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The differences between patent attorneys and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a patent attorney and a legal extern. Additionally, a patent attorney has an average salary of $86,919, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for a patent attorney include electrical engineering, USPTO and law firm. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Patent Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $86,919 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $41.79 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 7,889 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A patent attorney is an intellectual property expert whose responsibilities revolve around assisting and representing clients on patent application procedures. A patent attorney must meet with clients to identify their needs, provide advice when it comes to trademarks and trade secrets, discuss and interpret complex subjects such as regulations and laws, and secure rights and properties. Furthermore, as a patent attorney, it is essential to review and negotiate contracts and proposals to avoid disputes in the future.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
Patent attorneys and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Patent Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $86,919 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $152,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New York |
| Best paying company | Goodwin | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a patent attorney and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Patent Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between patent attorneys' and legal externs' demographics:
| Patent Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.3% Female, 20.7% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |