Whether or not you choose EK over BA really all depends on what you want and your own personal circumstances.
If you want the opportunity to eventually work part-time, go for BA, EK doesn't offer this, and there seems to be no desire from EK's side to make any lifestyle enhancements. Having said that, wether or not the rosters are awful depends a lot on your position within the company. At the moment the 777 guys are suffering with many more turn arounds than the A380 fleet, however, this will change with the arrival of the A330's next year.
As for pay, it's expensive to establish yourself in Dubai, upon joining you'll face a lot of costs at once, however the earnings potential is very good. I am mid 30's, LHS for a few years now and receive the accommodation allowance. This means every month I get 14K Euro's, excluding flight pay and other allowances, which then drives the total compensation up to 16-17K. Make of that what you will, but for somebody mid 30's thats an extremely good salary. On top of this there is close to 2K USD going in to the provident fund every month, mine when I leave.
Obviously Dubai is expensive, very expensive for certain things, but if you shop smart on layovers you can certainly cut down on your grocery bills etc. So far I've managed to acquire several properties in my home country with only a small mortgage, meaning that if I really wanted to, I could retire already and I certainly won't have to work till 65. If I re-invest my rental income I can buy another property every 5-6 years or so.
Having little control over your schedule can at times be annoying, however EK offer plenty of career choices, if you decide to take up on of the opportunities offered within the company you can greatly enhance your lifestyle. Plenty of people have taken that opportunity, and now enjoy decent rosters compared to some people who only fly the line, if you put in the work you can expect the results. The race to the bottom seems to be in full gear, and with Terms & Conditions under threat within IAG, schedules becoming tight, and hotels also moving to the location EK seems to prefer, how much different will it be in the long run?
Do I miss a union, transparency and sometimes simply honesty from EK? Yes, I think most of us do. But we knew what we signed up for, and to be quite honest, when I was a BALPA member I was simply shocked by their ineffectiveness, lot's of talking, very very little action. I know the individual rep's put in a lot of work, however if the judicial system restricts the union from having any real teeth, it becomes a waste of time as well.
Would I join EK when I had a stable job in Europe with a family when I was in my mid 30's, probably not, knowing what I know now. Having said that, plenty of guys have done it, and plenty are still happy. Would I join again in my mid 20's, with a chance of a widebody command, the package EK offer, and the chance to set myself up for life, yes I would.
People have vastly different views on EK, depending on their own personal situation. Nobody really calls Dubai home, and we are all working on an exit plan one way or another, and depending on how accustomed you become to life here, and your spending habits, it is fairly easy to put in 15 years, then re-asses the situation when you are late 30's or early 40's. It still leaves you with another 20 years of flying ahead, and if you can do that back in Europe, part-time, on a shared roster, or anything along those lines, without having to worry too much anymore about your pension etc, then maybe in terms of a career, the type of flying and life experience, it is more rewarding then spending 40 years in BA.