# Back to work after rough time... :D



## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

Hubby and I went through an ugly time not too long ago. It brought into focus how vulnerable I would have been had we divorced. I was in possession of an associates degree in general studies, which doesn't get me very far. I've always known that I wanted to go back to work or school, and now that we're over the hump and the kids are in public school, it seems to be a great time. 

I'm really looking forward to being able to pay for braces, a vacations every year, and put away money for the kids college. Not to mention the boost knowing I'd be able to support myself and my children if need be.  

Anyone else going back to school? I'm starting back at the late great age of 38. Court reporting.


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## 225985 (Dec 29, 2015)

I just read an article about best high paying jobs that don't need a college degree. You picked a good one. 

The kids need braces when younger. I just got them again at 50 and they cost twice as much and hurt twice as much.


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## citygirl4344 (Mar 4, 2016)

That's awesome. Great for you. 
Nice to feel finically independent so you can get more in debt lol.
Just kidding. 


Sent from my iPhone


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## lifeistooshort (Mar 17, 2013)

I made a complete career change at 37 and love it. Pays well, interesting, and pays for the needs and some wants of my boys.

Good because I'm currently not getting any support from their father, who refuses to look for a job after retiring from the military.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## lucy999 (Sep 28, 2014)

RideofmyLife said:


> I'm starting back at the late great age of 38. Court reporting.


Oh im thrilled for you! I got through theory I and II for court reporting (accredited online school in my state) but they dropped the whole curriculum when I was ready to speed build. it happened 2 years ago and I'm still trying to swallow that bitter pill. I was 46 when i started. It was the only school in the state who offered it. For me to go online out of state is crazy expensive. I am very envious and excited for you! I still stroke during TV and mundane conversations lol. They are in high demand in our nation. Lots are retiring and we need them for our court system. 

I'm not gonna lie. It's intense. Practice , practice, then practice some more. Do you have any legal experience? BTW not trying to dissuade you at all but voice writing might be here to stay. Much cheaper, shorter, and easier. And, you can do closed captioning. The world would be your oyster with both, but you could really go far with voice writing.

Best of luck I'm totally cheering for you!!!! If you want to talk about it, please feel free to pm me.



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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

lucy999 said:


> Oh im thrilled for you! I got through theory I and II for court reporting (accredited online school in my state) but they dropped the whole curriculum when I was ready to speed build. it happened 2 years ago and I'm still trying to swallow that bitter pill. I was 46 when i started. It was the only school in the state who offered it. For me to go online out of state is crazy expensive. I am very envious and excited for you! I still stroke during TV and mundane conversations lol. They are in high demand in our nation. Lots are retiring and we need them for our court system.
> 
> I'm not gonna lie. It's intense. Practice , practice, then practice some more. Do you have any legal experience? BTW not trying to dissuade you at all but voice writing might be here to stay. Much cheaper, shorter, and easier. And, you can do closed captioning. The world would be your oyster with both, but you could really go far with voice writing.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the support! I'm actually doing voice writing of a sort with a company that provides a captioned phone for the hard of hearing. We use Dragon Naturally Speaking, and I really thought long and hard about voice versus steno, but felt steno opened up more avenues for me, as I can't work in the judicial system in Idaho with the voice writing method. 

I'm going with an online school, but it's self-paced and affordable. Only $7 grand if you go with the top of the line machine. Closer to $4 if you own a machine. It's a well-respected program (I spoke with people at the NCRA) so I feel good about it. The name is CRAH (Court Reporting and Captioning at Home) Have you considered going back to school? If you know your theory, you can jump into CRAH and go right into speed building. They have great support!

I'm really excited. The machine and material arrives next Tuesday. And yes, I know I've got my work cut out for me. But I've got a ton of reasons to dig in and get it done. I'm hoping to get through in no more than 3 years. Crossing my fingers. :grin2::grin2:


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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

And forgot to add, no, no legal. But some medical. I was in the Nursing program once upon a time and also took a course in medical transcription. My mom was a nurse, so I know a lot of jargon. I know it's lucrative if I can break into the medical malpractice depositions/trials, but my heart really lies with CART... so trying to decide if I really need to go for the RPR, or just go for the CART credentials. Or, end up going court reporter since there might be more consistent jobs? I'm really up in the air.


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## Thor (Oct 31, 2011)

RideofMyLife, get the book "Money" by Tony Robbins. Managing your new earnings is a lot easier than you might think, and you'll have a lot more for retirement and you can retire sooner than you might think.

