i dont work in a studio and neither does leon, though he has done a lot of sound engineering work in the past, both in the studio and live stuff. i havent had any training, i learnt it myself, leon did a sound engineering degree or something though, but i think he knew a lot of the stuff before he started it.
we're hoping to do more serious studio work in the future, im sure you've checked out http://www.dreamingstudios.co.uk , but at the moment we're only available for mastering stuff due to lack of studio space. we shall see
id definitely take the music technology course if i was you, and practice as much as you can, see if you can do production for some local bands. you really have to do it as much as possible to train your ears (your most useful piece of musical equipment), and get used to what different studio techniques sound like and when to use them.
as for getting a job, its probably as much a case of who you know as it is what you know, so be on the look-out for useful contacts
