If I take six months off on ground studied do you think my job would still be there when I came back?
There you go again. What makes you think that you need to take 6 months of work? You already claim to be an experienced ATP. There is no compulsory ground school, no compulsory minimum hours, its self directed study and direct application for the exams. You cover the JAA specific bits that as an FAA ATP you may be hazy on and sit the exams. My Canadian friend who is a Captain for Air Canada did it studying 2 evenings a week and sat the exams in 2 sittings when he was over here. First time pass.
Pace, with all due respect you have fallen for the hype about how difficult people think the exams are. For an experienced ATP they are just not that difficult.