Use the master's thesis as a wedge: write it inside the current high-spec manufacturing employer on a problem they will pay to keep working on — thesis-to-offer conversion is the highest-yield move available.

Move from generalist to T-shaped before graduating by owning one technical toolchain end-to-end (simulation, lean/ops analytics, or quality systems) and documenting it as a portfolio piece.

Convert sector exposure into scarcity: aerospace-adjacent manufacturing has certification-heavy niches (quality, compliance, test) where credentialled entrants are short — pick one and stack the relevant certificate before full-time entry.