At a tough spot career-wise... not sure what to do

Here is an idea. Have you tried the military? I spent 20 years in the USAF and retired as a Major. With an engineering degree, they'd send you to Officer Candidate school. Pay for Officers is very good. It certainly wouldn't hurt to talk to them. I know that all branches are always looking for people with engineering degrees.

Hmmm I have thought of that before but not much recently I kind of forgot about it. We have the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs I actually did a quasi-internship in 2010 and my dad taught there for a while (as a civilian he's not military). I've always thought it would feel awesome to accomplish something like that, becoming an officer in the military...