But a Patent Clerk

Yes, as many will have noticed, I’ve gotten a little bit of the Einstein bug lately. Then, on the APS jobs listing the following listing appeared:

Physics Patent Prosecutor
Berkeley Law & Technology Group, LLC
Salary: Open
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Type: Full Time – Experienced
Physics Patent Prosecutor to join a small group of prosecutors in a well-funded, non-firm environment. PhD preferred, though others could be considered. Work activity will involve preparation and prosecution of patent applications in a variety of technology areas, many of which involve emerging areas of physics. The environment is challenging, unstructured and interesting. You will work directly with inventors from conception through issuance. You should have strong fundamentals and enjoy working in a variety of areas, including quantum mechanics, waves and wave propagation, photonics, optics and other related areas. A good portion of the technology involves working with, applying, or developing cutting edge approaches. Emphasis on quality, productivity and training. Minimum of 1+ years of prosecution experience. Send your response and attach a resume’ to . E-mail queries only. No phone calls please.

As many of you may know, recent events in my family have made getting to the great state of Washington a high priority on my list of priorities (hard to imagine that a postdoc has any other priority than getting a tenure track position wherever he or she can possibly get a position, no?) And most times, when I think that this might mean leaving the tenure track bandwagon of physics, I feel rather sad (better to admit your emotions, than to ever become bitter.) But then I see a posting like this, and I remember Einstein, nothing more than a patent clerk, and I think, well anything is possible.