I studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management at university and, having enjoyed the different aspects of my studies, I was keen to pursue a career that could offer me a good blend of technical and business focus – and at the same time allow me to develop a specialist expertise.
During my time at university, I was familiar with intellectual property broadly, but I can’t say that I knew much about careers in the legal domain with IP until I had graduated and started exploring possible career paths. My initial impressions were that a career as a patent attorney would allow me to indulge my scientific intrigue, but with a healthy exposure to the commercial and legal aspects of the industry – a variety that piqued my interest.
Now, after a number of years in the profession, I enjoy the level of responsibility and the degree of variety in my work, tackling complex legal problems through intricate technical analysis and strategic legal thinking. Being able to apply the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that I developed at university has been one of the main reasons I enjoy my work as much as I do.
At the same time, the opportunity to engage with clients and learn about their new technologies can be quite interesting and exciting from a STEM perspective. Although the work can be technically challenging, there is a great sense of achievement, and it can be incredibly intellectually stimulating when you manage to solve a complex legal problem.
The road to qualification as a UK and European patent attorney can be quite time- and study-intensive, but Carpmaels provides a great deal of structure and support for your learning and development and there is a strong culture of transferrable learning and mentoring. This has made the training experience far less daunting than it could have been.
At the same time, it’s all not work and study – Carpmaels has a number of interesting and engaging clubs and projects to get involved with to make work-life that bit more enjoyable, ranging from team sports to opportunities to volunteer with charities and support social projects. The interesting work, the learning and development opportunities, and the healthy culture and atmosphere certainly makes Carpmaels a great place to work!
