Pre-Intellectual Property Law Majors Forum

[iplawise3795]

So this is my last year of high school and I was looking to have an ending career in IP Law, however I need to figure out my major for the first few years at university. The two option I have narrowed myself down to are Biology and Industrial Systems Engineering (ISE); I have full knowledge that I am able to pursue my law career through Biology, but I have questions towards ISE. Also which would be the best to major in? I feel if I change my mind in the later years I would be able to find a job easier with a major in ISE compared to Biology. Thanks in advance.

[Scalvert]

I would say major in whatever interests you now. Take a wide variety of electives. You may change your mind down the road; there's no specific major that's "better" for law school. The important thing is to not let your GPA slide.

You may get more response to your question in a different forum.

[hurldes]

Although there is no specific major that's better for law school, there are a couple specific majors that are better for getting into IP/patent law after law school. Right now the jobs in IP law are going to electrical/computer engineers and computer science majors. Are those unavailable at your school? What led to your final two options of biology and ISE?

Like the previous poster said, you may change your mind in a couple years, and you don't want to be stuck in something you hate just because you think it might be better for IP law. It's good that you're thinking ahead and trying to make a plan, but honestly, do not think about law school at this point. Just do what you find interesting, and get a job after undergrad (i.e., don't go straight from ugrad to law school). And then after you have worked for a year or two, then start thinking about grad school in general (master's in engineering/science, mba, law, etc.).

[dnptan]

I did biomedical engineering. Best of both worlds. If law school is your goal dint let your gpa dip. Dont settle for the grades of the other engineers you will be competing with a whole range of majors/schools who may have averages above the highest gpa of your eng dept

[collegebum1989]

You're sure about IP law in high school? Most engineers I know that work in industry haven't even considered this path as a career option. How are you so sure about this career path without, (a) taking any actual college-level engineering coursework, (b) gaining technical experience to understand what it's like to work as an engineer, and (c) understand what the patent field is like (it's different from most other practices of law).

I recommend pursuing a major that interests you the most without considering it as a "pre-cursor" to some career in the future since things may chance in the next four years and you may decide IP law is not worth pursuing your interests. That being said, as a practicing Patent Agent (with a biomedical engineering background), I'll provide some thoughts on what I've seen in the industry.

Bio and ISE are both terrible majors for IP law. First, majority of the demand for patents (assuming you want to do prosecution) are in software, EE, and maybe some mechanical/medical device arts. Biology majors are disadvantaged in this regard because the firms that actually prepare patent applications in the biology field seek candidates with at least a masters or PhD. Even then, there are like 30-40 EE patent positions for every Bio patent position. ISE is even worse, mostly because most engineers don't view it as an actual engineering discipline. Same thing goes for civil engineering and other less common disciplines. As a BME (with a masters) I had a tough time finding a position until very recently, and that was only because I had very unique circumstances.

If you're actually serious about IP law, then the best major to pursue is either EE/CS. This is the most in-demand technical background in the market at the moment (in both litigation and prosecution) and it's unlikely that that preference will change all that much in 7-8 years when you will enter the field.

[debdeb2]

EECS is definitely a solid choice. I worked with a number of neuroscientists and biophysicists who decided to go into IP law as well, after grad school. The tricky thing with EECS is if you're any good, Google will hire you quickly at a mad salary straight out of undergrad and law school will become a distant memory.

Might as well search online to check out IP firms in major cities - they should share the bios of their partners at least, and give you an idea of their educational background. Ex: http://www.richardspatentlaw.com/ has a bunch of civil engineers.

[collegebum1989]

EECS is definitely a solid choice. I worked with a number of neuroscientists and biophysicists who decided to go into IP law as well, after grad school. The tricky thing with EECS is if you're any good, Google will hire you quickly at a mad salary straight out of undergrad and law school will become a distant memory.

Might as well search online to check out IP firms in major cities - they should share the bios of their partners at least, and give you an idea of their educational background. Ex: http://www.richardspatentlaw.com/ has a bunch of civil engineers.

You've posted an example of a firm with 4 members, which definitely isn't representative nor indicative of the demand for civil engineers within the industry.

[purkinje]

I agree with the EE/CS recommendation. Keep in mind that for people with majors in life sciences such as bio, employers prefer a master's degree at minimum.

Disclaimer: I'm going into IP law with a life science background. If I could do it over again I would study biomedical or electrical engineering in undergrad.