Older post but I've just seen it. What everyone said about non-engineering jobs with an engineering degree is true. I'm a Petroleum Engineer and it's very true in the petroleum field that you move out of everyday engineering tasks. In fact, even with a masters degree and some extra time towards a doctorate the big $$'s are not in the engineering (unless you design a better mousetrap and own the rights) and I see that as being true in the other engineering disciplines as well.
I think a better question is, "What are your life goals and how does your degree actually help you to accomplish your life goals?" Once you know where you are going then you can plan your career to get there. If you want a 9 to 5 without a huge amount of stress, decent pay and decent benefits and then a little savings at the end then....being an engineer is a good way to do that. If you want more...then you'll have to move into management or entrepreneurship. It's risk-reward all over again. You could fail...but trying and failing at a young age is far better than wishing you had towards the end of your life.
Craft your career specifically to educate and train yourself to be what you want or, better yet, need to be. Petroleum Engineering is a most brutal beast of a career with all of the ups and downs...I started in 1980 and have been continuously employed which is no small trick. The engineers who wanted 9-5 and who watched the clock, took their sick pay when not sick, etc...not bad guys but they were first to go. So, where is the value? Where is your value and how does that fit into your life goal? I got turned down in an early buyout because a company wanted me to stay...ticked me off because I had plans on leaving and did leave. Taking charge of my career rather than staying in a job and leaving my career in corporate hands was the best thing I ever did for my family...it may not be your thing.
So looking back at the "pure engineers" I worked with they are great guys and have...pretty much what they wanted. The line management I knew has the same story. Their wives have very nice Tahoe's and Escalades. They have very nice homes in town. I'm not putting them down but that's their limits and our limits having gone a different route are a little above that and years ahead of their retirement dates. What do you want and can you do that with a 401k and company pension/annuity and can you keep on doing that after you retire? If your goal is to fatten a 401K that's a good goal...but the real money is in creating a business, creating wealth...you do that and the 401k is of far less consequence.
Being a fly in the ointment...always challenging and pushing was not well received by most. There is a "ambition ceiling" in big corporate so be prepared for that and if you are a "fly in the ointment" then recognize it and squeeze out all of the experience you can for your next step...your career evolution. Once you've made a few $$$'s if you have the push then start your own projects....you can do better than the stock market if you want to and have the drive (and, MOST importantly, a spouse that actually supports your efforts without pissing and moaning all the time). It's better to have more than one company president who has an FFL and keeps gun catalogs in the break room...can that be you too?
This is true for engineers...but also non-engineers, degreed and non-degreed people. Anyone who can "self-train" themselves by crafting their career steps and to apply a career to meet a life goal is fortunate indeed----there is no telling where they will end up and it can be done without mistreating or trashing people. I wish someone could have gotten that through my head in my 20's to plan a career to support my life goals.
By the way....very interesting the post about 120,000 volt lines moving away from you. I can't see who posted it from this posting page but very interesting. You Electrical Engineers...and Chem E's are the smart guys. No kiddin'.