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[IP_MA_DUDE]

What is the best way to get an entry level position?  I worked full-time at law school as an electrical engineer at a very respectable (Global 100 company) but I'm having no luck finding any IP jobs.  I passed the state bar, but should I also try to pass the patent bar during my search?  Or am I  S.O.L and should I continue to work as an engineer?

[xyzzy]

Depends what type of EE skills you have - for instance, can you build a time machine that'll take you back to 1999, when salaries were skyrocketing and jobs were plentiful?   

Seriously though... What sort of "IP" job are you looking for without having passed the Patent Bar?  Trademark?  Copyright?  Or are you just looking for a firm that'll pay you while you're studying for the Patent Bar?  If that's your goal, I think passing the Patent Bar now will help make you a more attractive candidate. 

Sorry I can't be of any more help. I guess I really just wanted to make that time machine joke. I'll be looking for my first Patent-related job soon too, so I look forward to reading any responses to your post.

Good luck!

[miltonian]

The PTO is hiring.

[Peter Song]

Yes, take the patent bar and pass it.  This won't guarantee a job--there really is no such thing--but it will allow you to include a registration no in your resume, which can be a game changer in prep and pros. 

If you have been admitted to a state bar, make sure you change your registration status from patent agent to patent attorney in case you need to hang a shingle.

[blakesq]

Peter, I agree that it looks better to change your registration from agent to attorney when you pass a state bar.  But I do not think its necessary even if you want to hange a shingle.  Why do you think it is necessary?

Yes, take the patent bar and pass it.  This won't guarantee a job--there really is no such thing--but it will allow you to include a registration no in your resume, which can be a game changer in prep and pros. 

If you have been admitted to a state bar, make sure you change your registration status from patent agent to patent attorney in case you need to hang a shingle.

[Isaac]

Peter, I agree that it looks better to change your registration from agent to attorney when you pass a state bar.  But I do not think its necessary even if you want to hange a shingle.  Why do you think it is necessary?

It is not necessary, but you will still want to do it.

[OMG IP]

What Peter said.

It's not that you "have" to take/pass the patent bar - but, at least in my opinion and my experience, it makes you more attractive becuase you it's an extra marketable feature that a law firm can exploit for profit purposes.  IP is business, just like anywhere else.

[tkfx2000]

I am not so sure that it makes you more marketable, when starting out, if your goal is patent prosecution.  At the entry level, a firm has to train people to write patents. They have three choices. They can hire an engineer (or scientist) with no law or patent experience. Doing this the firm does not pay any premium for a patent or law license. They can also dangle part-time law school before such new hires, which serves as a retention plan for the firm.  The second option is for the firm to hire an engineer who has passed the patent bar and has no patent experience. The firm avoids any premium of a law degree, and also can dangle the law school carrot as a retention program.  The final option is hiring a new patent attorney who requires training. A firm is going to be concerned with training a new patent attorney who, after the training may leave for a better paying position.
   These are just things to think about. Firms have different needs.  A new patent attorney is going to be competing with engineers and patent agents for the same job. A Firm's is going to consider their needs in context with the price they are willing to pay.   

[PatentDave]

Definitely take the patent bar.  Not only will this help you with law firms, it could also help get your foot in the door by starting out as an examiner.

[OMG IP]

I am not so sure that it makes you more marketable, when starting out, if your goal is patent prosecution.  At the entry level, a firm has to train people to write patents. They have three choices. They can hire an engineer (or scientist) with no law or patent experience. Doing this the firm does not pay any premium for a patent or law license. They can also dangle part-time law school before such new hires, which serves as a retention plan for the firm.  The second option is for the firm to hire an engineer who has passed the patent bar and has no patent experience. The firm avoids any premium of a law degree, and also can dangle the law school carrot as a retention program.  The final option is hiring a new patent attorney who requires training. A firm is going to be concerned with training a new patent attorney who, after the training may leave for a better paying position.
   These are just things to think about. Firms have different needs.  A new patent attorney is going to be competing with engineers and patent agents for the same job. A Firm's is going to consider their needs in context with the price they are willing to pay.   

It defintiely makes you more marketable.  The OP asked about ENTRY LEVEL IP ATTORNEY, so discusiion of enginneers, scientists, agents, clerks, liasons, etc., has little to no relevance in the comparison.  The comparison is attorney vs patent attorney.  For IP law, registration is way more marketable.  Of course, this is my biased opinion only.