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[doris]

So far I have only come across postings for patent agent with law firms and in biotech/pharma companies. I don't find anything in IT companies. The place which I worked in outsourced their IP work to patent attorneys. Am I missing something here or am I restricted to applying to law firms (which are not hiring anyway)

[MYK]

The job market is pretty much dead.

[giip]

True, A large number of IT professionals are making their way to the most growing industry. Intellectual Property has now become a popular choice for the technical professionals.

[doris]

Thanks for the responses. I am a bit confused. MYK did you mean that the job market for patent agent is pretty much dead? giip says the opposite. Thanks

[MYK]

I read his response to mean that a lot of people are trying to get into patent work (probably because they can't find work elsewhere).  If there are tons of entry-level job openings out there, I'm sure not seeing them, and neither is anyone else I know.

[doris]

Thanks. I am also seeing similar evidence of not many entry level positions. According to USPTO  there are 30K patent attorneys and 10K patent agents.
What I fail to understand is that if there is such a paucity of work, then how can a patent attorney continue to charge $200 (starting) for work? Should capitalism and a free market eventually translate into lesser wages. I say this because I still see people continue to harbor hopes (like me) of becoming a patent practitioner and getting more wages than what they get in their current profession

[Wiscagent]

What I fail to understand is that if there is such a paucity of work, then how can a patent attorney continue to charge $200 (starting) for work? Should capitalism and a free market eventually translate into lesser wages. I say this because I still see people continue to harbor hopes (like me) of becoming a patent practitioner and getting more wages than what they get in their current profession

Supply - demand curves can be simple.  If adjacent stores are selling the same product, then most people are likely to purchase the product that cost less.

In many situations, however the relationship of the price of a product or service to the demand is far more complex.  There is no easy way to determine if two patent practitioners will provide the same quality product.  One metric of quality is the years of experience, or number of applications filed or patents granted by the practitioner; low price (obviously) will not help with that.

Also, the price of the product (to some extent at least) communicates the quality of a product.  If one street vendor is selling hot dogs for $2.50, and another vendor is selling (supposedly) the same hot dogs for 25 cents, most of us would avoid the 25 cent hot dog.  So at that extreme, the very low price communicates that there is something wrong with the cheap hot dog.  Similarly, a very low price quote for a patent job communicates that there is something wrong with the quality of the service.  (How low is "very low"?  I don't know.)

Another factor, related to the experience factor, is references.  Anyone can look at the PTO web site and randomly select a practitioner.  I'm guessing however that most potential applicants seek guidance from general practice attorneys, other inventors, contacts through business groups, or picks a local practitioner.  It is difficult for an inexperienced practitioner to get good recommendations.

Furthermore, development of a product may cost orders of magnitude more than the cost of filing a patent application; and the potential value of the patent can be orders of magnitude greater than the cost of the patent application.  Most applicants would not be motivated to save a couple thousand dollars on a patent application for an invention, when the patent may be worth several million dollars.

All those factors, and a whole bunch I didn't mention, work against the tendency for capitalism and a free market eventually translate into lesser wages.

[doris]

Very thoughtful response. Thank you. I have to do some hard thinking. I really really want to get into patent field but have to be practical also.
Thanks again.