Patent Technician
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Patent Technician occupation series (code 1202): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, Patent Technician counts 5 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce; pay averages $95,669, which pays below the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 5
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $95,669
- Avg tenure
- 29 yrs
FedScope read on Patent Technician (thin series)
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Patent Technician occupation (OPM code 1202): 5 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 Technician pays $95,669 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 29 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Code 12, the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, is where the federal government classifies Patent Technician alongside 6 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Patent Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family.
Within the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, Patent Technician ranks #7 of 7 by headcount, accounting for 0.0% of the family's combined 10,490 employees.
Salary Context
How Patent Technician pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$95,669
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-18.5%
Where Patent Technician ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $95,669 is higher than 51% of federal occupation series (275 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Patent Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Patent Technician ranks higher than 51%.
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 Adviser | 7 | $160,445 | 10.6 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Patent Technician 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 (5 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($95,669 here).
Key takeaways
- Patent Technician pays below the federal average by 18.5% ($95,669 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 51st percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 5 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Patent Technician ranks #648 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 Technician ranks #7 of 7 by headcount, accounting for 0.0% 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.