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Patent examiner vs student attorney

The differences between patent examiners and student attorneys 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 student attorney. Additionally, a student attorney has an average salary of $105,185, 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 student attorney are legal issues, legal memoranda, and social security.

Patent examiner vs student attorney overview

Patent ExaminerStudent Attorney
Yearly salary$64,891$105,185
Hourly rate$31.20$50.57
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs2,36315,111
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

Patent examiner vs student attorney salary

Patent examiners and student attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.

Patent ExaminerStudent Attorney
Average salary$64,891$105,185
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $119,000Between $69,000 And $159,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between patent examiner and student attorney education

There are a few differences between a patent examiner and a student attorney in terms of educational background:

Patent ExaminerStudent Attorney
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringLaw
Most common collegeCornell UniversityStanford University

Patent examiner vs student attorney demographics

Here are the differences between patent examiners' and student attorneys' demographics:

Patent ExaminerStudent Attorney
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 80.6% Female, 19.4%Male, 44.7% Female, 55.3%
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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between patent examiner and student attorney 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.

Student attorney example responsibilities.

  • Generate an internal memorandum exploring VAWA and special immigrant juvenile cases that lead to the establishment of a new clinic program.
  • Provide direct representation to low-income clients on a range of matters including family, criminal, probate, and post-conviction review.
  • Issue subpoenas for opposing party's financial records, records for businesses own by opposing party and records of government organizations.
  • Compose subpoenas and collect discovery.
  • Represent clients before administrative and probate judges.
  • Handle trial and arbitration preparation and document review.
  • Show more

Patent examiner vs student attorney skills

Common patent examiner skills
  • Patent Applications, 19%
  • Mechanical Engineering, 16%
  • Intellectual Property, 15%
  • USPTO, 15%
  • Interference, 12%
  • Patent Law, 4%
Common student attorney skills
  • Legal Issues, 8%
  • Legal Memoranda, 4%
  • Social Security, 4%
  • District Court, 4%
  • Domestic Violence, 4%
  • Probate, 3%