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[cheer21]

I just passed Patent Bar -- Actually I am attorney who passed the bar 6 years ago, but have been practicing non-patent area.  I have a BS and MS in Bio field, but do not have a Ph.D. 

I am trying to find any opening for the person like me, but it seems like there is no position which requires the credentials which I have.  Honestly, I do not know where I should start to find the job to get into the patent. 

Is it possible to have any job with this credentials?  I know specifically in Bio field, the firm prefers to have somebody with Ph.D. maybe not with USPTO nor Attorney License.  I really get into the patent since it has been my only one dream and hope, but have no idea where I should start.  Any idea? 

[plex]

Going to be fairly hard to get a job at the USPTO, though not impossible, just not nearly as likely as it would be if you had a PhD, they get plenty of PhD apps, and there's only a low-moderate need for them.

Private sector will be worse, it pretty bad for everybody in the private sector, only people with amazing grades and perfect backgrounds are landing reasonably good jobs there, even with a PhD it would take some time with no relevant experience.

[bleedingpen]

I am not as negative as plex on this.  A lot will depend on geography....

[PIT]

Cheer21,

We find that generally the problem with trying to break into the patent industry is more so a lack of experience rather than a lack of credentials.  Although, if you intend to work in only the Bio arena, a Phd would definitely be helpful.  Firms and companies would essentially have to pay you to train you (which is a risk to them) if you do not have any patent drafting and prosecution experience before you come on board.  Some firms who generally participate in job fairs have neglected to do so this year because they do not expect to find persons with drafting/prosecution experience. 

This is why we developed the Patent Institute of Training; and we are currently enrolling for our summer session to prep students for job interviews this summer.  Check out our webpage and let us know if you may be interested: www.patent-institute.com/admissions-2/.  If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@patent-institute.com.

Best Regards,

PIT Staff

[solagent]

Don't waste your time- you have no future in patent law. There is no market for people without a PhD in molecular biology or related field (e.g. immunology, microbiology, virology, cell biology). I know this because I've been trying to secure employment for several years as an agent with a MS in a bio field (NOT molecular bio related). All I did was end up wasting many productive years of my career. I can't get a job as a patent agent and I have some industry experience. Even the USPTO will not hire me.

In the bio field there is a huge discrepancy between what credentials qualify you to get your registration from the USPTO and what is actually employable. This is why I will be petitioning OED to change their requirements for people in the life sciences so that a PhD in molecular bio or related field is required (currently just a certain amount of credit hours in any bio field are needed). I don't want other people to make the same mistake that I did. With the status quo, the patent agent registration for bio folks is just a license for false promises for anyone who doesn't have the credentials that I've mentioned.

There may be other areas of law where you can use your science background, but patent law is not one of them.

[plex]

Yes, about 90% of the degrees, and backgrounds that require using B or C qualifications, are not employable, at all.  A few others are borderline, like bio/chem (the demand has always only been moderate there, and there is HUGE supply of bio/chems), and then there is the small handful of degrees that are actually desirable.  It isn't hard to figure out what these are, because they are the exact same degrees the USPTO almost always has job postings up for that are listed with many vacancies (except for CS).

[Kaitlin]

What would be the OP's chances of landing a patent or IP-related position in-house with a moderate-sized company (tech, pharmaceutical, whatever)?  Years back, when I was with an IP boutique, we brought on board people who had been doing prosecution in-house.  What would be the prospects for using that as a way to get experience?  And what chance, if any, is there of getting an in-house position doing something like licensing and then moving laterally to prosecution?

[MYK]

(except for CS).

What's your take on the CS market?

[Oh, Crud]

What would be the OP's chances of landing a patent or IP-related position in-house with a moderate-sized company (tech, pharmaceutical, whatever)?  Years back, when I was with an IP boutique, we brought on board people who had been doing prosecution in-house.  What would be the prospects for using that as a way to get experience?  And what chance, if any, is there of getting an in-house position doing something like licensing and then moving laterally to prosecution?

Good question.  The OP did not specify what the 6-years prior legal experience were.  On the off chance they were contact {Edit} contract and specifically license-heavy, I could see a scenario such as the last one you mention panning out, assuming the same company has an in-house prosec dept that feels a bit, but not too, overworked.  If too overworked, no one will have time to train a noob.  If not overworked, well, you know how lawyers can be about giving up work. 

There's literally no chance for the OP in your first scenario, though, IMHO.  In-house prosec normally hires at the 5-10 year experience stage.

[cheer21]

Hmm...  It is pretty depressing to hear all about the reality in the patent field. Actually, I start thinking that it would be better for me to take PhD in Molecular Biology or get another EE degree.  However, honestly, no matter what qualification the firm is asking for bio patent agent, I know it would not that matter for the real work itself.  I worked for foreign law patent law firm before, and there were a few bio patent attorneys who had PhD also.  I realized in the US, there are too many overqualified PhD out there in the bio field and there are too limited job market for bio PhDs so they flow into the patent law field. 

Thank you for all of your inputs. I will keep try anyway hoping some miracles happen. Anyway, it is better for me to have one more line in my resume after all.