Leviatan: From the large amount of reading I have done on PPRUNE I think that some of the most sound advice given, has been written by SCROGGS...
So this is a bit of a warning just to say that there are a lot of opinions flying around. Opinions are NOT FACT!
Starting an ATPL course is a big step and a lot of money! The best advice from me, is do your own research and after a bit of time you will have a better feel for the industry. From there you can make educated guesses.
Good Luck
It's your future, so stay on top of it!!!