Tim... I'm 27, I've been working in golf course business for 4/5 years now, the last 2, for an architect, and 2 for a regional contractor. When people ask me how I got that job my answer is always, "Hard work, and a lot of luck." ... I cannot tell you how you should go about it, but I can give you a general picture of what helped me and little bit of advice.
My background: I went to a small liberal arts school, majored in Architectural Studies, and minored in Studio Art. I graduated in 2009, one of the worst years ever to graduate in job wise. During school I spent a "study abroad" semester in Boston where I offered to be a free intern for Mungeam Cornish Golf Design. I spent 4 summers caddying at one of the best parkland courses in Westchester, NY, and got to pick up a few loops at other top courses. Did a little maintenance work as well, but it was never my favorite. I was supposed to intern for Renaissance Golf Design after graduation, but every project in the US got put on hold. After graduating I wrote probably 100 letters/emails to other architects, contractors and courses around the world that interested me looking for interesting jobs doing maintenance or caddying, had a few decent responses, but nothing special, so I went to a heavy equipment operating school for 6 weeks to learn how to use all the big yellow machines, and 2 weeks later I got a job with the golf contractor. While working for the contractor, I started a golf course blog, started learning Chinese, kept caddying and continued to write to architects. Finally an architect I had stayed in contact with reached out to me and I was hired not long after I turned 25... There is probably a bunch more I've glossed over as well, but there is a pattern here... Hard work!
My advice: Be different, if you look at the backgrounds of the people Tom hires, they are all different. If you cant add something different to the mix, your not helping yourself.
There is no road map. You have to come up with the best plan that fits you. If you really want to go to Scotland for school, that has great potential, but its only going to be great if you make the most out of it. If its going to help you get a job, its got to be a great story. Nobody really cares about gpa or what you studied, but if you can captivate someone with stories about the experiences of traveling around the UK for 4 years playing every golf course imaginable, etc, thats going to help your cause.
Lastly, be relentless. The way I see it, I have the best opportunity in the world, but the hard work doesn't stop there. I feel I need to keep reinvesting in my future to stay alive in this business. I work for one of the best in the world, but I still go out of my way to see 60-70 + golf courses a year in my limited time off site. I've continued to make connections with people in the business, golf raters, high ranking club officials etc... Draw, paint, photograph, write, etc... anything and everything you can think about, learn and question..