Name: Carrie Johnson
Job title: Trainee Patent Attorney
University attended: University of Birmingham
Degrees obtained: MSci Physics with Astrophysics, PhD Particle Physics
Age: 29 years

After completing a PhD in Particle Physics at the University of Birmingham, Carrie Johnson joined Marks & Clerk in October 2002.

As I neared the end of my PhD, I knew a career in academic research wasn’t what I was looking for. My research had become extremely specialised, and I missed the diversity of the projects that I had worked on as an undergraduate. Patents fitted my requirements perfectly and I had developed useful analytical skills through my research as a PhD student.

Good communication skills are also important to be able to talk to clients, other patent attorney’s and Patent Office staff, so the talks and presentations that I gave to my fellow researchers would be beneficial.

I found possible vacancies for trainee patent attorney’s in Birmingham on the Internet, and after applying was lucky enough to get an interview with Marks & Clerk. I was so pleased to be offered a graduate position after attending two interviews that I accepted the job immediately.

Coming to the job fresh, with no detailed knowledge of patents, I found the role both stimulating and demanding, but reading legal documents was very challenging to begin with. The training is mainly on the job, learning by experience, although some trainees complete a foundation course in London or Manchester. I work under the supervision of one of the partners, and as a result I have been able to get involved in a wide variety of work, at all stages of development – from filing to grant.

I am currently working towards qualification as both a British and a European patent attorney, each of which requires passing numerous exams, but being a patent attorney offers a secure and well-defined career, with good prospects for progressing eventually to partnership.

I work with both sole inventors and large corporations, from Britain and overseas. The subject matter varies from simple mechanical work to complex electronic devices and the Internet and I also work with designs and occasionally copyright.

I am pleased with my career choice, and although it is quite demanding I enjoy the scientific context and the challenge of legal arguments.