BOISE, Idaho — Have you ever wanted to write history? Becky Martin does it almost every week.
“We get a front seat to history by being a part of it," Martin said. "It's really an amazing profession."
A more accurate phrase would be "typing history" and typing is what Becky does. Her keyboard though, probably not the same as yours. It's missing a few keys.
"So we have to make up for the missing vowels, so learning that alphabet is learning the right combinations to make up for the letters that aren't there," Martin said.
Being a stenographer, or court reporter, takes some unique talent. That talent takes “steno” operators to a lot of unique places.
A place a lot of them get their start though, is in a courtroom.
"We take down verbatim, everything that is said," Martin explained. "The public needs access to these records, and it's the court reporters that keep that record and make that record."
You've probably seen a stenographer before, maybe on a TV drama or in a real courtroom.
In some places, there is a push to digitize the stenographer profession. Audio and video recording have evolved to the point that, some argue, humans aren’t needed anymore.
Martin says she has heard that for decades, and that it simply isn’t true. As great as technology is, Martin explains that stenographers are still needed for their precision.
Either way though, Martin says Idaho is not one of those places trying to phase out court reporters. In fact, she explains that Idaho is very supportive, namely, the Idaho Supreme Court.
For a lot of court business, a court reporter must be there. What if they aren't though?
"If there is not a stenographer in district court, it doesn't happen," Martin said.
Same goes for federal court, discovery and depositions, and basically anytime you need an official record.
There is a shortage of stenographers here in Idaho and across the country. Because of that, counties have to sometimes coordinate with each other to make sure there will be a stenographer available. Right now, there are days there simply aren’t enough people.
So, how do you end the shortage? Martin says that starts with education.
"The closest court reporting school is in Washington or California, or there are a lot of great online programs, it's just that nobody has really heard about them," Martin said. "It's just not a profession we hear about."
Martin also serves as president of the Idaho Court Reporters Association, whose goal is to expand education opportunities with a local curriculum so the shortage doesn't affect daily court business. The last local school in Boise closed in 2006.
"Whether it can be opened independently or if we can partner with a community college or a tech college. That's something that we are looking into the different opportunities and how to get a program back in Idaho," Martin said.
So while getting more stenographers to Idaho is the goal, Martin says it's important to remember that the skill set on this machine can open the door for jobs across the world.
Could you even end up at a music festival that your friends were dying to go to? Becky says yes, she has seen it.
"They captioned Coachella last year and there are pictures of them online, front of the stage and it's just awesome," Martin said. "Truly, the world is at your fingertips, if you want it."
Interested in pursuing stenography?
Project Steno and Discover Steno offer a Free six-week program for people to try it out, learn it some, and decide if they like it.
After that, if people really like it, those groups work with students to get scholarships and other training.
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