Ever heard of scoping as a work from home career? If you want to work from home as a scopist, Internet Scoping School has the best online training to help you out!
In today's post, I am excited to share an interview I recently did with Linda Evenson, founder of Internet Scoping School. In the interview, you will learn all about Linda's story, how she got started as a scopist, and how you can also do the same.
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1) Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional background. How did you get started with scoping?
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I’ve always been a wordophile, and as good as I am working with words, I am equally horrid at math. I was lucky enough to find a career that suited me like it was made for me.
I’m sure most people reading this will never have heard of “scoping” before. I'm not surprised as scoping truly is the best-kept home business secret in the world!
I was a professional scopist for over 40 years until I retired a few years ago to concentrate on running Internet Scoping School. In fact, I heard about scoping completely by chance. It's funny how we sometimes accidentally fall into something that will change the course of our lives.
A few years ago, one of my friend's friend was working from home typing for court reporters. At the time, I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. As I wanted to work from home too, I called up Kay and asked her about what she was doing.
Kay then told me about note reading, which was reading court reporter steno notes directly from the old paper tapes that reporters used to use on their manual machines. The notes looked like a little bird had tracked in on what appeared to be a stack of narrow toilet paper!
There was even a machine called a “note puller” that had a foot pedal whereby you could advance the paper strip as you read it. Impressive!
From there, main frame computers were created that could turn the reporters’ steno into English and do nothing else. They were huge, noisy and very expensive.
Next came a desktop machine I bought to work from home. The payment for that machine was more than my down payment!
Nowadays, we use PCs that are relatively cheap, can perform many functions besides those connected with court reporting. Because of that, we all pretty much work from home. You gotta love technology!
2) What kind of education did you get in order to do scoping professionally?
I majored in English in college, but I never got my degree. A high school education will even suffice.
But what someone really needs to be a successful scopist is an aptitude with English.
Do you spot spellings in material when you aren’t even trying? Do you love crossword puzzles and word games? Can you remember how a word is spelled for years, even though you never have a chance to use it?
You’d probably be a great scopist!
3) What inspired you to teach others how to scope by creating the Internet Scoping School course?
I had recommended a course to a friend that I thought was good.
The two women who wrote it were seasoned scopists, and I figured they would write good material. My friend emailed me that she was disappointed in what she got much for her money.
I asked her to send me the materials, and I was appalled at what I read!
To be honest, the course was a joke. I pitied the graduate who thought s/he was well trained after completing it.
I had trained scopists in-house for a reporting agency I worked for, and I knew I could do a good, thorough job of training someone to scope. So I did.
4) In your opinion, what are the 3 main skills needed to be a successful scopist?
1. An aptitude with words is a must. If you don’t have one, look elsewhere for a career.
2. You need to be a self-starter and have discipline in order to do your job well. Getting good quality work to your court reporter in time is essential!
3. At the very least, you will need rudimentary computer skills to get started.
5) How can a budding scopist get started with learning how to scope?
There is a little word skills test in our free introductory emails that will give a potential student an idea of whether his/her word skills are such that scoping is a possibility.
From there, we have a free mini course for beginners that gives an overview of scoping, has sample lessons from ISS, and some basic grammar lessons.
By the time someone finishes that section, they should know if they want to, or are otherwise qualified to continue learning how to be a professional scopist. I highly suggest checking out this section to decide whether scoping is for you. Don't worry, it's 100% free!
6) What is your best piece of advice for aspiring and new scopists?
Always be willing to learn.
You will learn tons in the scopist training, of course, but you will continue to learn new things as you do your job. Your interaction with your clients will definitely increase your knowledge.
Besides, because of the varied subject matter of transcripts, you will be learning new terminology and research skills constantly.
7) How do you find clients as a brand-new scopist?
Internet Scoping School graduates and the course itself have an excellent reputation among court reporters, so having that Certificate of Completion will make potential clients sit up and notice.
The school gets contacts from reporters looking for scopists, which we pass on to grads. There are tons of court reporting and scoping sites online where one can make contacts.
However, there are a few websites that post “ads” from reporters looking for scopist. So, that's why we get a lot of word-of-mouth recommendations from happy reporters who use our grads.
There is a lot of work for scopists out there!
8) Can you explain a little about why ISS is the best scoping course available in the market?
We have a thorough section that trains you on using the CATalyst software unlike other online courses.
When a student finishes the Internet Scoping School software training, they can operate the program efficiently and profitably.
Internet Scoping School also has an extensive section on learning to read steno notes. As scopists now get the audio with files, other instructors don't consider note reading to be important. I disagree.
Numerous ISS grads have told me that they are so glad they can read the notes as it helps them figure out mistrans/untrans. That in turn makes them better scopists.
We also have a very active online group for students and grads where you can get to know your peers, ask them questions or advice, and feel like a part of a community. You can also make a backup arrangement with a peer that will give you much more control over your time.
ISS has a great reputation among reporters, and they often contact me when looking for help. It's just another means of finding work for ISS grads. In fact, a potential student contacted reporters across the country, asking for a recommendation for a training course.
Every single person recommended ISS. That made me feel great!
As the instructor, I have many more years of experience than any other teacher. Over the years, I have worked with many reporters and been in situations that people with less experience haven't.
Unlike other instructors, I have given something back to the profession by giving seminars at state and national conventions, writing a column for the Journal of Court Reporting, and been otherwise involved in the profession.
I am very conscientious about answering emails or online questions. When you sign up with ISS, I consider it a contract between the two of us. I have a vested interest in your success and reputation because they reflect well on the school as well.
9) How can readers learn more about scoping and the Internet Scoping School?
We have many reviews and testimonials written by our happy graduates about the course. They can be found here and on our blog at www.scopeschool.com.
- Feel free to also check out our full course overview here.
- Otherwise, you can also download the full course syllabus.
- Not ready to invest? Then find out if scoping is a good fit for free. Otherwise, if you're ready to jump right in, get the full scopist training here!
If you love words, you will love scoping!