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You are allowed to represent yourself before the patent office. However, it is complicated and you probably won’t get anywhere. If you really don’t have money, the USPTO has a pro bono program (Google USPTO and pro bono). You have to meet various requirements (i.e. income has to be below a certain limit, you have to have some knowledge of the patent system which you could learn, and you actually have to have an invention).
If you don’t qualify for pro bono assistance, you may have some luck with the USPTO pro se assistance program (Google USPTO and pro se).
If that doesn’t work, read up on patent law from the internet. I would not represent myself without being informed.
If you have some money to spend, try to get a patent agent. Since they do not have a law degree, they usually are cheaper.
Hatzlocha.
Litigation is hectic, busy, stressful, but also exciting. It would be hard to maintain a lot of time for learning or family. However, if you prioritize right (get up early to learn and learn when you come home), you can do it.
Prosecution is a little more predictable, but there is still a certain amount of billables you must meet, which means long days.
Also, while it may be slightly easier to get a job in a big firm with patent law, it still is difficult. You need to go to a good law school and get good grades. Also, in some ways, your science degree limits you. Firms will not consider you for general positions, which is what they are recruiting for during on campus recruiting. You get placed in a box very easily. While there are certain patent law job fairs, it still is not easy getting a job.
There are two typical career options: prosecution or litigation.
As a patent prosecutor, you typically meet with inventors, learn about their invention, draft an application and argue back and forth with the patent office. Dry or not is a matter of opinion. You may fill out some standardized forms, but there is (hopefully) a lot of thought and drafting that goes into drafting an application and corresponding with the office. You should learn about the product. Hours are variable, depending on where one works. Prosecution typically has better hours than litigation and its much more predictable. However, one is typically going to work more hours in a big firm than in a small firm or in house. You need a science degree or a certain amount of science classes to prosecute patents.
As a litigator, you either are defending issued patents or trying to invalidate them in federal court. You do not need a science degree for this job, but it typically helps. A lot more “law” is involved in litigation. While you do learn something about the invention, it typically is less important in litigation. The hours are typically bad; however, that depends on where you work. Most of the high stakes litigation is done at big firms and the hours are horrible and unpredictable. It is fun though.
You can also work for the patent office. The job has a great lifestyle; however, the pay is worse, but not horrible. You also have to work in the office for a couple years; however, afterwards you can telework from anywhere in the country. You need a science degree for this job. There are offices in Detroit, Silicon Valley, Alexandria VA, Denver, and Dallas, Texas.
You can either work in a big firm, industry, government, or small firm. Typically, litigation is done in a big firm, while prosecution is done in a small firm or in house; however, some big firms do prosecution. The pay is great at a big firm; however, it would be hard to have serious amounts of time for learning. Also, the jobs are hard to get. Small firms pay less and have better hours. In house pays well (in between small firms and big firms), but you typically need experience at a firm before you can go in house.
If your scientific field of interest is biology or chemistry, you need at least a masters and preferably a phd.
If your scientific field of interest is computer programming, or electrical engineering, you probably can get away with a bachelors/masters.
There are less jobs for other scientific/engineering fields; however, they still exist.