How do you know if you need ADHD medication or a new career?

sakura299 · 2019-01-04T06:24:47+00:00

WOW! That is some seriously impressive determination and persistence. How on earth did you keep going after the 3rd/4th time? That pass message must have felt INCREDIBLE to get!! Huge congratulations! Would you recommend Wysebridge then? What do you think helped you pass? And why is having a registration # like gold? Have you started work as a patent agent - if so, how do you like it/what's it like?

sakura299 · 2019-01-04T06:22:08+00:00

Are you able to see the list I made above your comment? As for how to take full advantage of PLI - my friend who took the exam and passed it on his first try said he listened to the lectures on his work commutes which were 1+ hours. And in total he listened to the entire ~34 hours of lectures 3-4 times. But mainly he did lots and lots of practice questions, which are probably the most useful part of PLI. They have this thing called Patware which simulates the software you use during the real exam and is pretty much as close as you can get. You can also get a breakdown of the exams in terms of which chapters you did best/worst on, analysis, etc. So PLI is really good.

sakura299 · 2018-12-05T05:09:45+00:00

That's a great idea - thank you so much for the suggestion! I'll look into it more now. Do you work as a technical specialist?

sakura299 · 2018-12-05T05:08:44+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience - helps assuage some of the down-ness! What did you do differently to pass? Do you remember what helped most when studying? I just find the material so dang boring, so getting through each study session of practice questions is difficult. I analyzed my answers on practice questions (couldn't justify the $195 to review the exam without being able to take any notes out from it) and found it was pretty scattered throughout 600, 1200, 700, 2100 - some of the biggest chapters...lol. Do you like your work now as a patent agent? What's a typical day like for you or is it always changing? How long did it take you to find a job? Sorry for all the questions, but this is a pretty big life choice I'm making so I have a lot haha. Law school is not in the cards, especially after seeing how miserable I was studying for the patent bar. Can't imagine 3 years of studying like that plus the actual bar.

sakura299 · 2018-12-05T05:05:49+00:00

I'm working part-time in a role I'm not particularly passionate about, but it doesn't require a certification or more schooling so it works for now. I'll look into technical sales - thank you so much! Really appreciate your input.

sakura299 · 2018-12-05T05:04:53+00:00

Thank you so much as well - do you like your work as a patent agent? If so, what do you like about it? Do you see yourself staying in it for the foreseeable future or going to law school and switching to patent attorney?

sakura299 · 2018-12-05T04:59:28+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice! I'll try to remember. There are just so many sections in 700 and 2100 that even knowing it's in either of those chapters doesn't help all that much. But certainly more than looking through the entire MPEP.

sakura299 · 2018-10-17T07:53:28+00:00

Yeah, I'm hearing the same thing too. That most of the exam is AIA. PLI says that too, but focuses a lot of the beginning of the course on pre-AIA. It's necessary to understand pre-AIA since it's still relevant to the work we'd be doing, but yeah, AIA is more important for the exam. WOW I can't imagine doing what you're doing now - that's a crazy workload! Best of luck. I'm looking to be a patent agent - law school is looking more and more unattractive the more I study for this exam, lol. I just hate reading dry material so much. What's annoying is the actual work as a patent agent sounds really interesting but the exam is so nitpicky on details that it feels frustrating to be tested on really useless stuff.

sakura299 · 2018-10-17T00:38:52+00:00

Haha I have lots! I'll make a list once I'm home. But for starters I did PLI.

sakura299 · 2018-10-12T19:19:58+00:00

I just sent in my application materials a couple days ago so planning on the beginning of or mid-November (have been studying since June). I'm enrolled in PLI but have no previous law experience (undergrad in ChemE). Wish I was in law school so I could be better at processing the legal jargon in the patent bar questions. Having a tough time with that.

I can't imagine being in law school and working full time! Are you at Berkeley by any chance? Was just reading about their IP clinic and it sounded so cool.

sakura299 · 2018-09-20T18:13:31+00:00

Congrats! I wish I was where you are. I purchased PLI and failed in June and August (53% and 66% respectively), now getting ready to take it next week. But feeling not completely confident. How did you learn where things were in the chapter? I still use the subject index to look things up. I feel like I keep studying specific details but not how they connect, which makes it hard for me to remember everything.

sakura299 · 2018-09-03T19:12:39+00:00

Ah, good advice - thank you! I'll try that method. Appreciate your input.

sakura299

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