A scientist or engineer registered with the USPTO who drafts and prosecutes patent applications, without needing a law degree. BLS does not publish separate figures for paralegals and legal assistants; it counts them within paralegal (SOC 23-2011), whose median pay is $62,890 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- SOC 23-2011
- Legal
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Patent Agent in four numbers
- Median pay
- $62,890a year, or $30.24/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $45KTop 10% $102K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- -0.3%DecliningBLS EP, 2025–2035This career−0.3%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career −0.3% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 40,800404,900 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 2025404.9K
- Projected 2035403.8K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 404.9K Projected 2035 403.8K - Typical education
- Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- High school18.6%
- Certificate2.4%
- Associate's20.1%
- Bachelor's36.9%
- Post-bacc certificate9.6%
- Doctorate10%
Highest education held by paralegals and legal assistants Segment Value High school 18.6% Certificate 2.4% Associate's 20.1% Bachelor's 36.9% Post-bacc certificate 9.6% Doctorate 10%
Also advertised as: Registered Patent Agent, Patent Practitioner, Technical Specialist, Patents, Patent Prosecution Specialist.
Pay
How much do Paralegals and Legal Assistants make?
Every patent agent in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$62,890
Middle half earn $50,340 to $80,080
- 10th
- $44,740
- 25th
- $50,340
- 75th
- $80,080
- 90th
- $101,500
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $44,740 |
| 25th | $50,340 |
| Median | $62,890 |
| 75th | $80,080 |
| 90th | $101,500 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $62,890
- Median hourly wage
- $30.24/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $69,700
- People employed
- 392,880
Versus all US occupations
At $62,890, Paralegals and Legal Assistants earn 23% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $11,910 a year.
Versus legal occupations
Inside the Legal group, where the middle occupation pays $159,670, this is 61% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $101,500 or more while the bottom 10% earn $44,740, a gap of 2.3×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 37% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
District of Columbia pays the most at $89,750, and still leads at $81,664 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Paralegals and Legal Assistants the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1District of Columbia | $89,750 | $81,664 | 6,400 |
| 2Washington | $79,400 | $74,197 | 9,460 |
| 3Colorado | $78,190 | $75,874 | 5,620 |
| 4Massachusetts | $77,640 | $73,414 | 7,800 |
| 5California | $77,390 | $69,897 | 47,130 |
| 6Minnesota | $75,570 | $76,627 | 7,400 |
| 7New Jersey | $71,500 | $65,714 | 12,010 |
| 8Alaska | $68,700 | $67,117 | 570 |
| 9New York | $68,410 | $63,389 | 34,220 |
| 10Vermont | $67,160 | $68,560 | 660 |
Job outlook
Is Patent Agent a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Declining. -0.3% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Paralegals and Legal Assistants | −0.3% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Declining
BLS projects employment of Paralegals and Legal Assistants to change -0.3% over 2025–2035, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.5%. That is 1,100 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 40,800 openings are projected each year, 10.1% of the 404,900 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Patent Agent
You need a scientific or technical background that meets the USPTO's eligibility requirements, usually a bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, a physical or life science, or computer science. You then pass the USPTO registration examination, often called the patent bar, administered by the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.
Many agents come straight from a PhD or an engineering job, and some start as technical specialists or patent examiners. Law firms train new agents in drafting and prosecution. Some later attend law school and become patent attorneys.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Some preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as paralegals and legal assistants.
- Bachelor's Degree36.9%
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree20.1%
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)18.6%
- Doctoral Degree10%
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate9.6%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | 36.9% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 20.1% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 18.6% |
| Doctoral Degree | 10% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 9.6% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Patent Agent do?
Patent agents turn inventions into patents. They interview inventors, study the technology, search for prior art, and draft patent applications, especially the claims that define what the patent covers. They then prosecute the application before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, responding to examiners' rejections with arguments and claim amendments.
Patent agents can do everything a patent attorney can do before the USPTO, but they cannot give general legal advice or represent clients in court. They work in law firms, corporate IP departments, universities and research institutions, often specializing in areas such as biotechnology, software, electronics, chemistry or medical devices.
Day-to-day tasks
- Interview inventors about the technical details of inventions
- Search patents and literature for prior art
- Draft patent applications, claims and drawings descriptions
- Respond to USPTO office actions with arguments and amendments
- Conduct interviews with patent examiners
- Advise on patentability based on search results
- Track filing deadlines and manage a patent portfolio
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Agents work in offices at law firms and companies, and many roles are hybrid or remote. The work is quiet and deadline driven, with long stretches of reading technical documents and writing precise claims. Law firm roles usually track billable hours.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayIndoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day.
Outdoors in all weather
NeverEvery dayAlmost never works outdoors.
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeSeated for more than half the working day.
Standing
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantConstant contact with other people.
Face-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayFace-to-face discussions every day.
Dealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayMeeting strict deadlines at least weekly.
Conflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Writing4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Active Listening3.9
- Speaking3.6
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Active Learning3.0
- Monitoring3.0
- Learning Strategies2.3
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Writing | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 |
| Speaking | 3.6 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.3 |
| Active Learning | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 2.3 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Social Perceptiveness3.0
- Service Orientation3.0
- Complex Problem Solving3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Time Management3.0
- Coordination2.9
- Persuasion2.8
- Negotiation2.8
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.0 |
| Service Orientation | 3.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 |
| Coordination | 2.9 |
| Persuasion | 2.8 |
| Negotiation | 2.8 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Project management software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Video conferencing software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Analytical or scientific software
- Business intelligence and data analysis software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Patent Agent?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code ICE) built on O*NET's Paralegal profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Patent Agent |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 2 |
| Investigative | 5 |
| Artistic | 2 |
| Social | 3 |
| Enterprising | 4 |
| Conventional | 5 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
- Investigative5.3
- Conventional5.3
- Enterprising4.2
- Social3.1
- Artistic2.2
- Realistic1.7
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
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More legal careers
Median annual pay, with paralegals and legal assistants highlighted
- Lawyer$159,670
- BigLaw Equity Partner$159,670
- Non-Equity Partner$159,670
- BigLaw Senior Associate$159,670
- Public Company General Counsel$159,670
- Mergers and Acquisitions Attorney$159,670
- Judge$153,990
- Paralegal$62,890
- Patent Agent$62,890
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Lawyer | $159,670 |
| BigLaw Equity Partner | $159,670 |
| Non-Equity Partner | $159,670 |
| BigLaw Senior Associate | $159,670 |
| Public Company General Counsel | $159,670 |
| Mergers and Acquisitions Attorney | $159,670 |
| Judge | $153,990 |
| Paralegal | $62,890 |
| Patent Agent | $62,890 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Patent Agent appears on
Questions
Patent Agent: frequently asked questions
How much do Paralegals and Legal Assistants make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for paralegals and legal assistants. It counts them within paralegal, whose median pay is $62,890 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $50,340 and $80,080, and the top 10% earn $101,500 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Patent Agent?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Paralegals and Legal Assistants, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as some preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 36.9% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Patent Agent a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 0.3% over 2025–2035, a loss of 1,100 jobs (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 40,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Patent Agent do?
Patent agents turn inventions into patents. A typical task: interview inventors about the technical details of inventions. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Document management software.
Which states pay Paralegals and Legal Assistants the most?
The highest state medians for Paralegals and Legal Assistants are District of Columbia ($89,750), Washington ($79,400), Colorado ($78,190) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Patent Agent?
O*NET scores Paralegals and Legal Assistants highest on the Investigative, Conventional and Enterprising interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ESTJ, ENTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.