December 30th, 2023 – Is Being A Scopist A Good Fit For Me?
This is a question I asked myself. And I know with the recent shift in our global economy, it is a question very similar to the ones many people are also asking themselves.
“How do I get a work-from-home job?”
“What skills do I need for X work-from-home job?”
“Will I enjoy this type of work?”
“Is my personality suited to this particular career?”
I have always believed our lives are meant for more than just working to pay bills until we die. Whenever I chose a job, I weighed it against a few different criteria. Will I genuinely enjoy this work? If my coworkers are not great, will I still enjoy coming to work to do my job? If the answer to both or either of these previous questions is ‘no’, is the money enough to keep me there anyway?
This has worked for me so far. It has been enough to earn me money while I searched for something that truly made me happy. When I found scopistry, I weighed it against these questions amongst others. Are the start-up costs worth it? Can I see myself doing this for the rest of my life? And above all else, is being a scopist a good fit for me? You can guess what I decided.
You may be finding scopistry for the first time and want to consider taking it on as a full-time career in the new year. If so, let me tell you some things you might be interested in knowing before you make the leap.
What Is A Scopist?
For a pretty cut-and-dry explanation, let’s look at the NCRA (National Court Reporters Association) website and its definition of a scopist. There it says: “A scopist is a professional transcript editor for court reporters. However, unlike an editor or a proofreader, a scopist has the ability to compare a court reporter’s shorthand to the finished transcript. By “scoping” the transcript, mistranslate errors can be identified, thereby helping the court reporter preserve an accurate record.”
A scopist’s job is to edit transcripts for court reporters. Read the steno, translate anything that needs to be converted, and then edit it so it is grammatically correct and readable. A scopist’s job is to make the transcript easy to digest. This can mean editing out spelling or grammar mistakes, editing the length of paragraphs, and separating speakers. The JCR (Journal of Court Reporting) also has a great article written by Linda M. Lee that outlines a comprehensive list of responsibilities, expectations, and duties of a scopist.
As you can imagine, some people will read that definition and say, “Oh absolutely not.” While others have just read their dream description. Let’s discuss a little bit more about how you can tell if this is a good career for you.
Personality Traits
You don’t have to be a Type A extrovert to be a good scopist. This is a demanding but fulfilling career, and it is suited to many types of people. If you identify with the following traits, scopistry might be a good fit for you:
If you already have these traits, the shift to scopistry might be an enjoyable one.
Current Hobbies And Interests
The things you enjoy doing in your free time can help determine what will make you happy in your career. Scopistry is no different. People who like word games, crossword puzzles, reading, writing, or problem-solving games might get great enjoyment from scopistry. Steno can sometimes be a bit of a puzzle; when you fit those pieces together, it can be a very satisfying feeling.
Previous Education
I found scopistry later in my life and already had some post-secondary education. If you are in a similar position, scopistry might be a great way to use the knowledge and skills you gained in school. In my opinion, anything related to law and politics, English, language, media studies, or teaching could be useful.
Scopistry may be a good fit if you received training in something that teaches you law and/or medical terminology, English language rules, how to communicate effectively, and how to build a thriving business in the modern global economy. Those are all things that scopists need to know or learn, and having previous knowledge on these subjects will give you a great head start.
You could have any level of previous education in any field before taking up scopistry and still be successful, but these could be some specifically useful majors to have:
My education is in Political Science with a double minor in Sociology and Anthropology. I have found great use for my political background in my current career, and I know I’m not the only one who can say their education in a seemingly juxtaposing field has proven useful in their current careers.
In Conclusion…
What I’ve said above is my opinion. These are things I’ve gathered from my own experiences, and those of my friends/colleagues who are scopists or who have shown interest in becoming scopists. I have seen if scopistry was a good fit for their personalities, or if it wasn’t. We live in a society where work is an unavoidable reality for most of us, but that doesn’t mean it has to be an unpleasant one.
You have no idea what job is the best option for you because millions of jobs exist that you have probably never even heard of. You could be a snake milker, a professional sleeper, a professional mourner, face feeler, dog surfing instructor, or a fish cosmetic surgeon in Singapore! The world is a huge place and you’ve only experienced a fraction of it. Maybe your perfect job is wrangling crocodiles in Thailand, but you don’t know that because you didn’t know that was even an option for you.
You have to work, most of us do. And a lot of us don’t have the option to move to some horrifying place where you can milk snakes. However, you do have the option to search for something that suits your needs and personality a little closer to home.
In the end, the big questions are: do you want to be a scopist? Are you willing to do the work required to become a great scopist? If the answer is ‘yes’, then being a scopist is a good fit for you.
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I hope you enjoyed this week’s post! If you did, make sure to leave a comment down below and come back to see a new post on the Next Step Scopist blog!
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