Howdy,
This has been discussed ad. nauseum in other threads. I'll try to sum it up.
- There is a large (vociferous) group of people on this forum who will tell you that modular training is just as likely to get you a job as integrated. It's very hard to obtain genuine data on percentages of newly qualified pilots getting hired in the first six months; however, having spoken to a number of chief pilots from large airlines (which recruit fATPLs) they all expressed a preference for integrated students. Depending upon market conditions, they would either reduce experience requirements (hours) or just give preference to integrated CVs.
Next on the list of preferences would be all professional training (everything after PPL) to be done with a single recognized school. In their words, this provides a "checkable history".
(for the group I just alluded to above - please don't shoot the messenger. I'm just repeating said chief pilots and recruiters verbatim)
- On the other hand, there are numerous modular fATPLs that get hired soon after completing training. In fact there may well be more of them than there are integrated. But there are a lot more modular students in the first place. We really need statistics shown as percentages of graduates. You can see from my point above which side of the fence I come down on. And, yes, I did integrated, but actually, it didn't help me get a job one iota!
- Further education is always useful, but doesn't count for much when applying for airline jobs. If you've got the fATPL, you've proved you've got the right stuff. More qualifications are always a bonus on any CV, but if you're only doing it to get a job as a pilot, then I fear that you're wasting 3 years and a considerable ammount of money. On the other hand, many 18 - 20 year olds just aren't mature enough to fly airliners. A few years at uni changes people deep down, that's a big positive step. Furthermore, a degree would be useful to fall back on if your flying dream goes up in smoke for whatever reason.
Hope that helps