You are right OscarOrange42 the questions have been asked 100,000 times. The answers comprise opinion, conjecture and information. The problem is that, it is not simply a case of
answer my 3 simple questions and then I can catapult myself into a new and exciting career. You do need to do some proper research and that is much more time consuming. As you rightly say it may involve borrowing large sums of money and therefore it is very important.
By way of example:
Number 1: does anyone know where the best schools in america to train are? or are the two i have named above any good?
Presumably not, since few will have experienced more than one or two. There are undoubtably a large number of schools that can service your requirement. The schools that individuals have had problems with can be found by research. Good schools, or those that individuals have had good experiences with, can be found by the same method. To a greater or lesser extent it is a case of finding which sort of establishment will seem to be right for you. Is an American flight school going to help you achieve your aim? Have you considered European schools. Have you considered the differences and limitations of different types of licences.
2) Realistically what will it cost me to get a cpl in one of these structured programs?
No doubt a look at their websites or a telephone call will provide a number for you. How realistic that is may well depend on your own progress and circumstances. Almost certainly that cost will only be but a small part of the costs you will likely incur through, training, living, converting, renewing, further training, travelling, administration and a host of other even more "realistic" costs than just the ones you are alluding to. Do you think a "cpl" is going to be enough?
3)what is the job scene like for pilots at the minute? is now a bad time to begin pilot training? I will be getting a loan from the bank with the help of my mother so this is obviously an important factor.
Truly awful! Airlines are suffering badly in the current global economy. Businesses are cutting back on travel generally and where it is unavoidable they are cutting their budgets for that travel. Airlines around the planet are cancelling and defering orders for new aircraft. Salaries are being frozen or in some cases reduced. Job security is absymal, with many companies making pilots redundant or stopping all new recruitment and promotions. The near and medium term outlook is very gloomy. Retirement ages have recently been extended by up to 10 years in some countries, taking the pressure off natural recruitment by a similar period. Oh, and by the way, I am talking about the "scene" for experienced professional pilots with thousands of relevant hours experience. For newly qualified pilots it gets worse. They are prepared to pay for type ratings and line training thereby removing the number of jobs that might otherwise have existed in earlier times. There is so much supply and almost no demand, to the extent that is difficult to see how great a turnaround in the industry would actually be required to improve these prospects.
It isn't hard to get this information. It is readilly and glaringly available on these forums and elsewhere. As I said you need to do some proper study and research, you really do!