Guys,
The "noble and respected" career of the LAE is a thing of the past (if it ever was) and anybody considering a future in this line of work really needs to know what he or she is getting into. You can get by on the salary of an LAE but you will never get rich. As airlines come under more and more commercial pressure the engineer will come under more pressure to perform and will get less for it (in either respect or pay).
As others have mentioned, the hours are lousy and the rewards are few. The only real satisfaction comes in completing a job well done.
There will always be a need for us as airlines have trouble attracting people to the industry these days and fleets are expanding worldwide. Another thing to consider is career prospects, if you want to be still working nightshift at age 60 then go for it. Not a lot of guys get off the floor.
I will never encourage my own son to go into this line. Why should he? For considerably less training anybody could get into IT or telecommunications or any other engineering field and probably make better money, a better furture and work normal hours.
Keep those big jets flying!