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[leolaser]

 I am MS EE with several yrs of work experience...but now looking for transition out of my new passion for patent area trying to enter into patent agent career..can someone tell what is an effective strategy to prepare for patent bar exam..what kind of study material is required to grasp...going through MPEP on USPTO is good enough reading or a review course is required..i heard about PatBar review course..its cheaper than others like PLI ..does anyone has used PatBar to pass this exam? 

[plex]

You should stick with engineering...

[leolaser]

plex...if I may ask you to explain on your kind advice to me ....thanx

For others, if anyone had appeared for this exam in past months, i would like to hear from them and take it from there..

[DGL]

I used a PLI home study kit.  Careful review of Chapters 700 and 2100 are important in my opinion.  I would say careful review of all previous exam questions you can find is important also, but the exam changed in April (right after I passed) so I'm not sure how much has changed on the exam.  Obviously, the new legislation will affect the exam at some point.

There is an entire section of this site devoted to the exam - "Patent Bar Questions" is probably where you want to do some reading.

[plex]

Because the job mostly involves a massive amount of very structured writing, and your OP was basically one very long and extremely hard to read run-on sentence.  I can understand one or two mistypes due to people getting used to an automatic spell-check, but basic sentence structure is a whole different ball game.  In order to succeed, and more importantly, enjoy the job, you need to be able to write well.  Most engineers are pretty terrible in this aspect, which is why most choose not to go into patent law, regardless of the changes in the job market.  The path can be a gigantic waste of time and money for many people.

If you still want to pursue this though, get a decent quality review course and spend a good amount of time reading it in your free time while working at your engineering job.  Collect as many old questions as you possibly can, and have their answers memorized, do not just go over them once.  Finally, practice looking up questions in the MPEP chapter by chapter, as you have to in the real test, and get your searching speed up to a reasonable level where you can find 25-40 answers in an hour.

[leolaser]

 Thanks to DGL for your suggestions towards preparation using PLI course. To Plex...thanks for useful tips towards structured writing and prep strategy. Since I am a researcher in my field and have written various research proposals and had published papers, I can certainly deal with writing requirements over here. Thanks again.

[Number_27]

It will run about $2k but I have had great luck with BAR/BRI for both state and USPTO exams.  Took the at home Internet version for the USPTO exam and loved the flexibility.

I am sure there are less expensive programs that will probably do the trick as well.  I agree doing the old exams is key to passing.  That will likely be not as helpful with new laws, glad I took it last year.

[PHInventor]

I am MS EE with several yrs of work experience...but now looking for transition out of my new passion for patent area trying to enter into patent agent career..can someone tell what is an effective strategy to prepare for patent bar exam..what kind of study material is required to grasp...going through MPEP on USPTO is good enough reading or a review course is required..i heard about PatBar review course..its cheaper than others like PLI ..does anyone has used PatBar to pass this exam? 

If you are serious about this new career goal I would second plex's advice that you focus more attention on writing and language.  The written word is not a simple tool; it is not like electric current or software or plastic or chemical structures, which respond more or less predictably based upon various inputs.  Good communication is an advanced art form that demands at least as much of the cerebral cortex as analytic left-brain thinking.  If you develop your use of language as a craft, rather than simply aiming to use it as a hasty means to an end, it will provide dividends that will go beyond patent law, but that at the very least will greatly improve your relationship with clients and your ability to deal with a variety of situations in your new career. 

[khazzah]

If you are serious about this new career goal I would second plex's advice that you focus more attention on writing and language.  The written word is not a simple tool; it is not like electric current or software or plastic or chemical structures, which respond more or less predictably based upon various inputs.  Good communication is an advanced art form that demands at least as much of the cerebral cortex as analytic left-brain thinking. 

I second the points made by other posters about the importance of writing skills. Writing is just as important as technical competence. If not more so, in the sense that it's easier to find folks with technical competence, so good writing can be what distinguishes you from the crowd.

your OP was basically one very long and extremely hard to read run-on sentence. 

OP, it's true that this forum is an informal means of communication -- and anonymous one at that. And maybe you can turn your good writing on and off as necessary. Nevertheless, like most skills, writing improves with practice. So maybe consider forums like this a opportunity to practice good writing.

[WTF_Over]

You should stick with engineering...

Ditto.

Patent law is a bad career move.

[IPLoya]

And maybe you can turn your good writing on and off as necessary.

I know I can.  My significant other loves to text; I turn off my good writing routinely.  Too few precious minutes in this life to write EVERYthing with the dry sentence structure of a patent application specification.

OP, try PLI - it rocks.  Take the live course if possible.

[NJ Patent1]

My parting shot(s) on these "I wanna be a patent lawer threads", I promise.  I can't take all the whinning, insecurity, and hand wringing.  MAN or WOMAN UP!  No different than many decisions U make in life.  Some work out, some don't (like my 2 marriages  )

To all wannabes, U may make a ton of money, you my not.  Be good and be lucky (or vice versa).  2K, 3K, 5K for a review course?  Take the dollar # and divide it by # of years U expect to work.  Simple math.  If U can live w/ the quotent, put it on ur CC

Writing skills?  I thought I took the last exam on which claims had to be drafted.  Oh well, if there are still multiple guess questions, the same old rules apply.  Practice, practice, practice.  Then read MPEP Chpt 2100 and practice some more.  Maybe pray if U believe in a superior being. It's a freaking bar exam OK!  Prepare for it as you would any freaking bar exam.  Why so much angst.  Pass the bar and can't write?  No problem.  You will be found out.  Yea, twitter is great.  but U usu cnt dft a claim - let alone an opinion letter - in a cuppla hndrt crktrs. 

If anybody finds me in these wannabe threads again, pls bench slap me and remind me of my promise, supra.  There are often good questions from earnest posters I'd like to reach-out to and it's hard to resist. But man ...

[rwcltn]

Save your money. Study/practice the past exams on PTO website.

[sooku]

I am a retired engineer with significantly above average verbal and analytical skills, preparing for the exam by reading the MPEP and relating it to a cheap $30 "MPEP outline" software. I plan to take 8 past examinations using the same software and then take the exam. My opinion, for what it's worth, is that if you can't make sense of the MPEP without the aid of a guide or a textbook, then you don't have the verbal skills necessary to be a successful patent agent.