Traci Thomas
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Hi! I've been a corporate patent paralegal for almost ten years. I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, although I did not plan on entering in to the field of law enforcement. My past experience includes working as a county judge's clerk and working in the trademark section of intellectual property before landing in the patent field. I have taken patent certificate courses and also continuing education courses in my field. I just joined a paralegal association.
Traci’s Career Stories
How did you pick your career? Did you know all along?
Since college I knew I wanted to work in the legal field, but I wasn't convinced I wanted to go on to law school after graduation. I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice but I knew I didn't want to become a police officer, which is the path most people go down once they obtain this degree. I didn't work in the legal field right away after graduation. I moved to the East Coast and had an opportunity to work for a non-profit doing trademark and general legal work as a paralegal. Then I moved to Colorado, a place I've always wanted to live, and took a job working as a county judge's clerk. That was a very interesting job, but not quite the perfect fit for me. I missed working in the intellectual property field so I started looking for an IP job. I found an intellectual property assistant position at my current company, and was promoted to patent paralegal in less than a year. Being a patent paralegal is my perfect fit and I've been doing it for almost ten years now!
What is the one piece of career advice you wish someone gave you when you were younger?
I wish I was encouraged to do anything I wanted to do. I had different career dreams and aspirations as a student, but I wasn't encouraged to pursue them. I know now that I absolutely could have chosen any of the jobs I dreamed about and I would have done a great job at them! You can do ANYTHING you want to do. Don't let anyone discourage you or tell you that you wouldn't be good at a certain job.
When you were a student, did you do anything outside of school to build skills or get knowledge that has helped your career?
When I was a student I didn't do anything outside of school to build my skills for my career, but I sure wish I had! If I could do it all over again, I would have chosen a part-time job or taken a volunteer opportunity in my field. This way you would gain experience and knowledge before you graduate and really see if that particular career would be a good fit for you. It would be a great head start!
What is it like when your job gets tough?
When my job gets tough, I get stressed out and need to organize myself! I find keeping very organized helps me deal with a lot of work that needs to be done under deadline. As a patent paralegal, we are deadline driven. If we miss a deadline it will cost the company money. When I find myself getting overwhelmed with all the work and deadlines, I stop what I'm doing and take the time to make a to do list. This helps me prioritize my work and checking things off that list is very satisfying. I ALWAYS feel better after making that list. It doesn't seem so bad once I see what I need to get done down on paper!
Did anyone ever oppose your career plans when you were young or push you in a direction you did not want to go?
Unfortunately, yes, my parent was the one who discouraged me. Although I believe they were only trying to help and just wanted me to be happy. At an early age I wanted to be a veterinarian, because I loved animals. My parent said I shouldn't be a vet because I wouldn't want to work on sick animals - I only would want to be around healthy animals. I then became fascinated by houses and proclaimed I wanted to become an architect. That same parent told me I shouldn't be an architect because I wasn't good at math and I needed to be very good at math to have that career. Then I thought I would just get a business degree in college and work for a corporation, but those classes in college were so boring to me. I switched my major to Criminal Justice and the rest is history! Looking back, I know I would have been an amazing veterinarian or architect. If my parent would have encouraged me and supported me in these careers, I know I would have excelled. Please don't let anyone, even a parent, discourage you from your dreams. Let that be your own decision. You can do whatever you want to do!
In layperson terms, what do you actually do at work?
I have over 1000 patent applications that I manage, and I work to support anywhere from three or more patent attorneys. My day is managing all the deadlines, preparing and filing new patent applications, filing responses to patent prosecution office actions, preparing for applications to grant, attending meetings, and many other duties. There is rarely any down-time, but I like to be busy. There is always something that needs to be done!