The thread appears to have crept away somewhat from the question the chap originally asked. Should he start now? Well no-one can really say I'm afraid.
My own personal advice would be if you wish to start sooner rather than later, I'd seriously consider going modular, the timing of which is a bit more under your control. However you could wait until things start to look like they are picking up in the economy, then do an integrated course to get you through in a year or so. That way, even taking into account a years lag to do the course you should hit any upswing that might occur. (Although my personal opinion is that we won't see any significant upswing for quite sometime to come yet, however none of us have a crystal ball, that is solely my own personal opinion).
Anyway, good luck whichever way you do it.