A career in patent law is an exciting field for many. While it's clearly a change from science and engineering, it will still put your technical background to good use.
Patent law requires numerous qualities in order to be successful. For one, you will need to have excellent communication skills in order to work well with your clients and patent examiners. You will also need highly honed writing and research skills. Truth be told, the better your writing skills, the better you will become as a patent attorney or agent.
Writing patents is challenging work and requires the ability to pay attention to tedious details. Therefore, the ability to communicate clearly with the written word is absolutely crucial.
A strong background in science or engineering will prove to be highly valuable in a career in patent law. It would be nearly impossible to draft a patent when you do not fully understand what has been invented. Therefore, your technical based knowledge will help you understand exactly what has been invented on a case-by-case basis.
The need for patent attorneys and agents is only expected to grow. In that regards, a patent law career is a hot job now and in the future.