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Patent examiner vs assistant counsel

The differences between patent examiners and assistant counsels 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 examiner and an assistant counsel. Additionally, a patent examiner has an average salary of $64,891, which is higher than the $61,229 average annual salary of an assistant counsel.

The top three skills for a patent examiner include patent applications, mechanical engineering and intellectual property. The most important skills for an assistant counsel are litigation, legal issues, and legal advice.

Patent examiner vs assistant counsel overview

Patent ExaminerAssistant Counsel
Yearly salary$64,891$61,229
Hourly rate$31.20$29.44
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs2,3638,574
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

Patent examiner vs assistant counsel salary

Patent examiners and assistant counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.

Patent ExaminerAssistant Counsel
Average salary$64,891$61,229
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $119,000Between $36,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Baltimore City Public Schools
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between patent examiner and assistant counsel education

There are a few differences between a patent examiner and an assistant counsel in terms of educational background:

Patent ExaminerAssistant Counsel
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringLaw
Most common collegeCornell UniversityDuke University

Patent examiner vs assistant counsel demographics

Here are the differences between patent examiners' and assistant counsels' demographics:

Patent ExaminerAssistant Counsel
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 80.6% Female, 19.4%Male, 42.3% Female, 57.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between patent examiner and assistant counsel duties and responsibilities

Patent examiner example responsibilities.

  • Leverage USPTO proprietary information and technical research to evaluate claim inventions.
  • Learned and implement use of new software tools and applications at the USPTO on a regular basis.
  • Provide management assistance to veterans in financial matters and solving issues.
  • Analyze final determination of the competency of veterans and other VA beneficiaries and provide notification of the determination.
  • Review and execute infringement and invalidity analyses for patents relating to telecommunications and call routing in support of major infringement litigation.
  • Draft several patent applications relating to DNA diagnostic technologies.

Assistant counsel example responsibilities.

  • Manage outside counsel relate to mortgage fraud recovery litigation, including cost management, litigation strategy and settlement terms.
  • Assist in liaising with insurance authorities, responding to regulatory inquiries and managing relationship with region from legal and business perspective.
  • Sell, consult and demonstrate office automation and conveyance software technology.
  • Respond to lawsuits, subpoenas, as well as draft any need legal documents.
  • Assist in drafting subpoenas, search warrants and preservation letters for social media content and mobile devices.
  • Design, develop, and implement cost-effectively litigation strategies in order to secure convictions and facilitate preferential sentencing negotiations.
  • Show more

Patent examiner vs assistant counsel skills

Common patent examiner skills
  • Patent Applications, 19%
  • Mechanical Engineering, 16%
  • Intellectual Property, 15%
  • USPTO, 15%
  • Interference, 12%
  • Patent Law, 4%
Common assistant counsel skills
  • Litigation, 14%
  • Legal Issues, 11%
  • Legal Advice, 10%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Intellectual Property, 5%
  • Mental Health, 4%