'Hope this helps.
Hi tropicalfridge,
There is a precedent I think may perhaps be relevant here. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 there was an abrupt downturn in commercial flying. This resulted in a sudden cease in appointments to the commercial airlines. This situation, of course, backed up into the flying clubs and schools where young instructors suddenly found themselves with no line of advancement.
Then a year or so later, when the commercial airline world had decided how to improve security and had regained its confidence, there was an equally sudden upturn in appointments to the airlines and instructors suddenly vanished from the clubs and schools.
The point I am making here is that changes in employment prospects in commercial aviation are apt to be sudden, and you need to be in the right place at the right time with the right stuff if you are to benefit.
I would say get your FI rating, even if you can't make much use of it for a while. Then when things look up you will be in poll position to benefit from the upturn.
Good luck.
Broomstick.