re: What are your goals?

I'd say an undergrad PE making $90k out of college going to work for a company with great bennies would have to frick up royally to not run circles financially around those from run of the mill disciplines/Gen studies. Probably making close to $150k in 5-7 yrs. Good tech people that have high demand skills make a very good living.

I know the health thing, I lived it last year, but knowing we are financially secure and have great health insurance made a scary situation much more bearable.

That's the thing, saving and investing throughout your life, in good times and bad, puts those that follow through much further ahead and affords them options that others will not have. All the boomers with less than $50k in retirement accounts now----and some of them made a shite ton of $ over their careers----would did they do other than spend it?

ETA - when I was at LSU during the oil bust many friends earning PE degrees were jobless and went back to school for other engineering opps or computer science degrees, O&G can certainly be cyclical.