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Has anyone without a science background gone back and completed the minimum requirements to be eligible to sit for the patent bar? Purely for opening new doors.

I am considering completing the minimum 24 hours in physics.

If anyone has, or has some insight as to this prospective path, please share pros and cons. Thank you.

If you are trying to do IP litigation, this could help a bit to show you are really committed to the field. If you are trying to do patent prosecution, I wouldn't bother since firms want people with technical degrees.

I actually thought about this while in law school and came to the simple conclusion that it's more work than it's worth. You're better off getting good grades, networking with the right people, and either lucking into IP lit off the bat or getting a job doing general litigation at a GP firm and lateraling to the IP lit department when you can.

It sucks, I know. Seems like nowadays even IP lit positions are requiring technical degrees/patent bar reg. no. 20-30 years ago that was rarely the case which is why a lot of senior IP lit partners have BAs in psychology or something soft. Now, it's ultra competitive and clients want attorneys with more specialized degrees.

If you just want to be able to take the patent bar, you can get eligible by passing the 'Fundamentals of Engineering' exam that I believe is a prerequisite for professional engineer licensure. I was interested in patent law, but didn't have the right technical degree and would have had to take additional coursework so went this route instead. The exam is pretty tough, probably about a month of solid work to study for it, but definitely easier than taking a boatload of courses.