<p>Ok so I'm a 3rd year chemistry student at a T20 undergrad. Ultimately, I want to pursue patent law. However, to become a competitive patent lawyer, you need to have at least a masters, preferably a PhD, in chemistry. Knowing this, of course this means that I should go to grad school. I've always been interested in research, and I plan on doing research this year. So going to grad school is an attractive option for me. But this is where my dilemma starts. I don't love research enough to do it for 6 years of my life. I think pursuing a PhD would be the biggest disservice I could make for my personal life. But since at least a masters is basically required for a patent lawyer, an option could be to enter into the PhD program, and just leave with a masters. Now I know that one really shouldn't enter a PhD program with no intention on attaining a PhD. This is why this is such a huge problem for me. I've also considered just going to law school straight out of undergrad. Maybe my interest in patent law will change...maybe not. If it doesn't, then having just a bachelors and a law degree will also be a big disservice for me simply because it'll be difficult to land a job. So this is why this is a huge problem for me. I don't want to enter grad school under a disguise knowing full well that I'll be demoting myself to a masters. Yet I don't want to go to law school without my masters. (Are there any REPUTABLE terminal masters program in chemistry? I've never heard of such a thing.)
Any advice you could give would be great! I'm looking forward to all your honest opinions! Thank you!!!</p>
<p>How about trying to do an integrated BS/MS degree? If you start loading a little extra now, you should be able to do it in four and a half to five years of total schooling.</p>
<p>I would but...
1. I think that has to be declared from freshman year.
2. I'm on a scholarship so I/my family won't be able to pay for the extra year of schooling.
3. I've been told that the BS/MS degree doesn't really hold much weight when pursuing patent law. </p>
<p>Thank you for the reply! Any other advice please?!</p>
<p>I suggest you ask the people on the law school forum about patent law. They're more knowledgeable about the subject.</p>
<p>Also, I don't understand why you would have difficulty being a patent lawyer as long as you have an undergrad degree in science or engineering, go to a decent law school, and pass the USTPO registration exam.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm also not quite sure on the requirement for that as well. One of my good friends had planned on becoming a patent lawyer after finishing her materials science degree. I don't remember her ever talking about needing to go for a MS, so I wonder if that's only true if you major in a non-technical field to start.</p>