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[Aqua00]

Ok ..here's the thing....I am not very different from a lot of people here ...a PhD in Biotech with about 10 years of postdoctoral experience (sadly) and now looking to change my career. I had been thinking about being a Patent agent and not going to law school ..but after reading a lot of posts here what struck me is the stagnation in the career growth and salary for a patent agent after a period of time that is bound to set in frustration. Talk about frustation..I have enough of it already now ..why would I seek some more that too after spending my precious youthful years?

I am married with two little kids and my husband is the primary source of income right now and that's the reason I do not feel the need to struggle too much to go the law school.

I would like to reaffirm this that if I did that and stayed an agent all my life ...it won't be rewarding enough ?? Will I be frustrated again Any advice would be welcomed.

[klaviernista]

Everyone is different.  Thus, it is hard to say whether or not you personally will be frustrated as a patent agent.  The general concensus is that being a patent agent can get old.  But frankly, most jobs get old after a while.  Heck, I have been a physical scientist for a government lab, a patent examiner, a patent agent, and a patent attorney.  The only common thread among all four positions was that they all got stale at some point. 

Let me give you a piece of practical advice.  It is easy to make a job change for a wrong reason. And choosing a new position simply because you are bored in your current position is a wrong reason.  Moreover, taking a new position simply because it is in a geographical area that you would like to live in is also a wrong reason.  These two points are particularly true when a contemplated career change involves a substantial investment of time and/or money.  Take it from me.  I have been making career decisions for wrong reasons for many years.  Just look at some of my other posts.  I am still looking for what it is I actually want to do.  Not that patent law isn't a great field.  I just do not have the passion for it that some of my esteemed colleagues do.

That said, before you make a decision, I recommend that you ask and answer the following questions: 1)  "Why do I want to be a patent agent?" 2)  "What do patent agent's do?"
3) "Do I think I will enjoy doing whatever it is I identified that Agent's do on a daily basis?" 4) "What opportunities will I likely give up, if I choose to become a patent agent, and am I okay with foregoing those opportunities?" and 5)  What other alternatives or factors related to my proposed career move have I not considered?"

[Aqua00]

Thanks klaviernista, certainly some food for thought there. I always believed that job or career satisfaction always outweighed money and I guess looking at your case... It's  true. I do know that as a scientist there aren't any great opportunities that I am gonna miss if I went into patent law and I am not doing this because I am bored in my current job. I admit I never grew up having a passion for patent law but in the current scenario where there is no funding or grants  available for scientists and pharma is doing nothing but cutting down on it's employees... Patent law seems a lucrative option. I am 39 and thus I do not have a desire or energy to go to law school at let's say 45. Hence my post was intended to find out that since I plan to stay a patent agent ...will I be left feeling frustrated and with no way out but go to law school? If that's truly the case ... Then I should be exploring other alternatives.         

[Wiscagent]

Aqua00,

Klaviernista correctly pointed out that everyone is different.  To a lesser extent every job is different. 

You probably know other people with PhDs in Biotech whose work that is substantially different than your own.  Some may spend most of their time in a lab, others rarely go into a lab.  Some work as support staff in a medical research facility, others do quality control in a pharma house.  Some spend their time in classrooms, and others prepare documents for the FDA.

Similarly, patent agents do different jobs.  Some grind out prep & pros in a law firm.  Some patent agents are patent liaisons in industry, bridging the gap between researchers, management, and outside counsel.  Some focus on prior art searching.  Others provide support for attorneys in IP matters generally.  Many go to an outside office; but a lot of patent agents work at home.

So, just as it is hard to generalize about a PhD biotech job, it is difficult to generalize about a patent agent job.

Your concern about stagnation in career growth as a patent agent job ... well you can say that about most jobs.  All the billionaires I can think of have been doing the same job for years.  The same is true for most doctors, teachers, mechanics, farmers, and postmen. 

One big advantage of skipping law school and working as a patent agent, is that the investment is low.  If you try it for a few years and don't like it, you can walk away and try something else - without having expended a several years and thousands of dollars to earn a law degree

[Ghoti]

Frustration comes from banging your head against the same brick wall over and over and over....  A change is as good as a holiday. Maybe you're overthinking this and trying to predict too many moves ahead. You seem to be in a great position where you are not the sole bread-winner so you can take some risks with your career and look to see what fits best for you.

I would say that if being a patent agent looks good, try it. If you love it, you may find that in a few years you have the motivation to study law, if not then you can move on. There are a lot of different types of IP jobs, maybe what you finally end up in will be one of the more obscure jobs that are less discussed here.

Good Luck.

Ghoti.

[klaviernista]

Klaviernista correctly pointed out that everyone is different.  To a lesser extent every job is different. 

