manual is a less expensive grammar book.
The CART Provider’s Handbook. www.mastorg.com This may be hard to find.
Morson’s is not published any longer, thus it is very expensive. I don’t find it to be worth $250 or more.

NVRA List: Advisory Opinions, Code of Ethics, Study guide, Court reporting or CART retired tests for practice – https://nvra.org/

System Requirements:

i5 or i7 9th Gen processor with a minimum of a 2.3GHz.  If you can, get higher, 2.7GHz to 3.0GHz.

Minimum of 3 USB ports. Ports are needed for: 1 for dictation device, 1 for mouse, 1 for external keyboard, 1 (or more) for external microphone(s) for room recording(s).

16 – 32 gigs RAM (Recommendation is 32 gigs RAM.)

Minimum 500 GB SS HD (Solid State Hard Drive).

Windows current version.

Disclaimer:  I am not a licensed tech support professional. I am not an affiliate of or a representative of any company or organization, not limited to: Advantage, Stenograph, AudioScribe, ProCAt, Nuance, Microsoft, etc.

Estimated Quick Startup Costs:

Laptop $1500 – $2500
Dragon 16v Professional $699 / Legal $799
Andrea PureAudio USB Adapter $44.95
Steno Masks Get the 2-tail, AKA, 2 wires:
TalkTech $289 OR
Martel Electronics $249.99

Estimated startup cost: $3495 + Course Selection Fee