And now, a life update...
Short Version: Within a 48-hour period, I received the two best job offers of my life last week! And yesterday, I gladly accepted a court reporter position with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission! ❤
Detailed Version: The counseling market is oversaturated right now, while court reporting is facing a major shortage. This means that desirable counseling jobs (especially entry-level roles) are limited, while there are loads of CR openings (for which I'm well qualified after nearly 21 years in the field). Over the past year, my focus has shifted. My current hope is to continue with court reporting as my primary career, then teach at CCU on the side after finishing my PhD.
Last week, I interviewed for a Federal Court Reporter position in Tulsa. It was a Zoom panel with two hiring officials and five other court reporters, but I felt surprisingly calm. We had a great conversation where I learned a lot about the role: meticulously tracking work hours, working with a judge who speaks clearly and slowly but requires realtime for every hearing, being able to work from home when not in court, busy dockets, and a faster 30-day turnaround time on all transcripts at a lower page rate than I currently charge. By the end of the day, I received an official job offer.
Becoming a Federal CR is really the pinnacle of the profession, so receiving that offer was a surprising honor and a confidence boost! To be clear, the offer came with a substantial pay increase (potentially $50-90k+ more each year, depending on transcript volume), fantastic benefits, and a significantly heavier workload.
Even though the idea of moving during the holidays, upgrading all my equipment, pausing the doctoral program, potentially hearing traumatizing things in court, and mastering realtime before facing a courtroom full of high-level jury trials was extremely stressful, I was really leaning toward accepting. I had talked with my CCU advisor, Chet was sending me house listings, and Mom and I were discussing new steno machines and CRR prep. It felt like the ominous uphill climb at the beginning of a roller-coaster that I knew would be a rocky learning curve for at least the first six months.
Thanks to Rachael's interest in court reporting leading to Mom's recent conversation with Marilyn, I had also thrown my application in with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission just over a week ago. I assumed the Federal role would be the one I took if it was offered, and the OCC could be a solid backup option.
After a very long and exhausting Friday in court last week (which honestly felt like God reminding me that I'm happier when cases settle rather than drag into long trials), Amy from the OCC called. We talked for 30 minutes, and I knew within the first five minutes that I wanted that job!! With the ongoing shortage, she essentially offered me the position on the spot. I spoke with Andrea Monday morning -- another CR on their leadership team -- and officially said yes. I submitted my resignation to Judge Brockman yesterday afternoon and sent my decline email to the federal court this morning. My final day here will be 12-23, and for HR reasons, my start date with the OCC will be 12-29.
This will be a lateral move salary-wise since it's still an Oklahoma state CR role, but the benefits include: Being managed by other CRs who understand and place a high value on court reporters, no realtime requirement, a legit electronic filing system (yes, please), a higher transcript page rate ($7.50 per page!), a predictable and non-traumatizing docket of mostly oil and gas cases, and working remotely from home all but 3-4 days per month!! That makes this the most flexible work role I've ever had, which many of you know is truly saying something. lol Their hearings are all Zoom recorded, so the backup audio will be solid and comforting. And it allows me to continue moving forward with the PhD program at the accelerated pace!
Early on, I joked that this choice came down to greed vs. laziness, but truly, it came down to alignment vs. pressure. Both job offers are excellent, and I trust that I would be valued and have stability and job security either way. After careful and prayerful consideration, I have chosen the role that aligns with my long-term goals, the life I'm building, and the peace I want to protect!
Interestingly, this is the second year in a row where I almost rushed back to Tulsa for a new year transition, then God kept me here. So I'm choosing to embrace that and make the most of being in OKC in 2026, trusting God's timing and plan. After 48 hours of nonstop brainstorming about the moving process (which is the actual worst) and wrestling with the intensity of the Federal job details, the OCC position was a real quick yes for me!
Yes to peace.
Yes to flexibility.
Yes to staying on track with the PhD.
Yes to an unhurried holiday season.
Yes to family dinners, CHA events, and keeping life rooted right now.
Yes to creating a beautiful home office space I'll enjoy instead of packing up my paid-off home!
I still see myself eventually landing in Tulsa, but I don't want to rush it. I am genuinely happy to stay in the OKC area a little longer. And while I tend to worry about how my decisions affect others, the Tulsa federal court should not have trouble finding a dedicated court reporter who desires that level of intensity, and being able to give Judge Brockman over a month's notice helped ease that transition and made yesterday's conversation less difficult.
I am deeply grateful for God's timing in ALL of the above. It needed to happen in this sequence for me to feel affirmed and believe I'm competent and capable of handling the Federal CR role, but also to feel flooded with peace, relief, and joy when the OCC door opened! ❤