Thanks for posting, Wisc.  Also, I hope you and everyone on this board know that I have no ill will or stigma against patent agents.  Just like attorneys, there is a tremendous variety of patents agents with different skills sets, and who perform a number of different tasks outside of traditional prep and pros.  Though I will admit that I generally think of a "patent agent" per se as someone who does patent prosecution for a living.  But as you noted, it is hard to generalize.  Hopefully my awkward attempt at generalization is not offensive to you or anyone else on the board who happens to be a patent agent.  That certainly is not my intent.

[Wiscagent]

No offence taken Klav'.  I think we agree more than we disagree on this.

One thing I have learned is that when a job is getting too frustrating, you must make a change.  The change might just be to report to a different boss in the same office, or the change might be something much bigger.  But if you've been doing your best on a job and it is getting you nothing but frustration, you need to make a change.

Enjoy celebrating the 234th anniversary of our nation's independence!

[Aqua00]

Thanks Klav, Wisc and Ghoti....your viewpoints were very insightful. I am getting inclined towards taking up the Bar exam. To do that what type of study material would you recommend? I am still contemplating whether to quit the full time job and study....or keep the job and study during evening hours. Any info on that front would be very helpful.     

[MYK]

It's not clear to me why you would have to make that decision "tonight".  In any event, give the patent bar a shot.  You don't need to quit your job to study for it;  it takes perhaps two months of studying in the evenings and on weekends.  You can buy one of the courses (may as well buy used, people sell them on this board all the time), or just read the MPEP, use the various free websites people post here all the time, and once you start to understand the basics then go over the past exams from 2000-2003 (concentrate on 2002 and 2003).

[Aqua00]

Thanks for info...Myk. I started looking around for the used course material..they range from $1000-400..trying to figure out which one to get. But I looked up some of the past exam questions on the free websites and was horrified to read the legal language. It was unbelievably hard to understand ..are you actually required to memorize all numbers that correspond to the particular section of the law or act?? By the time I finished ..my head was spinning....   But nevertheless I kinda enjoyed it ...but still having trouble digesting the fact that this is something I could be doing for the rest of my life. 

[chem94801]

Hi Aqua00,

As someone who just passed the patent bar, I would recommend the website mypatentbar.com.  Others have posted about that website on this forum.  I would say to look at that website before you invest in a patent bar review course.  The patent bar questions were really scary to me as well before I started studying for it, but after a few weeks, it'll be a piece of cake.  Make sure you read through all of the material and do all the practice questions on mypatentbar and you should be good.  Really helpful people also post on that website some of the stuff that appears on current exams which are not on previous practice tests.  So you can just read the relevant sections of the MPEP (once you familiarize yourself with it) and it will be a breeze on test day.  If you are still having trouble understanding the exam after looking through all the material on that website and practice some tests, you could invest in a study course...but, they are really so expensive.

[MYK]

I agree with Chem, it really isn't that hard once you get used to the USC/CFR references.  Takes a few weeks.

I found that the only way I could really understand the whole mess was to start going through the MPEP, section by section.  The courses that try to "summarize" it leave out too much.

If you go through 600, 700, 2100, 1800, and 1200, that covers most of the material that the tests have been hammering.  Then try to get an overview of the rest so you can look things up quickly during the exam if necessary.

[Spa]

I agree with the last two posts. It was incredibly difficult to get around the legal jargon the first few months, for esp someone like me getting into this cold and fresh from research experience. The first few weeks I wanted to give up and stay with my research, but hang in there, it will soon be a piece of cake. Aqua! I fully understand your situation as I "walk" your shoes.

As for the preparation, PLI is surely a bit outdated and you should rely 80% on the some of the websites like mypatentbar.com, patentbarquestions.com and this forum. freepatentbar.com is also good, esp for taking timed exams.

Like MYK said, you should atleast know where to look for what in the MPEP after being thorough with the important chapters.

Good luck.

[Robert K S]

It's really not sufficient to study the MPEP.  You have to know what kinds of tricks the questions are going to pull.  The best way to study is by taking the available tests and scrutinizing the model answers.  If you're regularly coming to this forum for help, you know you will be well prepared.

[DogDayPM 9er9er9er]

Adding my 2 cents here and to second (or "third") what Chem and MYK have been saying.  Spend a good bit of time on the free `sites suggested first.  It kills me to think how many people shell out a grand for a patbar course when (in my unscientific opinion) most of them could have passed with available free self-study aids.  Same goes for the LSAT if/when you decide to go that route.  The LSAC provides very good cheap prep materials, and I think with those and a $25 Barron's guide many could get the score they desire.  Anyway, main point is that for tests like this, give it the old college try yourself, first.  Only if then you find you're still not comfortable with your grasp of the matter (or if you've just got money to burn), spend for the commercial courses.