Scopist training has taken the internet by storm in the last few years. The demand for scopist has increased in recent times and with that, people are now more aware that such a job role exists!
Learning how to become a scopist is not difficult. However, the job in itself is rather unique and requires much attention to detail.
If you’re interested in becoming a scopist, I’m here to tell you all about it!
In this article, we explore:
- The role of a scopist and what the job comprises of
- The best scopist training courses that are available to teach you how to become a scopist
- The salary of a scopist
- How long it takes to become a fully trained scopist
- The difference between a scopist and a proofreader
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This article contains some affiliate links which means that I may earn a small commission when you click on them, at no additional cost to you. I do hope you find the information in this article helpful!
Related Posts On Scoping:
- How To Become a Scopist (And Make $48,000 A Year!)
- Free Scopist Training : Increase Your Income Today!
- How To Become A Proofreader in 8 Simple Steps
- 9 Online Transcription Jobs Hiring Now!
What Is The Job Of A Scopist?
As mentioned above, the job of a scopist is rather unique.
Essentially, a scopist takes the shorthand notes that are done by a court reporter using a stenograph machine, and the scopist converts these shorthand notes into full-fledged, long-form written, or typed notes.
The scopist does this by using a combination of the shorthand notes from the court reporter and audio recordings of the relevant proceedings to create a written record of the proceedings in question.
At this juncture, you may be wondering what is the difference between a scopist, a court reporter, and a legal transcriptionist (learn how to become a legal transcriptionist here!).
Well, here is a quick illustration to guide you on this.
| Court Reporter | A court reporter is present at the legal proceedings. They use a stenograph machine to quickly take shorthand notes on what happens during the proceedings. A court reporter is likely to have attended court reporter schools and stenographer training to get the necessary skills to become a court reporter. LegAl TranscriptionistA legal transcriptionist essentially does legal transcription. This involves listening to the audio recordings of the court proceedings only and converting the audio into written or typed form. |
| Scopist | A scopist has a unique skill set that enables them to read the court reporter’s shorthand notes and listen to the audio recordings of the proceedings. The aim of this is to use a combination of the two to produce a complete, detailed, and accurate written version of the events that occurred during the court proceedings in question. A scopist will also ensure that paragraphing, formatting, spelling, punctuation, and proper sentence structure is present in the final scopist’s version of the document. |
Best Scopist Training
Now that it is clear exactly what a scopist does, it is time to explore some of the best training for scopists that are available online.
If you are looking to become a scopist, you will inevitably need to be trained for it.
This is because scoping is a relatively niche profession that requires certain skills and background knowledge that you can only get from scopist training.
The best scopist training will usually cover the following areas to properly equip you with the skills to become a scopist:
- Legal terminology
- How to use computer-aided transcription software
- How to format court transcripts
- How to transform court notes into full court transcripts efficiently
- Practical training in the form of practice files
- How to read shorthand notes
At a glance, some of the best scopist training courses are illustrated in the table below:
| No. | Scopist Training Course | Features | Cost |
| 1. | The Internet Scoping School Intro Course | Introductory course to the world of scoping | FREE |
| 2 | The Internet Scoping School Scoping Fundamentals | Teaches the fundamentals of scoping which is the first portion of the Full CourseIncludes 21 lessons, word skills tests, and lifetime access to their Facebook groupScoping Fundamentals students get access to lower monthly payments for The Internet Scoping School’s full course | $197 |
| 3. | The Internet Scoping School Full Course | In-depth scopist trainingRecommended by the National Court Reporters AssociationThe instructor has over 35 years of experience | $2500 with the option to pay for it in monthly installments for up to 12 months |
| 4. | BeST Scoping Techniques | Self-paced scopist trainingGuidance on how to choose the best computer-aided transcription software for scopistsTaught by 2 instructors with over 40 years of experience | $2100 |
| 5. | Accolade Scoping Education | Straightforward scopist trainingPerfect for court reporters who want to expand their career optionsOne-on-one interaction with students | $1500 though you can pay $700 first to take the first part of the course and make payment for the remainder later |
Now, let’s take a look at each of these amazing scopist training courses in more detail!
1.The Internet Scoping School Free Intro Course
This is a great FREE scopist training course to get you started in the world of scoping.
The course tells you what scoping is all about and introduces the skills that you need to become a scopist.
It also teaches you about the kind of software or equipment that you may need if you do embark upon a career as a scopist.
More importantly, this FREE course is a great way to check out if a scopist career is something you are suited for before you make any serious commitments.
2.The Internet Scoping School Scoping Fundamentals Course
This is a great option if you aren’t ready to pay for the Internet Scoping School’s Full Scoping Course.
At only $197, you will get access to the first part of the full course which comprises the fundamentals of scoping.
Now, don’t be fooled. This fundamentals course is indeed comprehensive enough to teach you everything you need to know to get started on your scopist career.
This includes, among other things:
- 21 lesson units which are essentially the first 2 modules of the full course
- Interactive quizzes to test your scoping skills
- Words skills tests
- Lifetime access to the Scoping School’s Facebook group
Students who sign up for the Scoping Fundamentals Course also have the option to make lower monthly installment payments when they choose to sign up for the full course.
