Ted Agres | Sep 26, 2004 | 5 min read
Getty ImagesShannon Thomas was working on her PhD in organic chemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, when she came across a trade publication advertisement for a patent agent. "They wanted someone with good communication skills and technical expertise to assist and be a liaison with lawyers," she says. "It sparked my interest. I had no idea that kind of job existed."So during her final year of graduate school in 2002, Thomas took a course to prepare for the patent bar exam. She wa