Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[N/A]

I am a first year student at Benjamin N. Cardozo Law school in New York City.  I have an undergraduate degree in computer science (B.S.).  

How difficult do you think it will be to find a job?

[Isaac]

I dunno.  You won't be graduating for a couple of years and things change.  Hopefully the market will be less difficult for entry level patent attorneys in a couple years.

I have one piece of advice for CS majors.  I'd recommend checking to see whether you meet the academic requirements  to take the patent bar.

A lot of CS programs even at top schools are unacredited.    The USPTO requires students of unaccredited CS programs to prove to have 40 hours of hard science/engineering work on their transcript including an 8 hour physics or chemistry sequence with labs.   It is very common that CS majors  have insufficient course work on their transcript.  

If your CS program is accredited (there is a link to a list of  accredited programs on the USPTO web site) then you don't have to worry about the course work requirements.

[N/A]

I am aware that my school is not accredited.  However, I believe that my undergraduate coursework is sufficient to meet the USPTO equivilency standards.  Evidently, the only way to find out is to apply.  If anyone knows of any other ways to find out, i would appreciate the input.

[Isaac]

I don't think you can get an official answer without applying.

But applying for and taking the test while in law school seems like a good idea.   If the PTO is offering the test as often as proposed, it will be feasible to study for the exam during the summer and to take the bar exam some weekend when it won't interfere with your law school studies.