Odds of Hanging On
This isn't Hollywood. There's plenty of space in the industry for materials engineers "of a certain age"—no one's getting the boot just because they can't run as fast as they once could, or because they need to wear bifocals.
And for those who do stay in this career, there are certain monetary rewards. After five years, average income is $80,000 per year. By the time you hit ten years in the business, you might get to call yourself a senior engineer and be raking in $95,000. If you get into the industry when you're twenty-five, then twenty years on you might be making $110,000 per year (source). That's 110,000 good reasons to hang on.