How serious are you about the idea of becoming a career pilot? If you're going to pull the trigger on ATP, you better be S E R I O U S.

I heard once that a good number of flight lessons to do is 3-4 a week, and it makes sense. Enough that you're not having to re-learn stuff you forgot, but not so many that you get burnt out. ATP says "what's burnout? Is that French?" You will fly every day that the weather and your health allows. They don't even want you to have a job or other classes or anything else going on in your life, because you need to be eating, sleeping, breathing flight school. The reward is that you go from hour zero to Multi-Engine instructor in nine(ish) months, which is an absurd timeline for seven ratings, IMO. And yes, it's expensive. There are people who spend way less to do their ratings, and there are people who spend way more. But there aren't many who do it that quickly outside of ATP.

As for the quality of the training you get, it probably varies from campus to campus, and even instructor to instructor. But ATP students pass the same check rides, allegedly to the same standards, as every other flight student in America. I've met many ATP alums over the years (I would say about one in three pilots under 40 are ATP grads), and among them there have been good pilots, and bad pilots.

ATP is definitely "doing it right" in the way your Dad probably intends. But if I were you, I ask around for a reputable mom and pop operation. It won't be as fast, but you're treated less like a cog, and you'll probably save some money, too.