Magnificent News: This 42-year-old mom makes over $200,000 without a degree

CLOSING THE GAP

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Morgan Smith is a Work reporter at CNBC Make It. You can follow her on Twitter @thewordsmithm.

For Cynthia Rodriguez, success could never be found in a promotion or the number of zeroes on her paycheck — it's in how many words she can type per minute.

Right now, she's at 250.

Rodriguez, 42, is a court reporter in Bakersfield, California. She spends her mornings and afternoons sitting in on all kinds of legal proceedings, from high-profile murder trials to neighbor disputes over street art, transcribing everything that is said on a stenotype machine, a portable word processor.

Court reporters, often referred to as "guardians of the record," play an integral role in the U.S. legal system.

Interest in the profession has dwindled in recent years, yet court reporting ticks a lot of boxes on job seekers' wish lists, says Irene Nakamura, a court reporter in California for more than 30 years and Rodriguez's mentor.

The job doesn't require a bachelor's degree, the hours are flexible, it can be done remotely and, according to Nakamura, the pay for skilled reporters is lucrative, ranging from $200 for a half day of work to upward of $100,000 per year.

In 2022, Rodriguez made about $235,315 as a freelance court reporter, according to tax documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. What started as a job to make ends meet, Rodriguez says, has blossomed into a two-decade career that has given her purpose and financial freedom.

After graduating from high school in 1998, Rodriguez struggled to find a job she liked that paid a comfortable wage. By the time she turned 21, she was a newly divorced, single mom of three.

Rodriguez moved back in with her parents and met with a career advisor at Bakersfield Community College, who suggested she enroll in its court reporting program. Excited by the prospect of working in the courtrooms she saw on "Law & Order," Rodriguez thought, "Why not?"

It took Rodriguez about three years to complete the courses she needed to obtain her license as a certified court reporter. After she received her certification, one of Rodriguez's friends recommended her for a job with the Kern County Superior Court, where she'd work for the next 17 years.

When she first started the gig in 2005, her annual salary was $60,000. Within two years, however, she grew that figure to about $100,000, she says, mainly by working overtime and taking on additional assignments, like providing simultaneous captions for people who are hard of hearing at depositions.

In addition to their base salary, court reporters are compensated on a per-page basis for transcripts they produce. Nakamura says this additional income can range from $50,000 to $100,000.

Last year, Rodriguez decided to quit her job and become a freelance court reporter, so she could negotiate her rates and have more control over her schedule. She now has the option to choose assignments with later start times in the mornings, or ones that will only need her three or four days a week.

It's hard not to react to what's going on in the courtroom — no matter how dramatic or heartbreaking a trial is — Rodriguez says, but reminding herself how important her job is to the people seeking and delivering justice helps her stay focused.

"Every day I wake up and I love what I do," she says. "What more could you want from a job?"

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