Congrats on your new life!


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## lucy999 (Sep 28, 2014)

RideofmyLife said:


> Thanks for the support! I'm actually doing voice writing of a sort with a company that provides a captioned phone for the hard of hearing. We use Dragon Naturally Speaking, and I really thought long and hard about voice versus steno, but felt steno opened up more avenues for me, as I can't work in the judicial system in Idaho with the voice writing method.
> 
> I'm going with an online school, but it's self-paced and affordable. Only $7 grand if you go with the top of the line machine. Closer to $4 if you own a machine. It's a well-respected program (I spoke with people at the NCRA) so I feel good about it. The name is CRAH (Court Reporting and Captioning at Home) Have you considered going back to school? If you know your theory, you can jump into CRAH and go right into speed building. They have great support!
> 
> I'm really excited. The machine and material arrives next Tuesday. And yes, I know I've got my work cut out for me. But I've got a ton of reasons to dig in and get it done. I'm hoping to get through in no more than 3 years. Crossing my fingers. :grin2::grin2:


I am mighty impressed; you've done your research and then some. Voice writing is slowly but surely being accepted where I'm from. But the feds here use a tape recorder!!!! WTH?! Insanity.

Yes, I've considered going back. Reading your post gave me a pang of That Could Have Been Me. Thank you for the CRAH info. I'm going to look into it. The machine, as you well know, is your meat n potatoes, don't skimp. Get the Cadillac of machines if you can.

I've heard the thing now is to have doctors call in court reporters to get a record of their convos with patients. Brilliant idea, I think it would cut down on med mal cases (I used to work as a paralegal in med mal defense).

Frankly, whatever you decide to go with, you're ahead of the game with your medical terminology experience. I think you can write your ticket regardless of what you choose because it's so needed literally everywhere. That said, I know that in my state, court reporters get paid extra for transcripts if they work for the court system. So in addition to salary, you get some gravy. Nice.

Super excited for you. You're going to do great things!


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## SunnyT (Jun 22, 2011)

Great idea! Getting yourself together, so that no matter how life goes.... you are prepared. 

I did the same thing....for pretty much the same reasons. I became a teacher. It took 5 years, and student loans..... but it has been soooooooooooooo worth it! 

The ex walked out leaving me with 5 teens and a grandbaby.... AND a full time career!  He would say that he put me thru school. Gag. I did it all in spite of him. He didn't watch the kids, or pay for anything school related. The student loans helped support us during those years. 

It was one of the best ideas I ever had. Losing him and gaining a career put me in just the right place! Living a wonderful life now!

Good for you! And good luck!


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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

lucy999 said:


> I am mighty impressed; you've done your research and then some. Voice writing is slowly but surely being accepted where I'm from. But the feds here use a tape recorder!!!! WTH?! Insanity.
> 
> Yes, I've considered going back. Reading your post gave me a pang of That Could Have Been Me. Thank you for the CRAH info. I'm going to look into it. The machine, as you well know, is your meat n potatoes, don't skimp. Get the Cadillac of machines if you can.
> 
> ...


Thank you! Yes, I've thought about this for a long time before I picked a school. And yes, I agree that's its insane to be using tape recorders. There are good voice writers out there, but I hear that it takes dedication and hard work to become really good. I called a few captioning companies and for live broadcast captioners, they don't appear to use voice captioners, so that was another strike against that route. 

I'm going to use the Wave while I'm in school, but want to get the Diamante when I get out after I bring in some bucks. lol Right now, we're trying to budget for the CAT software, and that is crazy expensive! In our state, you are also paid transcript fees if you freelance, and evidently you get paid for copies as well, but not as much. 

That's interesting about doctors calling in court reporters with their patients. I'm wondering about doctor/patient confidentiality? Would the court reporter sign a waiver? I have heard of the occasional CART job being done with a patient and doctors, but only in cases where the patient is hard of hearing. Huh, now I've got some stuff to look into.


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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

SunnyT said:


> Great idea! Getting yourself together, so that no matter how life goes.... you are prepared.
> 
> I did the same thing....for pretty much the same reasons. I became a teacher. It took 5 years, and student loans..... but it has been soooooooooooooo worth it!
> 
> ...


