Hey everyone --
I am about to graduate with a B.S. in biology. I don't really think I want to do medical school or graduate school, but I really like to write. I recently spoke to my advisor, and she mentioned that I should look into being a patent attorney. She says that intellectual property law is HOT HOT HOT! So I took the LSAT and got accepted at several (not top tier) law schools. I have no idea what I'm getting into, but it sure sounds like lots of fun!
I have heard that it is almost impossible to get a biotech IP job without a PhD these days. But I don't care. I got accepted into law school, so that means that I must be really smart, and there must be lots of firms just wanting to hire me three years from now.
I've also heard that it's critical to get patent experience DURING law school. HUH??? Who ever thought of something dumb like that? I mean, isn't law school all about case law and moot court and stuff? When I'm not hiding out in the library studying for class, I'll want to work on my golf game, but definitely not volunteering at a patent law firm, or technology transfer office. That's too much work.
Some people have told me that I should really sit down and talk to some patent attorneys about their profession before I get too far into this whole thing. They say I should call some attorneys or have lunch with them or dumb stuff like that... but those are grownups giving me that advice. No, I march to my own drum, and if my career counselor tells me that IP is the way to go, well, OK -- she's right. Plus, who wants to sit down and talk to people who will be doing what I want to be doing in three years? Talk about boring.
I'm convinced that there are tons (I mean tons) of biotech IP jobs out there, and in three years people will be offering me all sorts of six-figure jobs, even though I will have a JD from a mediocre school and absolutely no prior patent experience.
So, in other words, I could ask for advice, but really, why? I think I'll wait three years until I graduate. Then I'll send my resume to every firm that does IP work, even if they only do electrical, mechanical, or software. Of course, I'll be competing with hundreds of other recent law grads who have PhDs in biology, biochemistry, biophysics, etc. Plus lots of them will have experience working and volunteering doing patent work for firms and biotech companies. But, like I said, this field is HOT HOT HOT and there are bound to be loads of jobs waiting for me.
After hundreds of rejection letters and no interviews, I'll post a message on this board again and ask why I'm not getting any job offers. I'll complain that people lied to me, telling me that job offers would be falling into my lap. I'll be bitter becuase I incurred $100K in student loans, and now I'm unemployed with nothing to show but a worthless JD from some worthless law school.
Author
Topic: I want to do IP law -- advice? (Read 1826 times)
