Meramec Grad Finds Success at 220 Words Per Minute

For Ariana Jordan, there’s no room for typos. The graduate regularly provides real time captioning for television networks such as MTV, ESPN and PBS.

Since graduating with a degree in communication access real time translation (CART) reporting from St. Louis Community College at Meramec in 2007, Jordan has found success at 220 words per minute, the typing speed required to provide the scrolling text of a broadcast for the hearing-impaired.

Jordan now heads her own business, Real-Time Ready Captions, and also is a freelance broadcast captioner for Good Sport Captioning and CaptionMax. She is able to work remotely from her Kirkwood home thanks to live audio feeds.

“A normal person speaks 110-120 words a minute, and you need to be able to keep up with a conversation, so they double that,” Jordan said of the 220-words per minute industry standard.

Jordan types in real time through a steno machine with 24 keys and no letters. The machine and phonetics immediately intrigued Jordan after a friend introduced her to STLCC’s information technology reporting program.

“I thought the machine was a cool device, and I just loved writing on it and learning a phonetic language,” she said. “I thought being a (CART provider) would be a good fit for me.”

The school’s program in particular interested Jordan because students can specialize in legal transcription or CART providing and broadcast.

In addition to captioning TV programs, Jordan also provides in-stadium captioning for St. Louis Cardinals’ games, in which her text appears on the Busch Stadium scoreboard, as well as captioning of college lectures through the University of California.

Jordan said the work is out there for those with an interest in pursuing broadcast captioning and the profession pays well. One can work 20 hours a week and make a full-time salary, Jordan said. She added that the profession is a good option for parents who want to stay home.

But a career in captioning takes time and patience.

“Your fingers have to get used to typing on the steno machine, and your brain has to make those connections,” she said. “In order to master stenographic theory, it takes many hours of practice outside of the classroom.”

Jordan recommends STLCC’s program to self-motivated individuals who are detail-oriented and strive for perfection.

In addition to an industry standard of typing at 220 words per minute, real-time captioners are expected to maintain a 98.9-percent accuracy rate.

And when captions are being seen by millions of viewers of an MTV season finale, tens of thousands of Busch Stadium patrons or college note-takers, there’s simply no room for typos.   

STLCC will conduct an information session focusing on academic requirements and career options in information reporting technology from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. The program will begin in Room 201 in the Student Center at the Meramec campus.