Wow, I'm so happy that you were able to get out of your situation and have the means to support yourself and your kids. And you did it yourself! That's awesome! I'm feeling good about our situation now, but I never want to be facing a divorce with no means to take care of myself. And there are so many equally positive reasons to go back to school and work, like college and vacations and less stress about unexpected expenses, etc...


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## SunnyT (Jun 22, 2011)

You are right! 

A little security, a little fun, and a lot of peace of mind! 

It's totally worth it!


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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

My machine and supplies arrived yesterday. I'm so excited!! I couldn't stop grinning. My kids wanted to touch the keys and after a few minutes they ran off to do their own thing. I just wanted to kiss the damned thing. LOL I'll have to post a pic of my set up.


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## lucy999 (Sep 28, 2014)

RideofmyLife said:


> My machine and supplies arrived yesterday. I'm so excited!! I couldn't stop grinning. My kids wanted to touch the keys and after a few minutes they ran off to do their own thing. I just wanted to kiss the damned thing. LOL I'll have to post a pic of my set up.


That's great!! Do you have a plan to have your husband mind the kids while you're learning? It is a MUST to have blocks of uninterrupted time to do this or else you'll just be spinning your wheels. They need to literally pretend you're not even there. No interruptions. Enforce strict rules or it will be tough. 

Good luck!



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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

lucy999 said:


> That's great!! Do you have a plan to have your husband mind the kids while you're learning? It is a MUST to have blocks of uninterrupted time to do this or else you'll just be spinning your wheels. They need to literally pretend you're not even there. No interruptions. Enforce strict rules or it will be tough.
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> ...


Thanks, 

Right now my schedule is Monday and Thursdays, two hours after I get off work and before kids are home from school. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I don't work, so I try to get in about 4 hours, broken up a bit. Weekends I'll probably get up a little earlier than the rest of the family and get in at least an hour. My husband is supportive and I know he'd take the kids out of the house or occupy them if I need it, but I'm hoping to keep most of my weekends available for family stuff.


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## backwoodsgal (Sep 8, 2016)

RideofmyLife said:


> Hubby and I went through an ugly time not too long ago. It brought into focus how vulnerable I would have been had we divorced. I was in possession of an associates degree in general studies, which doesn't get me very far. I've always known that I wanted to go back to work or school, and now that we're over the hump and the kids are in public school, it seems to be a great time.
> 
> I'm really looking forward to being able to pay for braces, a vacations every year, and put away money for the kids college. Not to mention the boost knowing I'd be able to support myself and my children if need be.
> 
> Anyone else going back to school? I'm starting back at the late great age of 38. Court reporting.


Hi, I am new here and just saw your post. I am in the same school boat. I'm 36 and I attend school part time. The plan was for me to graduate next semester with an associates in general studies. 

However that plan will most likely go in the dumps. Mom, not married, living with my boyfriend, and he doesn't love me anymore. I don't know how I will manage to continue my education since I will have to get a second job to support us.

But I just wanted to say I am happy for you! This will be an accomplishment no one can take away from you and I k is it will be great for your self esteem. Good luck. I wish you the best!

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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

Thor said:


> RideofMyLife, get the book "Money" by Tony Robbins. Managing your new earnings is a lot easier than you might think, and you'll have a lot more for retirement and you can retire sooner than you might think.
> 
> Congrats on your new life!


Thank you, I will! I've also heard that doing freelance work comes with paying taxes quarterly. I'm already up and running on the budget front (finally) and look forward to setting up savings for ourselves and our kids. I'll put it on my list of books to grab next time I'm at the library.


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## RideofmyLife (Dec 18, 2015)

backwoodsgal said:


> Hi, I am new here and just saw your post. I am in the same school boat. I'm 36 and I attend school part time. The plan was for me to graduate next semester with an associates in general studies.
> 
> However that plan will most likely go in the dumps. Mom, not married, living with my boyfriend, and he doesn't love me anymore. I don't know how I will manage to continue my education since I will have to get a second job to support us.
> 
> ...


Congrats on going back to school! I also have an associate of general studies and it should open more doors for you, so definitely keep on keeping on! It's hard, but so important to do it. Making the decision to do court reporting was incredibly difficult. I tend to have a hard time making major decisions and this is one I had to do on my own. I agonized over it more than I like to admit. Now that I'm committed, I'm seeing it through.  Hang in there, and maybe you can find a job that will fit around your schedule? You may be able to also take courses online or self-paced courses that will fit your schedule.


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