Transitioning into IP from science

One of the first decisions you should probably make is to decide whether you want to be a patent attorney or a patent agent - being a patent attorney obviously involves going to, graduating from, and passing a state bar here in the US.

A second decision you probably want to decide is whether this is the type of work you would really like to do - patents are all about writing patent applications, analyzing documents to determine, for example, what a client's invention truly is, as well as, during patent prosecution, how the claimed invention differs from prior patents or literature references cited by examiners.
If your skills are strong in these areas, and this type of work appeals to you, then by all means pursue a career in patents.