Good post ufgatorpilot! I am a former mechanical engineer that worked both in aerospace and electrical utilities, and I shared a lot of the same complaints about my job/career with just a couple of minor differences.
What a life that was back then! Every morning I'd wake up with a feeling of dread about the upcoming day... Once at work, I dreamed of my future career in aviation, frustrated that it wasn't coming quickly enough. Although I worked with good people as well, I felt different than them as I knew my heart just wasn't in my work (though amazingly, I still got good performance reviews).
I'm now working on my third year of professional aviation, and I'm still happy with my decision. Sure, there are times where I am frustrated... My C.P. can be extremely difficult to deal with, and I've resigned myself with the fact that my current job is only going to be a stepping stone to something else. But I still look forward to coming to work, my work is usually exciting and different all the time, and I've seen and done some absolutely AMAZING things. My schedule is usually known, and the days off are always different which I really, really enjoy. It's awesome going out and doing stuff during the week, and my g/f has a weird schedule too (she's a firefighter) so we often have the same days off. There have definitely been times where I missed special occasions due to work, but in the end it balances out in my favor.
There have been moments where I said to myself maybe I should go back to engineering, but then I think back to how unhappy I was... Even if I were to lose my job in this terrible economy, I would try very hard to remain in aviation.
Also, there's a tendency on a lot of these aviation forums for people to develop blinders, so don't forget there's a whole other world outside of airline flying... That is one segment I'm doing my best to avoid unless things change dramatically. The pay and QOL are much, much better in the non-121 world, particularly at the entry levels. Good luck to you!