Fully agree. Over 20 years ago, I did the same job as the Patent Engineer (I had a slightly different title, but same role) at a big law firm. Half of the pate

Fully agree. Over 20 years ago, I did the same job as the Patent Engineer (I had a slightly different title, but same role) at a big law firm. Half of the patents I filed were BS software patents for a name brand tech company, and the other half were for actually novel and cool inventions for things like super-efficient distillation/chilling systems for coffee and satellite antennas for moving vehicles. Getting that job was almost as easy as getting a software job in 2019. I had a masters in EE and a few years of SWE experience. I sent out 5 applications to top local law firms, got 3 interviews, and one offer over the course of a month. Apparently, the bulk of people in that role were post-docs in bio/chem who weren't excited about managing student loan debt while being underpaid lab people. (The EE/CS contingent was 5 out of 30 in the role, and I was the only one with actual SWE experience, so it gave the me and the firm creditability with inventors) My salary matched my SWE salary, I had my own office + secretary, and the firm paid overtime and law school tuition. They also charged $250/hour for my time. I also only lasted about year in that role since it was very isolating and not collaborative. The coolest part of that whole experience came a couple years later when I went to dinner with my wife, her close friend, and the friend's serious boyfriend. In the "what do you do" chit chat, he mentioned working with someone on a new way to brew and chill coffee quickly that they were close to bringing to market. When I asked if it works like [describes invention exactly] his mind was absolutely blown away. As it turns out, I wrote their patent.