I hear ya, I came from a structural detailing background too and love what I do now. I do think our background helps, when the shop guys have questions with the drawings and you can shed some light on the interpetation. 7 years of my 20 with this company was in the engineering department. Come on over to the welding side, I bet you won't be disappointed. With your detailing background it will help you if you decide to persue the CWI cert. Also the math background helps work those 70*, 60*, and 45* triangles, if you do any Ultrasonic Inspection (UT).
John Wright