USPTO patent examiner here. I don't think that being a patent examiner (clerk is the historical term) would be a good choice, and it probably wasn't a great cho

USPTO patent examiner here. I don't think that being a patent examiner (clerk is the historical term) would be a good choice, and it probably wasn't a great choice when Einstein was an examiner either. The USPTO is based on a quota system and few examiners think the amount of time given is reasonable. The vast majority of newer examiners find the job stressful. The pay isn't particularly good given the amount of work and its difficulty. Einstein referred to himself as a "patent slave" in a letter, so that's why I think it wasn't particularly different back then. I think Einstein succeeded in spite of the disadvantages of being a patent examiner. An earlier comment of mine along these lines: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30056203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30056203 (Note that this comment is only my opinion, not that of the USPTO, federal government, etc. They like to whitewash the problems at the USPTO. :-P)