Engineer are a respectable lot in Countries like USA, Australia and UK. The type of engineer that makes a lot are those who work in the Oil/Gas/Mining Projects, not those who work for the operation of the finished plant or in the office in Singapore. While the job is challenging, you do expect to relocate to new places once the project is completed. Hence, the sacrifice could be quite alot especially if you have companion, and even worse if you have family.

I have worked my way up from a Project Engineer, then Engineering Manager and now Regional Manager. Looking back it had been been alot of hardwork and sacrifice I have put in, but financially it has been lucrative. I am beginning to see fruits of the hardship and plan to retire in my early 50s while my kids continue their tertially education overseas.

Bottom line is Engineering is a good career if you shape it the way you want it to be, otherwise, like all other discipline it could be another mundane dead end career.