Patent Adviser
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Patent Adviser occupation series (code 1221).
The verdict
With 7 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Patent Adviser ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family. Its average salary of $160,445 pays well above the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 7
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $160,445
- Avg tenure
- 10.6 yrs
FedScope read on Patent Adviser (thin series)
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Patent Adviser occupation (OPM code 1221): 7 people, headcount sideways 0.0% versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.
Patent Adviser pays $160,445 per year on average, moving down 0.0% from the prior period (a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change). Employees in this role stay an average of 10.6 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family (code 12) groups Patent Adviser together with 6 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Patent Adviser postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family.
Within the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, Patent Adviser ranks #6 of 7 by headcount, accounting for 0.1% of the family's combined 10,490 employees.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Patent Adviser pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$160,445
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+36.7%
Where Patent Adviser ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $160,445 is higher than 94% of federal occupation series (511 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Patent Adviser sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Patent Adviser ranks higher than 94%.
Related Occupations in Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group
6 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patent Examining | 9,385 | $157,963 | 14.3 yrs |
| Patent Attorney | 373 | $202,357 | 17.8 yrs |
| Design Patent Examining | 365 | $137,602 | 9.3 yrs |
| Patent Administration | 322 | $199,503 | 24.1 yrs |
| Patent Classifying | 33 | $189,888 | 21.5 yrs |
| Patent Technician | 5 | $95,669 | 29 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Patent Adviser outside the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (7 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($160,445 here).
Key takeaways
- Patent Adviser pays well above the federal average by 36.7% ($160,445 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 94th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 7 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Patent Adviser ranks #640 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, Patent Adviser ranks #6 of 7 by headcount, accounting for 0.1% of the family's combined 10,490 employees.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.