This is a possible career switch path for someone with the right degree. To become a patent attorney, you have to become an attorney, meaning law school and the bar exam. To become a patent agent, you don't. You do have to take an exam.
A little info is at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/site/tionline/menuitem.130a3558587d56e8fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=institute_level1_article&TheCat=1004&article=tionline/legacy/inst2008/feb08/educationEPP.xml&;jsessionid=h5dpKyghQkMGVL59ywkVNTy5vLzrGpRfX2CD7Lc7M1gpn8RkjnLG!-143611134!2121372814:
Consider Becoming a Patent Agent
Discount on U.S. Patent Bar Exam Course
BY JASON LADAY
While most engineers may be focused on obtaining patents through their own work, many overlook the possibility of becoming U.S. patent agents. Engineers and other scientific professionals are uniquely qualified to become patent agents because of their technical background. And their expertise is sought after by both law firms and corporations.
The main difference between patent agents and patent attorneys is that with their law degrees attorneys can practice law outside the patent office. However, both agents and attorneys must sit and pass the Patent Registration Exam, which tests one’s knowledge of patent law as well as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies. Those who become full-time patent agents can go to work at patent law firms.
For those interested in becoming an agent, the IEEE has collaborated with the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) to offer a 10 percent discount on its patent bar review course. This course helps prospective patent agents prepare for the Patent Registration Exam, better known as the patent bar exam. PLI is a nonprofit organization that provides continuing education courses for lawyers but has recently expanding its reach to others.
“Our patent bar review course is the first in existence to our knowledge,” says the institute’s training services director, Mark Dighton. “Until recently we have focused on lawyers and law students but want to reach out to engineers who are interested in becoming patent agents.”
One of the main requirements to sit for the patent bar exam is an undergraduate degree in engineering or other hard science, including chemistry, biology, physics, or computer science. According to PLI, the average lawyer or law student has no significant advantage over an engineer with no legal experience in taking the exam because the test is more about knowing procedural details than actual patent law.
“Engineers often decide on becoming patent agents because it broadens their career opportunities,” Dighton says. ”It’s diverse and fascinating work and keeps you on the cutting edge of the engineering profession.” Patent agents are sought after by law firms and corporations.
COURSE DETAILS The review course can be taken on your own at home or in a classroom with a teacher. All students receive a set of written materials, including practice books and an audio CD of all lectures. Those taking the home study route will also receive DVDs replicating the live lectures and question reviews.
The live courses are a series of five-day lectures and exercises that last 10 hours each day. Courses are scheduled throughout the year in Boston; Chicago; Costa Mesa, Calif.; Houston; New York; San Francisco; and the Washington, D.C. area.
According to PLI, those planning to take the exam should set aside at least 150 to 200 hours of study, in chunks of three to four hours at a time spread over a month or two. Ideally, one would take the course sometime in the middle of this period, continuing to review the material even after the course has ended. Course materials must be returned after the exam.
For more information on PLI, the Patent Bar Review Course, and the Patent Bar Exam, visit http://www.pli.edu/barreview/patentbar/engineer_corner.asp
Also see http://inventors.about.com/od/patentattorneys/ht/patent_agent.htm
and
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/attorney.htm.
I don't know any patent agents, don't know what they do day-to-day, who hires them, how business comes to them, etc. It would be interesting to get some stories about how this has worked out for people as a career shift.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Expediter - only in New York
Only in New York, but talk about a career shift.
Unfortunately, this is only the abstract - you have to subscribe to TNY to get the full article.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1988/02/29/1988_02_29_022_TNY_CARDS_000348892?printable=true
Archive
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
EXPEDITER
by Mark Singer
FEBRUARY 29, 1988
Mark Singer, The Talk of the Town, “Expediter,” The New Yorker, February 29, 1988, p. 22
Read the full text of this article in the digital edition. (Subscription required.)
