I would only do 141 if you had a very specific reason for doing so, ie GI Bill, university flight program, etc.

While 141 could theoretically be cheaper due to fewer required hours, in my experience it doesn't work out that way because you always end up going over the minimum hours for PPL and IR, and the schools tend to charge more for 141 hours anyway so they can rip off veterans).

As are as unemployment...I think you can use the money for anything you want as long as you meet the requirements to receive it in the first place...this usually means you have to be looking for a job, but re-training for another career might be legal too. Better as the unemployment office.

But you might want to keep applying for jobs while training, just to CYA. If you are careful about what you apply for, you probably won't get any job offers