All,

Thanks for your replies, they've been very helpful.

The reason I am going with 141 is because I know how tough the US job market is, and I want to leave a door open for working overseas in case things don't look good for me around here once my training is done. While overseas carriers may not care either, some may, and the ability to put the name of a reputable school on my resume is appealing to me under these circumstances.

Also, I am worried about instruction quality at Part 161. I am sure there are plenty of good ones, and likewise bad apples as Part 141, but the more structured course at better known schools (like FSA) with a reputation to keep offer some safeguards against that.