ABSTRACT: Talk story about Nat Silberman, 49, an expediter at the Dept. of Buildings on lower Hudson Street. It is a fact of life that if you need something done there you get an expediter to do it. The other morning the writer saw Nat waiting to talk to an inspector named Bob Freligh. He told the writer about some of his interesting situations as for example getting a certificate of occupancy for a hospital building which is not yet finished. The garage underneath is finished & the doctors want to park their cars there. Nat was ordained a rabbi 27 years ago and he's also a lapsed architect. Tells about some of the other situations he is dealing with & how he operates.
Unfortunately, this is only the abstract - you have to subscribe to TNY to get the full article.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1988/02/29/1988_02_29_022_TNY_CARDS_000348892?printable=true
Archive
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
EXPEDITER
by Mark Singer
FEBRUARY 29, 1988
Mark Singer, The Talk of the Town, “Expediter,” The New Yorker, February 29, 1988, p. 22
Read the full text of this article in the digital edition. (Subscription required.)
ABSTRACT: Talk story about Nat Silberman, 49, an expediter at the Dept. of Buildings on lower Hudson Street. It is a fact of life that if you need something done there you get an expediter to do it. The other morning the writer saw Nat waiting to talk to an inspector named Bob Freligh. He told the writer about some of his interesting situations as for example getting a certificate of occupancy for a hospital building which is not yet finished. The garage underneath is finished & the doctors want to park their cars there. Nat was ordained a rabbi 27 years ago and he's also a lapsed architect. Tells about some of the other situations he is dealing with & how he operates.
Nursing
From http://www.uab.edu/uabmagazine/2009/june/nursing:
Stories from UAB’s Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway
One student was headed toward a career in hospital administration until she heard the call of nursing. Another spent several years in UAB’s research labs but decided she wanted a health-care career with more one-on-one contact. Yet another left a successful career in athletic training, working with some of the Southeast’s most prestigious college-football programs, to forge a new path in nursing.
All of these students joined the first class of the UAB School of Nursing’s Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway for Second Degree Students. The program offers college graduates with bachelor’s degrees—even degrees unrelated to health care—a “fast track” to a master’s degree in nursing and an opportunity to sit for the nursing board exams.
Stories from UAB’s Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway
One student was headed toward a career in hospital administration until she heard the call of nursing. Another spent several years in UAB’s research labs but decided she wanted a health-care career with more one-on-one contact. Yet another left a successful career in athletic training, working with some of the Southeast’s most prestigious college-football programs, to forge a new path in nursing.
All of these students joined the first class of the UAB School of Nursing’s Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway for Second Degree Students. The program offers college graduates with bachelor’s degrees—even degrees unrelated to health care—a “fast track” to a master’s degree in nursing and an opportunity to sit for the nursing board exams.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Genealogy As A Career Switch Option
One career switch option is genealogy. This is an important subject for many reasons, not just personal, although that's a big one too as people become more curious about family history. Families may retain genealogists just because they're interested or to discover potential heirs to a divided estate.
One US-based website with a lot of information: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/becoming_a_professional_genealogist
That website says that there is such a thing as a "certified genealogist", so there seems to be some credentialing associated with it. There are also academic certificates and degrees in genealogy now.
This UK-based website highlights genealogy as a career-switch path.
Also note this interesting US Government report from as recently as last year, regarding a fee-for-service genealogical program that the Department of Homeland Security was setting up:
"This rule affects professional genealogists and other members of
the public requesting historical records from USCIS. The main source of
genealogy requests comes from individuals doing personal research,
rather than from small entities, such as professional genealogists.
``The Washington Post'' reported that seventy-three percent of
Americans have an interest in their family history, according to a 2005
study conducted by Market Strategies, Inc., a syndicated research firm
based in Livonia, Michigan, and MyFamily.com, an online network of
genealogical tools based in Provo, Utah. ``The Wall Street Journal''
described genealogy as a $200 million per year industry ranging from
individual researchers to multi-million dollar companies.
In addition, the growth of the Internet has spurred interest in
genealogy and a rapidly growing number of hobbyists pursuing genealogy.
