Is my new patent agent salary and billable hours reasonable?
I recently passed the patent bar exam and was promoted from technical specialist to Patent agent at my law firm. While I was a tech spec, I was working part time at 32 hours per week at $46 per hour with no billable requirements. Now my new salary will be $92,000 annually for full time (37.5 hours per week according to them) and my billable requirements would be 1800 or 150 per month which is almost double what I’m billing right now .
While studying for the exam, I was told multiple times that my salary would significantly increase after passing and during a performance review, I was even told my new salary range would be $100,000-$150,000. None of this was in writing so I was disappointed when I was told my new salary but wasn’t sure if I could say anything.
I have less than 2 years of experience and have barely drafted patent applications so I asked if that’s the reason why my new salary was lower than expected but I was told no that it wasn’t.
My hourly salary of $46/hour at 37.5 hours per week would put me at $89,700 annually which is not a significant difference from the new $92,000 plus I would absolutely be working more than 37.5 hours per week to meet the billable requirements.
The current average salary for a patent agent with no experience in my location is about $115,000 according to Glassdoor.
Now I’m just wondering if the new salary and billable requirements are reasonable for new patent agent with less than 2 years of experience.