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The differences between patent examiners and legal 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 a legal counsel. Additionally, a legal counsel has an average salary of $132,867, which is higher than the $64,891 average annual salary of a patent examiner.
The top three skills for a patent examiner include patent applications, mechanical engineering and intellectual property. The most important skills for a legal counsel are legal advice, legal issues, and litigation.
| Patent Examiner | Legal Counsel | |
| Yearly salary | $64,891 | $132,867 |
| Hourly rate | $31.20 | $63.88 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 2,363 | 10,337 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Patent examiners and legal counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Patent Examiner | Legal Counsel | |
| Average salary | $64,891 | $132,867 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $119,000 | Between $81,000 And $216,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a patent examiner and a legal counsel in terms of educational background:
| Patent Examiner | Legal Counsel | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Law |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between patent examiners' and legal counsels' demographics:
| Patent Examiner | Legal Counsel | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.6% Female, 19.4% | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |