Any US PTO Patent examiners out there?

[Veramocor]

I've been working in my field of engineering for a little over 3 years. I've been appling to a few new jobs in hopes of upping my compensation. I've recieved a few offers including one from The USPTO to be a patent examiner.

My first question is on how you find working conditions and work load. What are the number of patents you are expected to review a week (I know this is dependent on your grade level)

Now if I believe the Patent Office itself it is a great place to work and excellent beniftits.

If I believe the Patent examiner union website it is one of the worst places to work.

From my current life experiences I am less likely to believe the union who seem to be there to just complain.

My second question is regarding how interesting you find the work. Obviousely you work reviewing new technologies which should be interesting, the caveat is that these technologies have likely been through a team of lawyers who obfusate the science in legalese. I came up with a relatively simple idea (so simple I am surprised it hadn't been done before) that could be described in a paragraph or two. My company liked it so much it was sent to one of our patent attorneys who then turned it into a 32 page manifesto to be filed with the patent office.


Cliffs' notes

Are you a patent examiner
If so how do you find the job working conditions work load?
Do you find the work interesting?

 

[aphex]

one of my best friends is one... next time i speak to him i'll ask him for ya

 

[EvilYoda]

My friend went to Washington to work in the patent office straight from graduating from UofMich with a CE degree. He quit the job probably 1.5-2 years in due to the fact that he would've otherwise gone crazy. He said that it's the same exact thing over and over and over.

If you're still considering it, I could have you guys talk...I'm sure he has more details that I do.

 

[FoBoT]

there is a user here that knows all about it, i looked for some threads he has posted in, he'll show up i am sure

 

[Veramocor]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
My friend went to Washington to work in the patent office straight from graduating from UofMich with a CE degree. He quit the job probably 1.5-2 years in due to the fact that he would've otherwise gone crazy. He said that it's the same exact thing over and over and over.

Thats my big fear that I'd find it boring. I'm sure work load complaints (my first question) have more to do with most of the new people coming right out of college and not being used to full time work.

Tony C.

 

[Lizardman]

Message mchammer187 he is one

 

[chiwawa626]

1. Join USPTO
2. 'examine' patent application
....
3. profit on your 'new invention'

 

[Veramocor]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
1. Join USPTO
2. 'examine' patent application
....
3. profit on your 'new invention'

I like your style. But unfortunately my company has you agree that all inventions are the property of the company and not the inventor. So I would make exactly $0.00. Hey but I could makeup for it in the volume of patents that I help with for my company before joing the patent office and examining them.

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
1. Join USPTO
2. 'examine' patent application
....
3. profit on your 'new invention'

Actually when you are hired as an examiner you agree that you will not file any applications in your examination area (perhaps none at all) while you are employed as an Examiner, as well as for a time period after you leave the examining corps (2 years I think).

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
there is a user here that knows all about it, i looked for some threads he has posted in, he'll show up i am sure

I think you are talking about me. Fire away if you have questions!

 

[patentman]

OK, I was an examiner for 3.5 years (now with a firm). Answers to your questions are below:

1. Working conditions and work load: The working conditions are pretty good nowadays. All new examiners are trained in the patent academy for ~9 months before they are sent over to their respective art units. The academy is supposed to teach a new examiner everything they need to know (quite a bit) to do their job competently, and from what I've seen (I prosecute patent applications for applicants now) they are doing a reasonably good job. Once you get to your art unit, you will probably share an office with another examiner until you become a primary (GS-13) examiner. However, at the GS-12 level (typically reched 2-3 years after initial hiring) you will be eligible for the work at home program assuming you meet quality and production requirements.

Speaking of production requirements, as you probably know, each examiner is required to achieve a certain number of "counts" per year. Counts are primarily accrued via First Office Actions (looking at a new case and drafting an opinion on patentability), abandonments, and allowances, although various other things give "counts" as well. The number of counts you need to achieve per biweek depends on your GS level and your area of examination. When I was a GS-7 examiner, I had to achieve 4.5 counts per biweek, hardly a tough feet once you know what you are doing. When I left as a GS-12 examiner, I had to achieve 10 counts per biweek, which is a bit tougher, but not too bad.

One thing that irks me is when I talk to Examiners and they complain that the production requirement makes their job too hard. Bull f'ing crap. As a soon to be attorney and former examiner, I can speak with certainty when I say that Examiners do not know what hard work is. I'll put it to you this way. Even when I was a GS-12 examiner and going to school full time at night (working from 7am to 330pm), I could exceed my production goal by 30% 4 working days into the biweek. 4 days! Now, I understand some examining areas might be more difficult then mine was (I examined magnetic recording media) , but 130% production in 40% of the allocated time means the job is downright easy if you know what the heck you are doing. Note that I had an error rate of less than 1% as well for my entire tenure at the PTO.

One thing I have always thought is that you cannot beat the work life balance that is given at the PTO. Nowhere else will you find a job that will pay you over 6 figures after 5 years, while requiring you to only work an 8 hour day with little to no stress, guaranteed retirement and awesome benefits.

Re: Is the work interesting: Yes and No. The primary complaint from most examiners is that they are bored with their work. This is understandable, as Examiner's typically get pigeonholed examining 1 type of technology (e.g., I read about magnetic media for 6-8 hours a day for 3+ years). Initially the work is very interesting because you will learn everything there is to know about a given technology, which I thought was pretty cool (heck, I issued the patents that are the basis for Seagates perpendicular recording technology). The narrower your art area is, the more efficient you are at examining in that area, making your quota easier to achieve. That said, it is 99.9999999% certain you will get bored after a while, at which point you face two choices. Suck it up, and enjoy the fact that while your job is monotonous, it pays well, is easy, and lets you go home at 330pm. Or, in the alternative, ask to be assigned to a detail or a different technology to bring something new into your job.

For the record, I work at a large patent law firm that pays me oodles of money (not bragging, just a fact). The money is nice, but if I had to choose between firm life and life at the PTO, I'd probably pick the PTO. Sure it is boring, but it has a great work life balance that is virtually unparalleled anywhere else. Not to mention that the work at home program eliminates commuting and allows examiners to live just about wherever they want, subject to certain requirements.

Finally, as to POPA (patent office professional association, aka, the patent union): Take what those idiots have to say with a grain of salt. Like all unions, POPA causes many more problems then they fix, and their primary purpose appears to be to whine about how difficult patent examiner jobs are when the truth is, as I've explained above, an examiner's job is actually quite easy. I'd love to see any one of POPA's reps do what I do on a daily basis. they'd probably have a heart attack and say I should complain because my work is tantamount to slavery.