I hate to bring this shit here, but I need (would like) some reassurance that I'm not a total idiot. I like being a fundamental scientist, but the further I get in my career, the more I feel like I'm being laughed at by engineers and all those who placed earning potential far higher on their list of priorities than job satisfaction.

I feel like I can't really start my life yet (I'm 33), that I need to be able to compete financially with all of the software engineers in order to do things like date, etc.

Do any other PhD-level chemists at least occasionally feel like they robbed themselves of any significant earning potential? How do you keep yourself going, and keep that passion for science alive?