It might not be apparent from the eastern side of the pond but there is quite a boom in new civil programs (and thus FT) in North America. Our company (see my post in scruggs' thread to see which one) has recruited FTEs & pilots directly mainly from the military side of FT but has also brought engineers in on occasion - usually from within the FT Engineering group and typically from those who have (at least) a PPL or an aerospace degree.
There's also a limited number of FTEs who fly on behalf of vendors such as Rockwell Collins or Honeywell mainly on Autopilot & similar avionics testing. This sector may very well increase as airframers go over to the "supplier is responsible for all aspects of their system" (Lazy B & my company's) model but the Dreamliner shambles may curtail this. BTW this approach is the reason/subject for the FT instumentation thread that was running here - there'll be a lot of companies suddenly finding they need FT expertise if only how to write a good test definition!
So, in short, go west, young man!