[etal]

Don't despair. Engineering is a nice lifestyle -- you can work at any size company, you can travel if you want, and you can switch to independent consulting or join a consultancy if you want. You can do a startup at any time, too; engineers create things people want. I don't know of any other background that will give you as much flexibility with your career.

Sudden jumps in income tend to stress people out; the key to happiness is a gradual lifelong rise in income, so you're always comfortable. Engineering will accomplish that for you. Personally, I felt like I'd solved the "money problem" with my first two engineering jobs -- there was nothing I wanted that I couldn't easily afford, and I liked the ratio of business trips to staying at home.