This year's conference was held in Orlando, Florida, over the past week, and I had the opportunity to visit for the first time, as a student. As a SimplySteno student, I went primarily to meet up with Marc Greenberg, the owner, and some fellow SimplySteno students, but even if you don't know anyone there, it's a fun experience, and a great opportunity to meet new people in the field.
Professional reporters are very enthusiastic about students, and everyone really tries to encourage you to keep going and get certified. Those of us coming from a non-traditional route, such as self-learning through Plover, are in just as good of a position as every other student -- the industry is in dire need of new people, so anyone who has the skills is encouraged to join.
Just from those few days, I've already received several offers from professional reporters, firm owners, and a potential school owner, who want me to work for them once I get certified. I'm now testing into my 200s, working towards my RPR, and going to the conference gave me the motivation I need to get through the final push to 225.
If you're at all interested in stenography as a career, either in court reporting or captioning, I'd strongly recommend you go to an NCRA conference. You'll definitely find me at next year's in Houston. 🙂
And it's a fairly small space, so you just never know when you might run into a celebrity:
