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pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:35 pm
by Anonymous User
I am a current student at a good regional T2 school. My first semester grades completely fucked my chances at a firm job through OCI, but I even if I was able to interview for firm jobs i'm fairly certain I'd like to do something hard or soft IP. After speaking with various professors, I'm starting to seriously consider going to school part time next year (2L) and also embarking on 32 credits of ABET certified Comp Sci at a local school (also part time). I've verified with the USPTO that the degree qualifies me to take the patent, which is great because I'm very interested in
becoming a patent attorney even though soft IP is my passion.
I should be able to finish both simultaneously, however, before I make such a big decision I'd like to know what you guys think of this move. I know that many people here have walked many different paths, and i'd like to hear your thoughts to help me ensure that I'm not dedicating a substantial amount time to this second degree without vastly increasing my job prospects.
Any thoughts or suggestions? All are appreciated.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:34 am
by r6_philly
Being able to sit for the patent bar helps you to work as a patent prosecutor, which is a far cry from doing anything in soft IP. What do you like about soft IP? If you like transactional side, then a BS isn't going to help you much. If you like litigation, then you don't really need to pursue it just to pass the patent bar. Maybe getting the BS would help you land a job, but is the job something you really want to do? Also there is no guarantee you would get a decent GPA in the CS program ... so if you end up getting not so good grades than it won't help you much at all.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:22 am
by Anonymous User
Im actually very interested in patent litigation but soft IP is something I care about as a matter of policy. both patent and soft IP have appealed to me since I began workin in IT after college. I didn't take the courses before law school because I wanted to "test the waters". Unfortunately, I still feel basically the same way about what I want todo long term.
Patents seem to spawn a torrent of litigation, which I definitely find interesting and engaging but can't fully appreciate as a lay person. The philosophical questions and policy considerations which underlie copyrights interest me even more probably because l usually understand the thing at issue in the cases. I don't feel that the patent bar is a free pass to a decent job, in fact I don't really know if it's practically possible to intern, attend law school, and take BS classes all at the same time. but I obviously will do whatever it takes to work in a field I enjoy
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:03 am
by r6_philly
I am not sure how much copyright work there really is. Copyright work probably just go to the firms handling other litigation matters for the company. So in other words you need to work for firms who represent media clients. In that case regardless of a BS, your school and your LS grades will be a problem since they are basically biglaw. If you get a BS with good grades and pass the patent bar, you may be able to find prosecution work, but I don't really see it adding to your litigation/transactional/biglaw chances because your lawschool rank and grades is controlling.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:30 am
by Anonymous User
are big firms that picky about grades if you have a good computer science degree?
I heard finnegan hired someone with below average grades from a T1, who isn't that fluent in english even, but who has a computer science degree from a foreign school.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:18 pm
by datastrm
Anonymous User wrote:are big firms that picky about grades if you have a good computer science degree?
I heard finnegan hired someone with below average grades from a T1, who isn't that fluent in english even, but who has a computer science degree from a foreign school.
That was likely a few years ago before recession.
Yes, big firms look at grades closely, especially law school grades.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:19 pm
by Anonymous User
that did not happen a few years ago.
it was the class of 2011 or 2012.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:55 pm
by datastrm
Anonymous User wrote:that did not happen a few years ago.
it was the class of 2011 or 2012.
Does that person have a phd or WE? I mean it's really a case by case scenario.
But generally speaking, big IP boutiques like Finnegan definitely care about law school grades.
Back to OP, if you are only interested in soft IP, passing the patent bar is not necessarily gonna help you. Firms will expect you to be able to prosecute patents once you pass the patent bar and if you don't have a solid technical background, you will just be miserable.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:49 pm
by Fujin11
I have a similar question: I have 4 credits of chemistry and 15 credits of Bio on my transcript from undergrad (my degree is in something completely unrelated). Granted my grades in those subjects were sub-par; however, is it worth it to take summer classes at say a community college or local state school to meet the Patent Bar criteria (say one gen chem 2 course and three bio courses) and take the patent bar to increase the range employment prospects?
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:14 pm
by r6_philly
datastrm wrote:Anonymous User wrote:are big firms that picky about grades if you have a good computer science degree?
I heard finnegan hired someone with below average grades from a T1, who isn't that fluent in english even, but who has a computer science degree from a foreign school.
That was likely a few years ago before recession.
Yes, big firms look at grades closely, especially law school grades.
Depends on what you mean "closely." I believe the consensus is that median or slightly below at a T14 is plenty enough. I am not sure about T1, might depends on which one it is.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:16 pm
by r6_philly
Fujin11 wrote:I have a similar question: I have 4 credits of chemistry and 15 credits of Bio on my transcript from undergrad (my degree is in something completely unrelated). Granted my grades in those subjects were sub-par; however, is it worth it to take summer classes at say a community college or local state school to meet the Patent Bar criteria (say one gen chem 2 course and three bio courses) and take the patent bar to increase the range employment prospects?
If you don't have a BS in a sought after major, being able to sit for the patent bar isn't going to help you all that much - mostly because there are plenty of others who have the right majors. So yes passing the patent bar would be great, but you still can't rely on your BS.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:45 am
by Anonymous User
Thanks for all then info guys. Truly appreciated. I don't think I'll try the CS route. It's what I really wanna do but I don't really see a practical path, that ensures employment down the road.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:15 am
by Anonymous User
I'm in a similar situation, but not doing it to practice patent law. I'm afraid I will end up unemployed after law school and at least if I have a second BS in something useful, I might be able to get a job in that field and be able to leave the JD off my resume without leaving a gap.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 11:30 am
by r6_philly
Anonymous User wrote:I'm in a similar situation, but not doing it to practice patent law. I'm afraid I will end up unemployed after law school and at least if I have a second BS in something useful, I might be able to get a job in that field and be able to leave the JD off my resume without leaving a gap.
30 credits get a masters in CS. IT employers don't care abou your ug as much if you have a MS or MIS
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:25 pm
by Anonymous User
r6_philly wrote:Anonymous User wrote:I'm in a similar situation, but not doing it to practice patent law. I'm afraid I will end up unemployed after law school and at least if I have a second BS in something useful, I might be able to get a job in that field and be able to leave the JD off my resume without leaving a gap.
30 credits get a masters in CS. IT employers don't care abou your ug as much if you have a MS or MIS
Awesome. I'm going for it, even if it means the next couple of years are very busy with double the course load. As long as I have a job that can support me after graduation, I don't really care what kind of job it or what field it's in.
Re: pursuing patent related second bachelors while in law school
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:58 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:r6_philly wrote:Anonymous User wrote:I'm in a similar situation, but not doing it to practice patent law. I'm afraid I will end up unemployed after law school and at least if I have a second BS in something useful, I might be able to get a job in that field and be able to leave the JD off my resume without leaving a gap.
30 credits get a masters in CS. IT employers don't care abou your ug as much if you have a MS or MIS
Awesome. I'm going for it, even if it means the next couple of years are very busy with double the course load. As long as I have a job that can support me after graduation, I don't really care what kind of job it or what field it's in.
I'm going to assume you're not the initial OP, but instead the secondary OP since you didn't specify.
My response to you is, in short: NO. You need a CS degree from a legit college before you can really enter the programming field. A CS degree from [Ordinal] State is really not enough; it MIGHT be enough if you have good enough programming skills and a good GPA, but that alone is not enough. So deeply, truly, consider that. Because I am not at all convinced that you will obtain a "job in the that field" post-graduation.