Work/life balance in patent jobs

The hours in patent work are much like any professional career. You will work at least nine to five, but you shouldn’t have to work at weekends or pull all-nighters. The hours tend to be quite consistent, but you will probably have to put in longer hours when deadlines approach. It is likely that you will have to do some travel - especially if you are a patent attorney or are dealing with the European Patent Office - but this shouldn't interfere with your home life too much.

What if I want to work flexitime or part time?

Policies on flextime and part-time working in the patent law sector vary from employer to employer, although you are unlikely to find a part-time trainee position because the training scheme and professional examinations (for patent attorneys) and initial training (for patent examiners) can be quite demanding.

A flexitime scheme is operated at the UK Intellectual Property Office and they try to accommodate  part-time working wherever possible, though this isn't recommended while undertaking their training scheme.