However, at this juncture, it is important to note that if you choose this option, you may end up paying a little more for the full course (between $2600 and $3000 depending on which monthly payment plan you choose) than if you were to sign up for the full course directly.
3.The Internet Scoping School Full Course
This is the Internet Scoping School’s most comprehensive scopist training.
The instructor, Linda Evenson has been providing training to aspiring scopists since 1999. With over 35 years of experience, Linda has trained more than 650 people to become scopists.
The Internet Scoping School Full Course is also recognized and highly recommended by the National Court Reporters Association.
Linda’s course teaches you the theory of being a scopist as well as all the practical, hands-on techniques that go into being a scopist. She also guides you on how to use computer-aided transcription or CAT software to help you with your tasks as a scopist.
Additionally, you get lifetime access and updates and lifetime support. As you can see, this is truly a worthy investment into your scopist career!
The Internet Scoping School’s Full Course costs $2500 in total. However, there is the option of breaking up this cost into monthly payment installments of up to 12 months, depending on your budget and financial circumstances.
As you can see, the Internet Scoping School is truly determined to make scopist training accessible and affordable with all its various options available to those who may be interested in becoming a scopist.
4.BeST Scoping Techniques
This is another popular scopist training course.
It is taught by 2 instructors with over 40 years of experience in the scoping industry and is one of the top scopist training courses that are available online.
More importantly, the self-paced nature of the course means that there is no rush or pressure to complete the scopist training.
You can take your time to properly absorb all that it takes to be a scopist before starting out as one on your own.
While most of the material is available online, upon registration and payment of the scopist training fees of $2100, you will be sent a welcome package that will contain course materials, lesson plans, and study aids.
This scopist training course also teaches you about the factors to take into account when choosing your computer-aided transcription software. Additionally, they have also partnered with CAT software providers to offer students discounts when purchasing the software.
5.Accolade Scoping Education
The Accolade Scoping Education provides training on scoping for court reporters who have already perhaps been to online court reporting schools and may want to expand their career options.
That being said, you don’t necessarily have to have any court reporting experience to sign up for this scopist training course.
Notably, this is one of the cheaper scopist training courses that are available online. Priced at $1500, this scopist training course dives deep and takes you on a detailed journey on everything you need to know to become a scopist.
You can check out the details of the Accolade Scoping Education scopist training course syllabus here.
There is also the option to pay $700 first to get started on the course and make payment for the remaining amount later. This is an option that you can discuss with the school upon signing up and registering for the scopist training course.
While it is a self-paced course, you also have access to one-on-one interactions with the instructor.
What Is A Scopist’s Salary?
A scopist’s salary can be quite varied. Many factors go into how much a scopist makes.
These include:
- Education
- Certification
- Any additional skills
- Number of years being a scopist
- Whether you have any practical legal background or experience
On average, a scopist page rate is about $1.25. This can certainly increase once you garner more experience.
According to salary.com, a full-time scopist can make an average of $32,590 and $48,378 per year. This gives you a rough idea as to how much a scopist can make.
If you are wondering how this compares to how much court reporters make, according to Recruiter.com, court reporters can earn between $32,000 and $48,000 per year, depending on their location and level of experience.
This means that you can make just as much money as a scopist from the comfort of your home!
At the end of the day, how much you make as a scopist will also depend on how many scopist jobs you can do and how quickly you can get them done. The more you can do, the more you can earn.
That is the beauty of being a scopist. You get to decide when, where, and how much you want to work!
How Long Does It Take To Become A Scopist?
Well, this will depend on you entirely.
Most scopist training courses take between 3 to 6 months to complete.
However, the faster you can go through the scopist training course materials, the faster you can become a fully-fledged scopist!
That being said, you can also complement these scopist training courses by getting hands-on, practical experience from a court reporter to speed up your scopist training!
This is truly one of the best ways to learn to be a scopist.
A court reporter will be able to give you tips and tricks on how to stand out as a scopist and they may also be able to share with you common errors or oversights that they have come across in their experience as a court reporter.
These are things that no training courses can teach you. This will in turn make your scopist services invaluable!
What Is The Difference Between a Scopist and A Proofreader?
Now that you have seen what it takes to be a scopist, you may be wondering what the difference is between a scopist and a proofreader.
As you can see, a scopist essentially carries out a multi-functional role. They have to have some legal background or at least training in legal terminology.
In addition to this, a scopist also needs to have the listening skills of a transcriptionist together with the eagle eyes of a proofreader.
A proofreader, on the other hand, is primarily only responsible for ensuring that a piece of work is error-free, does not have any spelling or grammatical errors, and has proper sentence structures.
As such, the scope of work of a proofreader is considered to be relatively narrow when compared to that of a scopist.
If you feel that being a scopist may be too technical for you or if you want to work on gaining more experience, then you can check out how to become a proofreader here to get you started.
As mentioned above, being a scopist is most certainly a niche profession to get into. The demand for scoping services is high and so you are going to be able to find scopist jobs relatively easily.
However, in order to stand out from the competition, attending scopist training is a must. Once you are properly equipped with all the necessary skills, you can kickstart your scopist career in no time.
If you are ready to take the plunge, check out this article for more details on how to become a scopist together with recommendations for scopist tech, software, and gear that you may need.