Tiffany Drake (’11) of Arlington, Texas, works as a patent examiner for the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. Working in a fast-paced environment, her job consists essentially of analyzing patent applications for their patentability by searching for prior art that would anticipate the claimed inventions, conducting attorney and inventor interviews, and writing office actions in response to the applications.
“With regards to examination, I was surprised to find out how much research and consideration are required in very short amounts of time,” Drake explained. “The office has a massive backlog and as such, we have production expectations to meet.”
Drake is proud that the skills she developed in law school helped her during the hiring process. “I believe I fared well during the application process because of all the other times I applied for jobs and was either never selected or performed terribly in interviews,” she said. “It just takes practice and the ability to learn from failures like my 1L moot court fiascoes!”
Although she complains about the city’s lack of accessibility to Dr. Pepper and decent barbecue, Drake enjoys D.C.’s activities and rich history. “The Smithsonian complex is fantastic and surprisingly, has free admission,” Drake stated. “All the monuments and memorials are so immense and meaningful.”
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