Undergrad in CS looking to go into Patent Law (Please help -- any and all advice very welcome! :D)
Hello all! So, for some context: I am currently double majoring in Computer Science and Psychology at a T15 school for CS (good GPA and CS internships/projects), and hoping to go into law. Ideally, I'd one day like to go into the regulation of technology from a legal perspective, but I'm not sure where to start -- apologies in advance if this is out of the scope of this thread :)
I am considering applying to law school this year and giving it my best shot (would be KJD), but am more than willing to take a year or two (or more) to re-apply and strengthen my application as well if need be. However, in that time, I would like to gain relevant work experience that would also hopefully help my law school application. What are some options I might have to look into for post-grad work? If relevant at all, I am really looking to move to NYC (due to personal family reasons).
I'm unsure about the process of getting started as a patent agent vs examiner (also a bit confused on the difference) and was also considering taking the patent bar. Alternatively, would it be more helpful for me to get CS industry experience instead? Or are there other more viable career options that I should look into doing while I'm taking these few years to re-apply to law school? And what would be my best method of entering the field? (One note: only career move I am currently unable to make due to financial constraints would be to go for an MS in CS, if that ends up being a suggestion)
I appreciate any and all advice and comments and TIA for your help :)
Posted Aug 7, 2025, 12:47 AM UTC