Instead of, um, boring you with my own biased and super nerdy response to this question, I decided to recruit my graduates to answer it instead. (#busyteacherhack)
Real PA Graduate responses to the question: “Do you ever get bored proofreading transcripts?”
“There are some boring transcripts, yes. But the job as a whole isn’t boring.” – K.C.
“Do I ever get bored? Sure, sometimes. But more often than not, I have to remind myself I’m supposed to be reading to proof and not for the “story.” Some are interesting because of the interaction between attorneys or the involvement of the judge. Some are interesting because of the subject matter that I must research and learn about. I enjoy words and the interplay and underlying subtleties of language, so although it happens once in a while, I am seldom bored.” – V.J.
“I enjoy the process of proofreading — looking for errors, figuring out punctuation for tricky constructions, etc. If I get an interesting transcript, that’s a bonus, but I don’t like proofreading for the content. There is a world of good books out there that feed that need.” – A.T.
“I love reading transcripts! Sometimes I feel as if someone has torn the last chapter out of the book because I never know how it turns out!” – J.J.
“It is always different, so I don’t get bored reading transcripts. Even if it was, who cares? You would still get to work at home, perhaps while raising children, and work on a couch instead of a desk. You don’t have to drive to work. You could even stay in your pajamas all day. You don’t have to pack or buy lunch or buy special clothes for work, and you save money on gas. You are your own boss. You can take time off for family events without asking someone, and that is the best part about this job. And if you have kids, you get to actually be with them every day. I don’t see how it could get much better than that.” – A.E.
“I love proofreading. Seriously.” – S.H.
“I just had to force myself to stop reading a transcript on a Friday night because it was too interesting.” – B.D.
“Coffee, a warm and comfy location, and something to read — usually interesting and challenging — these are some of the things that make me happy doing this job!” – E.M.
“There are some dull topics, but I don’t think I’ve been bored yet. Most of it intrigues me in one way or another, whether it’s someone’s odd pattern of speech or some new vocabulary. There have been a few times that I got so wrapped up in the “story” that I forgot I was proofing and had to go back and reread a section or two. I freaking love proofreading!!” – P.H.
“I look forward to reading transcripts at night once I put the kids to bed! 🙂 They are interesting.” – C.J.
“For me, each sentence is a new challenge, a puzzle, and I love putting puzzles together. If it were easy, I’d probably lose interest because I get bored easily. But I love the challenge.” – L.L.
“Yes, sometimes it is boring. Some of my CRs only take PIP cases and seriously, I want to gouge my eyes out reading about one more back surgery. I once had an audio where one of the attorneys asked the same question with slight variations for 200 pages. That was a special kind of hell for sure.” – J.W.
“You don’t know what boring is until you read a 200-page hearing on increasing electricity rates. There are some transcripts that I just can’t wait to be done with for various reasons, and there are other ones that I could read hundreds of pages of. Just like any other job, there are fun days and not-so-fun days.” – A.W.
“I actually don’t get bored on any of them. Because I am a reader, I can read almost anything and find it interesting. Although some are a bit obnoxious; they are not boring. I think it takes a special type of person who either loves to read or loves the art of punctuation to be a really good proofreader.” – K.H.
“I do a lot of patent cases. They are extremely boring. Sometimes I read aloud in silly voices to get through them…” – M.D.