Hi Everyone,
I forgot to mention that after graduation I actually worked for six months in a general engineering firm, then another year in a firm doing defence projects which had aspects of aerospace work but were mostly based around ground support equipment, so I had a year and half exeprience in "general" (apologises for the vague term) engineering before I started working for a firm that specialised in aerospace projects. In other words look to gain experience in any engineering sector, when I first posted on this thread the industry was indeed short of engineers, recent developments means things are perhaps not quite so good now, but I still personally think experience in industry is more useful than a PHD, even if it is designing washing machines or something. Approach local universities to see if they have any regional gradaute development schemes going, these used to involve doing six monthz "post gradaute" work experience with a local firm combined with a short research project in conjunction with the university.