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Topic: 35yo new lawyer...want to start Purdue EE... (Read 2004 times) |
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indylaw
Newbie
Posts: 2
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35yo new lawyer...want to start Purdue EE...
« on: Oct 1st, 2007, 9:58pm » |
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Hi everyone and thanks for all of the awesome input - I have learned a tremendous amount from just reading all of the posts. Thanks again!
I am a 35yo new lawyer, and work in labor/employment and litigation. I worked during law school for litigators also. Graduated unremarkably in the middle of the class, from a midwestern school ranked consistently in the 70's. My undergrad degree is not science, but I do have a lot of science coursework, and enjoy it very much.
I have always wanted to do patent law, for various reasons. The least of which now is to improve my professional prospects and earning potential. (Note to current or prospective law students: make your grades your absolute FIRST priority during law school rather than pulling all-nighters for your firm - or all-nighters doing other activities which shall remain nameless...)
At any rate, I have recently been accepted to the undergrad EE program at Purdue. I am very interested in trying to get the degree in the evenings, while maintaining employment. I have a gf but that is it as far as family commitments.
Questions:
1) Job prospects. What are the prospects for a guy pushing 40, with 4 or 5 years of litigation experience and a newly minted EE from Purdue? Also, will good grades from the EE degree in any way mitigate the mediocre grades from law school? What size firm could I reasonably expect to work at?
2) Age. Is my age a factor?
3) Feasibility. Is it a reasonable proposition to get an EE degree from Purdue, studying at night, part-time?
and finally,
4) Age old question - is EE still condsidered the most marketable engineering degree to get? What about Biomed?
Thank you very much for your input everyone - it is greatly appreciated - !
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indylaw
Newbie
Posts: 2
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Re: 35yo new lawyer...want to start Purdue EE...
« Reply #1 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:47pm » |
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anybody care to throw a few thoughts out there...  ?
thanks !
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patent_type
Junior Member
Posts: 81
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Re: 35yo new lawyer...want to start Purdue EE...
« Reply #2 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 7:34pm » |
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Here are some SWAGs from a pimply teenager stalling on his geometry homework:
1) decent job prospects. EE grades do not count worth a hill o' beans when interviewing for patent jobs. Are you interviewing for a lawyer job or an engineering job? BIGFLAW is hard to break into for the older set, because BIGFLAW wants more than most of the older set want to give in terms of commitment. Just a generalization, not an absolute truism, but the BIGFLAW folks go by the percentages. Still, give it a shot, it may work. Helps if your family owns a 5+ percentage stake in Dow Chemical, for example. 
2) yes. But age cannot legally be a discriminatory factor, so nobody will actually *say* yes.
3) depends on you.
4) EE is a background in demand. Biomed is less so (but more so in some quarters). But bio types without a bio PhD are at a disadvantage.
OK, back to c^2 = a^2 + b^2.
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plex
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Posts: 168
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Re: 35yo new lawyer...want to start Purdue EE...
« Reply #3 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 7:47pm » |
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This wasn't one of the things you have asked, but, just a word of warning, EE is a difficult degree and is very likely different than what you did in undergrad and is very different from law school. Just be prepared to learn a lot of new things in a style you have not encountered before.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2007, 7:47pm by plex » |
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jackdaw
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Re: 35yo new lawyer...want to start Purdue EE...
« Reply #4 on: Oct 4th, 2007, 12:01pm » |
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I'm a student currently attending law school with a Undergrad EE degree from one of the top 10 engineering public schools in the nation. As far as what the person above me said, i found engineering less time consuming than law school so far has been for me. If you have any sort of aptitude for higher math (differentials, multivariable, etc...) I'd say if you think you can actually make more as a patent lawyer go for it. Engineering is hard, and different than law school, but if you have the drive you can do it.
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