how do you avoid burnout and getting taken advantage of?
kp812: I can't answer your question until you answer one yourself: are you okay working for someone else until you retire? If that's fine then I think you just need to find a company which fits you better - one that gives you decent salary, hours, other perks etc. I do think you are being taken advantage of as an engineer in this field for such a meager work to compensation ratio. I wouldn't work that hard unless it was either for myself, or to amass enough funds to start something for myself.