What is scoping? If working in the legal field assisting court reporters sounds interesting to you, then scoping might be the perfect work-at-home job. Keeping reading to find out more about what scoping is!
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved watching crime shows. When I was about 12 years old, I remember pretending to fall asleep and then turning the TV in my room on super-low so I could watch Law & Order (side note – can you believe that show is still running? That’s gotta be at least 20 years now!)
I don’t watch much Law & Order anymore, but I love watching true crime shows like See No Evil and reading crime books and detective novels. So when I first heard about a work-from-home job in the legal field, assisting court reporters, my interest was piqued!
Scoping is a job that most people have never heard of, but it can be a lucrative work-from-home career, especially if you’re interested in legal proceedings.
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So for fans of the ID Channel, HLN or any of the dozens of crime shows on television – you’re in the right place. Keep reading to find out more about this interesting work-from-home career and learn exactly how to become a scopist!
What is Scoping?
The National Court Reporters Association defines a scopist as “…one who edits a transcript translated by CAT (Computer-Aided Transcription) software into English, correcting mistrans/untrans of steno notes, employing proper punctuation, English, and format.”
In layman’s terms scoping is basically editing legal transcripts. A scopist works with a court reporter – the reporter writes, the scopist edits. If you’re interested in legal proceedings, then you’ll probably love working as a scopist.
What type of person would be good at Scoping?
Being interested in the legal field is a good start.
But to succeed as a scopist, you need to have excellent punctuation, word use, and vocabulary skills. You’ll be editing legal transcripts, so these things aren’t a “nice-to-have” – they’re a must.
You’ll also need to be motivated, a self-starter, and okay with spending a lot of time in front of a computer (just like a lot of work-from-home jobs, the majority of your working hours as a scopist will be spent on your computer.)
Additionally, because scopists are almost always independent contractors, you’ll need to able to handle your own billing, accounts, administrative paperwork, taxes, etc.
How much do Scopists earn?
Scoping is in high-demand, so there are definitely plenty of opportunities for work. And the great thing about scoping being in demand right now is that scopists are able to make some pretty good money working from home. Scopists can earn anywhere from $30k – $50k a year, and even more.
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How do I become a Scopist?
Like most jobs, scoping requires you to learn a specific set of skills – it’s definitely not a career you can enter into with no training.
The best way to learn how to be a scopist is through Internet Scoping School.
Internet Scoping School is run by experienced scopist, Linda Evenson. Linda has been a scopist for over 35 years and has been teaching others how to become a scopist since 1999 (she’s definitely an expert in the field of scoping!)
Internet Scoping School is the most thorough and effective scoping school there is – you’ll learn absolutely everything you need to become a scopist.
And probably one of the biggest testaments to the effectiveness of Internet Scoping School is that it’s recommended by the National Court Reporters Association <<<this is a big deal.
Internet Scoping School will teach you everything you need to know in order to start working as a scopist, but an added (and awesome) bonus is that they’ll also teach you how to handle the administrative side of running your own scoping business.
As an online business owner myself, I can testify how essential it is for you to have a good handle on the “back-end” of things. If you don’t, it’s going to be a nightmare come tax season.
If you want to test the waters before jumping in to become a scopist, then Internet Scoping School offers a free mini-course that will help you decide if scoping is the right work-from-home career for you.
Here’s the link so you can find out more about Internet Scoping School and the free mini-course.
I hope this Q&A answered your questions about scoping – it definitely seems like an interesting job to me.
Click here to join the free mini-course (and make sure to leave a comment and let me know if you think scoping might be the perfect job for you!)
Had you ever heard of Scoping before? Is this a job that interests you?
Thank you for sharing this! I am interested. I once began training for medical transcription, but it wasn’t as interesting learning all those medical terms. THIS sounds more up my alley. 🙂
You’re welcome! It definitely sounds interesting 🙂
Sounds very interesting. Growing up my grandmother always had Murder she wrote and Perry Mason on so hopefully this will be an enjoyable experience.
I think it sounds like a super interesting job, too!
How do you become a scopist if you already have experience doing this job?
I believe that Linda teaches that in the course, but approaching court reporters and courthouses might be a start.