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The age old question, as usual it depends on a lot of things (e.g. do you like your job, does it pay well, are you risk averse, how much debt are you willing to take up, etc.). No one can seriously answer these questions but you. However let me make a few things clear about the field (I am a patent agent who goes to law school in the evening). In general your engineering exp/degree matter a lot more than the legal degree. The type of degree/area of expertise matter a lot, EE is the gold standard the rest are in various other spots. GW is likely to run you 210K in debt (that is a pretty significant investment, not to mention the loss of the pay check). I would actually recommend you do what I did, get a job as a patent agent and see if you are any good in/like this field before going to law school. My firm pays for law school which is a nice bonus.ajr wrote:Reposting in what I think is the right forum:
Hey guys, I am an engineer with 8 years of work ex and a decent stable job paying well. Would you call me a fool if I quit and went to GW at sticker to do IP law? Thoughts appreciated.
Just remember if your planning on doing IP litigation/policy research you will lose your engineering exclusivity and everything that goes with having an easier time finding a decent job. IP lit firms maybe a little impressed with your technical background but a more than willing to hire non-technical persons. GW's COA is among the highest in the country ($70,000/year). If I were you I would screw the specialty ranking and just go for the highest ranked school I can get in to. There seems to be a consensus that specialty rankings are only relevant if the overall rankings are very close.ajr wrote:Thanks digital cntrl.
I know engg exp/ degree matter a lot, but the main reason why I would want to go to a higher ranked school is that I want to keep options other than just patent prosecution open, such as IP litigation, policy research etc. In the same vein, I'm afraid trying out patent prosecution as an agent even before going to law school might not give me a good picture of all the options, and hence wrongly prejudice me against going to law school itself.
As for risk aversion - I'm ok with taking some risks, but ideally I don't want to be 200k in debt. I do have some savings, and I'm hoping I can work summers, PT in the later years etc. to bring down my final debt. My current jobs pays well (average mid-level engineer pay) but I don't particularly like it...
I think anywhere in the T-14 (e.g. Georgetown) is preferable to going to GW.ajr wrote:Thanks. I agree, but (at least as of now) I don't think I can get into a much better school (say t10)...
Any other thoughts?
Sounds foolish to meajr wrote:Reposting in what I think is the right forum:
Hey guys, I am an engineer with 8 years of work ex and a decent stable job paying well. Would you call me a fool if I quit and went to GW at sticker to do IP law? Thoughts appreciated.
So I guess my options are -JazzOne wrote:Sounds foolish to meajr wrote:Reposting in what I think is the right forum:
Hey guys, I am an engineer with 8 years of work ex and a decent stable job paying well. Would you call me a fool if I quit and went to GW at sticker to do IP law? Thoughts appreciated.
What are your numbers?ajr wrote:So I guess my options are -JazzOne wrote:Sounds foolish to meajr wrote:Reposting in what I think is the right forum:
Hey guys, I am an engineer with 8 years of work ex and a decent stable job paying well. Would you call me a fool if I quit and went to GW at sticker to do IP law? Thoughts appreciated.
(1) Mediocre LS PT in my neighbourhood with $$$ + probably employer help (I assume all doors except patent law closed)
(2) Stick with status quo/ look for small changes in job description without school
(3) Try to get into a T-14 after my first (miserable, "for-fun" 2005) LSAT score disappears next year from records. I would still have to deal with my newer mediocre score from 2008.
What would you pick?
JazzOne wrote:What are your numbers?ajr wrote:So I guess my options are -JazzOne wrote:Sounds foolish to meajr wrote:Reposting in what I think is the right forum:
Hey guys, I am an engineer with 8 years of work ex and a decent stable job paying well. Would you call me a fool if I quit and went to GW at sticker to do IP law? Thoughts appreciated.
(1) Mediocre LS PT in my neighbourhood with $$$ + probably employer help (I assume all doors except patent law closed)
(2) Stick with status quo/ look for small changes in job description without school
(3) Try to get into a T-14 after my first (miserable, "for-fun" 2005) LSAT score disappears next year from records. I would still have to deal with my newer mediocre score from 2008.
What would you pick?