Gillegan,
Thank you for the post.
As you said the US scene is different. We all had expectations that never materialized. You pointed out in a previous post, the option of leaveing Ek and going to the states is a slim proposition since you would start at the bottom of someones list. You fail to notice that for some its that they have been on the bottom for years, wondering if in the next week they will have to update that resume for Starbucks.
I will not get into a -how much the job sucks in the states- conversation.Some are golden and will never feel pain, some will get a brick to the head at indoc. Suffice it to say that almost all of us have been impacted to some degree.
To think the majority of new joiners and perspective new joiners leave our homes, friends, famililies and the comfort of own culture because we like the weather in Dubai, or Taipei, or Goa, is a tad naive.We left because the options left for us in the States are rather limited. Very few United 777 Captains will leave UAL for Dubai. Even fewer FedEx Captains..... But the rest of us,who will end our careers in a 170/190, or 737, or a 320...for them its a completely different ball game. Same for the guys who used to be 73 captains but have been knocked back to f/o at age 50 with not enough years left to get the left hand seat back.
I too did the cost/benefit study on Ek vs my other options. As have a few other new joiners. But my career expectations are not based on flying a heavy in the states. I would end my career as a 73 captain-thats just age and corporate dynamics.The financial benefits of that are more limiting than comparing my pay to a 777 UAL captain-even after the pay cuts.
I believe the other American you are talking about is Typhoon. In all my conversations with him- either on line or in person, he has been very forthright and honest. What many people here fail to grasp is that one persons negative is not as important to someone else. We all make our own choices and live with that decision. Typhoon understands that and never sugar coated anything in our conversations.
On my first post I used it as a disclaimer- and two very quickly pointed out that they can read yet not understand-I am still new here, and I may be wearing rose colored Serengetis, but EK is a better option for me and my family than my options in the States . If that offends some of the habitual posters then so be it.
I concede that you and other senior posters are more knowledgeable about Dubai and Ek. Please accept that I have not been in your shoes....Nor you in mine.