I dont actually work in academic research, though, so I dont suffer from the cr@ppy wages of a pure scientist ;) I planned to, but it didnt pan out like that.
And I know fine well that IT can earn you mega-bucks!
Edit: And engineering!
Mayhaps you two are in the wrong avenues of your particular disciplines? Engineers on contract here get upwards of £25 an hour, and up to 40.
There are SAP trainers in my company (not quite sure what they're calling themselves now, but it was BNFL once upon a time) that get £500 a day