Our course does require a uniform and the 'rank slide' you get is the company logo once you have passed your PPL. Junior instructors have 3 bars and senior ones 4.
Sensible compromise? Makes it easy to identify everyone and as we don't actually earn any 'bars' until we are with an airline then nobody has the nerve to say that we have ideas above our station.
I love the anti-OAT banter on this whole forum, haven't decided how much of it is jealousy yet.