From what I have had the pleasure of reading and learning, the hardest part of a patent isn't necessarily finding a lawyer to do it for you or even to layout what you want but it is finding someone who can accurately portrait your product to prevent your product from getting narrowed in terms of scope! The goal is to encompass as much as possible into a patent so that it will cover the widest range. Another issue that appears often is that the cost of making your own patent is huge.
The scary thing is that you need patents though so that your idea isn't taken away from you. As an engineer who will be coming up with a lot of different ideas and projects, patents are the way to keep your intellectual property safe.
Here are some refereces!: