That's nuts man. I started in ChemE at Texas Tech, but didn't like it much.
What school did you go to? I work in environmental consulting, what industry are you in?
University of Arkansas (my experience was not typical). Anyway, I was so thankful to have that 19K job I probably would have stayed there a good while, but they annoyed me with their low raises, so I went and found a job with a state gov't (regulating drinking water) for about 34K. I've moved on from there, but still in the environmental field. Plan to get my P.E. one of these days, as I've already satisfied the experience & EIT requirements.