Is it worth going into patent law as an engineer? I've always been interested in this stuff and I feel like I could make a difference for the better.
To be paid well, you'll need to pass the patent bar exam. Being a paralegal doesn't make great money compared to an engineer. There are two paths though, one is to get a law degree, the other is to be an examiner for a few years. The lost income of being an examiner (and they're mostly remote now) is much less than the cost of a law degree. You probably won't be making the huge bucks ($1k/hr) litigating without a law degree, but you can make decent money at a lot of large tech companies. You also get to stay at the front of technology... even if the patents are REALLY BORING.
Will people pay you? Well, individual inventors will nickel and dime you, and big companies want big IP law firms. So it's tough. So yeah, it's boring, but once you've mastered it, it doesn't change that much.