According to the ``Occupational Outlook Quarterly'' (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Fall 2000), a 1997 survey of certified genealogists found
that 57 percent work part-time, 34 percent work full-time, and 9
percent are hobbyists. In 2001, there were over 300 certified
genealogists, and currently, the Association of Professional
Genealogists has 1,600 members worldwide http://www.apgen.org. The
National Genealogical Society notes:
Some professional genealogists are employed as librarians,
archivists, editors or research assistants to established
professionals; others work for genealogical firms. Most, however,
choose self-employment-learning business principles to ensure the
success of their genealogical practice. As with other
entrepreneurial fields, most make the move gradually from their
original field of employment, building a practice--be it a client
base, writing outlets, or some other venue--before moving full-time
into genealogy. Some make this career switch in mid-life. Others
choose genealogy as a second career upon retirement from their first
one. Because genealogical degree programs are still relatively rare,
only a few enjoy the opportunity to make genealogy their first
career. No accurate count exists for the number of individuals
employed as genealogists, full-time and part-time (http://
www.ngsgenealogy.org/articles/profession.cfm)."
One US-based website with a lot of information: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/becoming_a_professional_genealogist
That website says that there is such a thing as a "certified genealogist", so there seems to be some credentialing associated with it. There are also academic certificates and degrees in genealogy now.
This UK-based website highlights genealogy as a career-switch path.
Also note this interesting US Government report from as recently as last year, regarding a fee-for-service genealogical program that the Department of Homeland Security was setting up:
"This rule affects professional genealogists and other members of
the public requesting historical records from USCIS. The main source of
genealogy requests comes from individuals doing personal research,
rather than from small entities, such as professional genealogists.
``The Washington Post'' reported that seventy-three percent of
Americans have an interest in their family history, according to a 2005
study conducted by Market Strategies, Inc., a syndicated research firm
based in Livonia, Michigan, and MyFamily.com, an online network of
genealogical tools based in Provo, Utah. ``The Wall Street Journal''
described genealogy as a $200 million per year industry ranging from
individual researchers to multi-million dollar companies.
In addition, the growth of the Internet has spurred interest in
genealogy and a rapidly growing number of hobbyists pursuing genealogy.
According to the ``Occupational Outlook Quarterly'' (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Fall 2000), a 1997 survey of certified genealogists found
that 57 percent work part-time, 34 percent work full-time, and 9
percent are hobbyists. In 2001, there were over 300 certified
genealogists, and currently, the Association of Professional
Genealogists has 1,600 members worldwide http://www.apgen.org. The
National Genealogical Society notes:
Some professional genealogists are employed as librarians,
archivists, editors or research assistants to established
professionals; others work for genealogical firms. Most, however,
choose self-employment-learning business principles to ensure the
success of their genealogical practice. As with other
entrepreneurial fields, most make the move gradually from their
original field of employment, building a practice--be it a client
base, writing outlets, or some other venue--before moving full-time
into genealogy. Some make this career switch in mid-life. Others
choose genealogy as a second career upon retirement from their first
one. Because genealogical degree programs are still relatively rare,
only a few enjoy the opportunity to make genealogy their first
career. No accurate count exists for the number of individuals
employed as genealogists, full-time and part-time (http://
www.ngsgenealogy.org/articles/profession.cfm)."
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Missouri University of Science and Technology EMSE Programs
It's limited for now to US Defense Department employees, but this is a defined online program for MS and PhD which goes beyond the usual "certificate" pablum:
http://emse.mst.edu/defense_acquisition_university/DAU_Home.html.
This will give this school experience with distance programs. Maybe they have resources of a broader nature.
M.S. Degree in Engineering Management
Engineering Management is the art and science of planning, organizing, allocating resources, and directing and controlling activities. The field of engineering management has become recognized as a professional discipline with a critical role in industry, business, and modern society. The M.S. degree in Engineering Management requires 30 credit hours of approved course work. The student gets the same opportunities as on-campus students but with the convenience of the instruction coming to you. The M.S. degree offers excellent preparation for the engineer or technical professional desiring to make the transition to technical manager. AT&L students may transfer approved DAU credit hours (see Missouri S&T Credit Hours for DAU Courses) to Missouri S&T to meet nine of the thirty credits required for the M.S. Engineering Management degree.
