I keep hearing about how patent attorneys with M.E. backgrounds aren't fairing nearly as well as their EE/CS counterparts. Does anyone have any input on how an M.E. background would fare in obtaining a job in the IP field?

Go to a highly ranked LS and get good grades. You'll be fine. If you're going to a bad LS or screw up 1L year, you'll be hurting regardless. ME isn't very sought after in patent law, but good law credentials are. Good luck

Edit: if you went to Stanford/MIT/Berkeley or Ivy UG it helps too

Thanks for the response. Somewhat relieving, as I'm currently attending GT.

That's good that my options aren't totally limited. Right now I'm trying to figure out how much of an advantage EE/CS majors have in terms of employment/salary, and whether that warrants me taking an extra semester and load up on some EE credits.

The thing that frightened me the most was another post I saw on these forums. Someone wrote,



ME is all the way down there with Physics and Chem E? And waaayyy worse than everything else?

Wish I knew whether this person was talking out of their [bum], or if my last four years in ME could have been spent more productively elsewhere..

This is one of those questions you take to people who aren't 0Ls. I'm a patent agent at an IP firm and even I wouldn't be overly confident about giving anyone a pecking order of majors/specialties. Actually, the one you list is probably flat out wrong. Physics graduates are fairly sought after.

Does anyone know how either Aerospace engineering, or M.E. with a minor in Bio Med do? UF undergrad.

Ask yourself how someone with your credentials would be useful to helping defend these companies' IP - (link). EE, CE and Physics are going to be in the highest demand, although I have to say, I'm sure CE has the kind of pull it used to. But ME can a solid background for cleantech, nanomaterials, etc... Consider going to a law school where you can take 3-4 courses in EE, ideally something that builds on your ME background. I'm an EE and don't want to be caught flat footed if there's an alternative energy boom, or something. I'm looking to take some engineering coursework during law school.

Do law schools allow you to take undergraduate engineering classes concurrent with law studies?

That quote is from me actually (not a 0L btw haha)... Taking EE units won't matter, employers will only care about the degree major. ME is way worse than the others, yes. But with good grades from a good LS you'll be fine.

Yes, awful. Also you need at least a masters degree, even if you are in EECS. (This is what I gather from looking at patent firm requirements.)

I'm no expert on IP but I can tell you that even at my t14 IP departments have separate interview schedules and will often ask for specific kinds of pre-law school backgrounds.

You can't just bid on the firm through OCI, hope you get selected for a screening through the lottery system, and then try to convince the interviewer that your background in X is just as good as what they asked for, which is Y. If the firm is asking for X and you don't have X, career services will just delete your bid and you have no chance at getting an interview.

This is not the case at my current firm (where I am a technology specialist/patent agent), or my previous firm (V100). Incoming associates in IP have mostly had B.S.E.E degrees only. Again, for all I know these firms might be anomalies.

Not sure. I am just basing my info off a few firms that I researched for a 2L for bidding at OCI. A couple of these firms actually wanted the grad degree GPA too.

So, I calculated it. With summer semesters, I'd be in undergrad one extra year if I wanted to pick up an EE degree (in addition to my ME degree).

Would it be worth it to do that?

Are my options really going to be that dismal coming out of law school?

I was wondering about BME's in general. Do they even qualify for the patent bar without a grad degree?

I think all of this depends on the region you want to work in. I've heard the market is flooded with CS people who went to graduate school and want to get paid, so they go to law school - the same with Biology majors. I'm finishing my Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry and I'm planning on playing to my strengths, which is staying in North East along with all of the pharmaceutical companies. But I probably don't know what I'm talking about.


As an aside, grouping all chemists together is akin to saying that all lawyers are the same - IP, Business, Criminal, Constitutional...they're all the same right? Same skills, same training... I mean, they're all lawyers right? They probably all know the same stuff. It's just stupid to think that they're different.

Unless you can PM me and tell me the law firm you work at, along with proof that you actually work there, I'm inclined to think you're full of crap when it comes to the job outlook based on specialty in the IP industry.

Yes, BME is patent bar eligible--I passed this summer.

Thanks! I will definitely let my friend know .