We don't know the circumstances surrounding him turning down the course, EK often allows delaying a course.
Why quote a 4 year F/O's starting salary, and then compare it to a US Regional Captain, which many might consider irrelevant.
I would prefer being an RJ Captain versus an EK F/O, excluding everything other than job profile, salary, and location location location. The big kicker is the long term prospects and job security, which might not be very good for an RJ dude. It is likely that the long term prospects for an EK F/O are not so good either.
To clarify a few points, if a person comes here with a wife (and even moreso with kids), you will struggle financially until you upgrade to Captain. For new joiners, they will likely not upgrade to Captain for 5 years, and considering the accelerating decline of our disposable income and T&C's it will likely take a year or two at a Captain's salary to be where you would have been had you stayed home. 7 years in the sandpit is a long time!
It is a trap when you come to EK nowadays. You sign on the dotted line, make the big move and then later realize you have just limited all your other options for the next 5 years in your flying career. When reality hits, which can take as short as a few months or up to a few years, it is too late in either case.
I cannot understand the mentality of anyone considering coming to DXB nowadays. The only exclusion to that, are pilots out of work and having no other means to support themselves. It is truly THAT pathetic here, and this is from someone who used to be a big EK supporter.
Don't believe one word that EK spouts to you or shows on their website. EK has one of the unhappiest group of pilots I have ever worked with...... in spite of the fact the company MADE a 400M $ profit. Just wait till they start losing money !