Stress levels are how you manage it. If you keep on nitpicking on everything (I know of one guy in my department who complains about every single thing) then, you're bound to be stressed out.

Once you have the expertise and experienced (be it from the client side/consultant side) then you're good to go. Drillers I know are especially high in demand and their pay is within the 1500-2000 USD per day on a 28/28 basis or 35/35 basis. If you don;t mind going to Iraq then the pay can go up to 2500 USD per day for the drillers.

I have a couple of friends who used to work in SLB and this is his word verbatim (which relates to what sungami has mentioned in his PM), they pay you 50% higher but expect you to work 200% more. He's been mobile for the last 7 years but now, he's happy with the company he is in especially with the family life etc. Enough of being a "pelacur murahan" (his word).

At the end of the day, once you're in your late 30's early 40's, then you need to know your priorities in life. There is no such thing as company loyalty. You need to be loyal to you and your family.[SIZE=7][COLOR=red]