Not sure if four years of college is for you? Court reporting is among the top jobs that don't require a four-year degree, according to Forbes magazine.

Forbes recently released its list of the best jobs you can get without a four-year degree. And court reporting comes in at No. 6. But the famous magazine is a bit off when it comes to salary projections, say officials with the National Court Reporters Association.

Forbes‘ list comes by way of a report by the job search portal CareerCast.com. The jobs listed, including court reporting, don’t require a four–year college degree, but most do require niche training. All offer great salary and growth opportunities.

But Forbes and CareerCast.com missed the mark on court reporting figures. They list a starting salary of $26,000 and a 14.1-percent employment growth projection.

“While Forbes only mentions the starting salary, it should be noted that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median salary for the profession to be a healthy $47,700, with a similarly positive growth outlook,” NCRA says in a recent website blog.

Income potential can go even higher, depending upon a court reporter’s skill and accuracy levels, experience, and the industry niche and geographic location chosen. For instance, reporters working in federal courthouses generally will command higher salaries than those working in county courts. And larger markets like New York and California are higher on the pay scale, too. According to the NCRA, a highly skilled closed captioning specialist or general stenographer can expect an average income of around $62K per year, and freelance stenographers enjoy an income potential of $100K per year or more.

The BLS also predicts an 18-percent growth in the court reporting profession nationwide between 2008 and 2018, with Maryland, California and Florida topping the country in the largest numbers of court reporters and court reporting jobs. These findings reflect the Stenotype Institute’s track record of placing 95 percent of graduates in court reporting jobs over the past decade.

If you’re ready to start a lucrative career, call the Stenotype Institute at 800-273-5090 and speak with an enrollment specialist about opportunities in court reporting and closed captioning today.