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[jeremystrause]

What is the best major for someone wanting to be a patent lawyer? Please be specific.

Also, I'd like to minor in political science. Is that going to matter at all when it comes to getting into law school or finding a job?

[lawyer2be]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[bald & chained]

i know trolling is fun, but seriously, how many times can you ask a variant of the same question?

[rts]

What is the best major for someone wanting to be a patent lawyer? Please be specific.

Sweet spot is a BA in English from tier 2 state college with a GPA between 2.9 and 3.75, no more and no less.

[bald & chained]

While English degrees are in demand, knowing a foreign language will really set you apart from others.  My Spanish minor helped me out tremendously during my job search. Patent firms want people with foreign language skills because a lot of patent prosecution work comes from foreign clients.

What is the best major for someone wanting to be a patent lawyer? Please be specific.

Sweet spot is a BA in English from tier 2 state college with a GPA between 2.9 and 3.75, no more and no less.

[Wiscagent]

You could major in Esperanto, if you can find a college that teaches it.

[lawyer2be]

maybe Russian

[bald & chained]

not as useful as Esperanto for patent work, but helpful for reading all the spam on this board.

maybe Russian

[Robert K S]

Don't forget also to participate in resume-worthy extracurriculars, like intramural broomball.

[rts]

Should I list on my resume my high-school summer jobs when applying to big law? How much extra should I expect if I do this? Serious answers only please.

[khazzah]

Should I list on my resume my high-school summer jobs when applying to big law? How much extra should I expect if I do this? Serious answers only please.

Only if your high school summer job was somehow relevant to law or patent law. So, maybe if the job was for a politician or a lawyer. Or maybe if you worked for a high tech company in some technical capacity. Otherwise, no.

Also, I'd like to minor in political science. Is that going to matter at all when it comes to getting into law school or finding a job?

I'm not sure what a "minor" requires, but there will be very little overlap between any sort of technical degree and a poli-sci degree. If it's a lot of extra work to get that minor, I'd say don't bother.

Law school ... maybe. Law school is full of PoliSci *majors*. So it seems like a PoliSci *minor* could cut either way: makes you look like a wanna be next to the majors (so that's bad); or PoliSci subjects are considered good prep for law school (so that's good). I have no idea which way it cuts.

Finding a *patent law* job? Won't help. I say it hurts. Looks like you don't know what you want. [My personal opinion, off-the-cuff].

[bleedingpen]

Should I list on my resume my high-school summer jobs when applying to big law? How much extra should I expect if I do this? Serious answers only please.

definitely list the odd-ball summer jobs that grandma gave you when you were 8

[NJ Patent1]

rts, bleeding;  Only if the summer jobs required bowing and sniveling, and an occasional kowtow.  If so, your rewards will be many.  I worked at big law and know this.  Unfortunately, I didn't learn these skills at my summer job (where I was "the boss" for 6 weeks and became accostomed to being sniveled to).  Because of this deficiency in my background and experience, I no longer work for big law  .  Sigh.  Big law has translators, and maybe a few 1st years, working overnight in the basement sub-basement.  What a sense of power when U can make someone work all night (that'l teach 'em to not forget to bow to more 7th tears!)  Language skills are rarely - but not never - important, e.g. when you make partner and have to give a marketing pitch somewhere in Siberia.  I doubt anyone ever got a job at biglaw - as I understand that term - based on language skills (unless U count DOJ as big law and are fluent in Afghani)).  But, seriously, it could be a tie-breaker.  Question: since when is politics a "science".  As a PhD in chemistry - ok, not rocket science - I take umbrage at politics and science in the same paragraph.  It should be called "politics". period

[AnotherCog]

Language skills are always a positive. 

Hab SoSlI' Quch

[bald & chained]

So are nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, and computer hacking skills.  Law firms only want associates who have great skills.