there is some perception from some airlines that going integrated with OAT/CCAT/etc is better
Most companies seem to prefer CCAT or OAT graduates
(my emphasis)
Where did you find this out from, Wazzoo, Sphinx? Do you realise how many hundreds of potential employers there are out there? How few even express a preference, let alone the fewer who operate one practically? How few new graduates those few airlines take?
"It may mean you are on TPs for the first few years before getting a break into Jets..." is a very naive thing to say, suggesting that jets are the only thing out there. If that's your attitude then I suggest you save your money, find a lucrative job with cheaper training and more certainty: if you truly want to fly then you either wouldn't care (as spearchucker seems not to) or you would actually see jets as the final let down, when you have to get home on a regular basis and earn good money. Jet airliners are not the best flying out there! Ask any long-term jet pilot, I've worked with a few.
As I said in my last post I love my job! I earn about the same as a junior FO on a t'prop or small jet. I do interesting flying, including organ transport, and actually get to fly and captain my aircraft. This is real flying, why I left the oil industry, not programming an FMC for the Captain! It is brilliant!