Court Reporters vs Paralegals & Legal Assistants
Median pay is about $10k higher for Court Reporters. The usual entry education is postsecondary cert for Court Reporters and associate's for Paralegals & Legal Assistants.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Court Reporters | Paralegals & Legal Assistants |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $72,420, higher | $62,890 |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $53,760, higher | $50,340 |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $100,780, higher | $80,080 |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | -0.1% Declining, higher | -0.3% Declining |
| Openings a year | 1,800 | 40,800 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Postsecondary cert | Associate's |
| Difficulty modeled | 2.4 / 5 | 2 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | High | High |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 87th pct | 78th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Court Reporters
- Monitoring
Only Paralegals & Legal Assistants
- Active Learning
Both lean on active listening, writing, reading comprehension, speaking, critical thinking.
More comparisons
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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.