<p>Hello, I am a soon-to-be college student heavily considering majoring in industrial engineering. I really love the idea of OR and optimizing processes.</p>
<p>After pondering about intellectual property law for a long while I have decided that it would be something I could aim for. I understand that becoming a patent attorney is a rough process.</p>
<p>So then a question arose in my head: Can industrial engineers do patent law?</p>
<p>I know there are plenty of patents on processes and systems engineering related issues, but I have been getting mixed answers from all the people I ask.</p>
<p>Sometimes I am told that mostly "blue collar" inventions that are not as "glamorous" would be what are dealt with, and that an industrial engineer could not work on patents for devices due to lack of detailed understanding and training. </p>
<p>Some have said that they were ISE and went back to school to learn specific EE/CHEME stuff to make their patent specialty broader.</p>
<p>Other people tell me that industrial engineering could do any patent law specialty and that as long as it is technical it does not matter.</p>
<p>So I am just wondering what the future would hold for a patent lawyer with an ISE degree. How does it compare to a patent lawyer with a mechanical or electrical etc. background? Is it just as opportunistic?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>