for my tuppence worth hixton, I have the FAA ppl and was considering the FAA route but i have spent the last 18 months approx in the states (not all doing my ppl) and having talked to a lot of guys and girls I think the best prospects are with the JAA ratings, you could always do your theory in the UK and only do the flying in the US. I am not knocking the FAA route or belittling anyone with FAA ratings an ATP is an ATP and damned hard work required to get it either way.