Originally Posted by
directimped
Stay away, stay away, stay away..I left EK early this year and it was the best thing I ever did. My wife tells me I look and act like a completely different person. I didn't realise how sick I was until I was out of Dubai for about 6 months. That place is poison. Not just the weather, the culture too.
Do yourself a favour and don't join EK because you ARE going to regret it. Every job sucks now, deal with it.. Find yourself a half decent job in a half decent country and be happy with that. There isn't much else to strive for in this industry anymore. Dubai and EK are the worst of everything all in one place
I took a huge pay cut and downgraded the villa, car whatever, no regrets. I've never been happier. Clean air, less traffic, I have actual rights now and can vote... On my days off or standby i cut the lawn or wash the cars, go on a nature walk...Not sitting at ENOC in the heat watching some stupid indian do a bad job of it or expats drinking and eating themselves to death at the weekend brunch. Internet and sports channels or pprune aren't blocked like they were on DU and it's half the price. Much less income now but save more than I did at EK, they bleed you dry every last penny. Not to mention my HEALTH. EK would have killed me eventually, the fatigue was crushing and you can't understand it until you've experienced it
Wouldn't come back if they offered me 100 million dirhams
What directimped says is pretty fair actually, loads of people have left and say the same, you really don't know how much you change to the bad until you leave EK and get back into the real world - PPRUNE is full of these comments. I joined EK in 2004 and left in 2018. I can safely say that one of the only true benefits to our time there was the schooling for the kids. Otherwise the continual heavy rosters and general mindset of the company just wear you down and eventually one starts to feel hopeless and trapped. EK will ALWAYS find a supply of pilots since there is an abundance of pilots who are willing to go and give it a shot.
"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest" ~ Paul Simon
Good luck with your choice!