All M.S. Engineering Management students take the following four core courses:
EMGT 314 – Management for Engineers & Scientists
EMGT 361 - Project Management
EMGT 352 – Activity Based Accounting & Financial Decision Making
EMGT 365 – Operations Management Science
The remaining six courses are taken from a specialty area which includes the following:
Management of Technology
Financial Engineering
Project Management
Quality
Ph.D. in Engineering Management
A candidate for the Ph.D. in Engineering Management must complete the equivalent of at least three years of full time work beyond the bachelor’s degree. The content of all Ph.D. programs is individually structured by the student in consultation with and approved by the student’s advisory committee. All requirements for the degree must normally be completed within an eight-year period. Ph.D. students must conduct original research under the supervision of a doctoral advisor and successfully defend the dissertation. Special arrangements are made for off-campus students to meet on-campus residences requirements and complete the original research.
Fees
The Defense Acquisition University Program with the Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department at Missouri S&T provides for reduced fees for the course taken by AT&L personnel. The current fee schedule is $755 per credit hour. This is a substantial discount to the normal non-resident fee for distance students.
Admissions
Admission application and acceptance rules for distance students are the same as those of traditional on-campus students with only slight variations in required forms. Students complete the appropriate forms according to their program choice and submit to Distance and Continuing Education (DCE) along with payment information for the application fee ($50).
Graduate Application
Students may apply for admission to individual courses, certificate programs, or graduate degree programs.
http://emse.mst.edu/defense_acquisition_university/DAU_Home.html.
This will give this school experience with distance programs. Maybe they have resources of a broader nature.
M.S. Degree in Engineering Management
Engineering Management is the art and science of planning, organizing, allocating resources, and directing and controlling activities. The field of engineering management has become recognized as a professional discipline with a critical role in industry, business, and modern society. The M.S. degree in Engineering Management requires 30 credit hours of approved course work. The student gets the same opportunities as on-campus students but with the convenience of the instruction coming to you. The M.S. degree offers excellent preparation for the engineer or technical professional desiring to make the transition to technical manager. AT&L students may transfer approved DAU credit hours (see Missouri S&T Credit Hours for DAU Courses) to Missouri S&T to meet nine of the thirty credits required for the M.S. Engineering Management degree.
All M.S. Engineering Management students take the following four core courses:
EMGT 314 – Management for Engineers & Scientists
EMGT 361 - Project Management
EMGT 352 – Activity Based Accounting & Financial Decision Making
EMGT 365 – Operations Management Science
The remaining six courses are taken from a specialty area which includes the following:
Management of Technology
Financial Engineering
Project Management
Quality
Ph.D. in Engineering Management
A candidate for the Ph.D. in Engineering Management must complete the equivalent of at least three years of full time work beyond the bachelor’s degree. The content of all Ph.D. programs is individually structured by the student in consultation with and approved by the student’s advisory committee. All requirements for the degree must normally be completed within an eight-year period. Ph.D. students must conduct original research under the supervision of a doctoral advisor and successfully defend the dissertation. Special arrangements are made for off-campus students to meet on-campus residences requirements and complete the original research.
Fees
The Defense Acquisition University Program with the Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department at Missouri S&T provides for reduced fees for the course taken by AT&L personnel. The current fee schedule is $755 per credit hour. This is a substantial discount to the normal non-resident fee for distance students.
Admissions
Admission application and acceptance rules for distance students are the same as those of traditional on-campus students with only slight variations in required forms. Students complete the appropriate forms according to their program choice and submit to Distance and Continuing Education (DCE) along with payment information for the application fee ($50).
Graduate Application
Students may apply for admission to individual courses, certificate programs, or graduate degree programs.
Time harvesting
Ever have an hourish chunk of time, like while waiting for something where you can't leave the location and get back in time, where it's too much to waste but not enough to use productively?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)