Guys,
Before you launch head first into an FI course...make sure the job prospects are there at the end of it. Today, I happened to see a fairly big FTO's bookings for next week - there's not 1 single booking in it! The current FI's at the club are having to look elsewhere for work(not necessarily flying related).
Best advice...phone around some of the clubs and get a feel for whats happening.
The FI rating is/has always been a great rating. Just make sure you get your moneys worth out of it!
Perhaps look at some of the parachute and gliding clubs around as an alternative for this summer - a good saeson could easily get a few hundred hours under the belt, without the 7 or 8k expense of an FI course.