Better off in EK that being an undercut fo doing 30 mins roundtrips to Michigan, wisconsin etc etc. At least there is some level of respect there compare to the states...
if you honestly believe you will receive more respect as a pilot in Emirates than you did in the US you have absolutely no clue, zero, about the reality of working for Emirates. Do not confuse money with respect. You will receive more money at Emirates perhaps, mainly due to the fact there is no income tax (yet) but make no mistake every effort is made to calculate to the DIRHAM what the least amount is they can pay and still keep their employees. You will be regarded with complete contempt that will vary from hypocritically trying to hide it behind flowery words, to thinly veiled, to outright openly expressed.
Don't kid yourself about respect. As a pilot you are a barely-tolerated evil that somehow the company manages to turn a profit in spite of. It doesn't help that not a single manager seems to actually DO the job they administrate. Combined with the petty class envy that pervades the culture it's a deadly combination. If a couple of the clowns from EGHQ actually tried to work some of the pilot rosters of the last year they might tone down the hate a little, right quick.
I totally agree with mensa about the decline of Emirates, which I think is only lagging the parallel decline of its host city. It's the equivalent of the housing and market bubbles...spectacular growth followed by spectacular retrench. The ever-increasing shrillness of the denial of this only serves this belief. But hey nothing that goes up can ever go down, right all you savvy property investors?
I say the original poster SHOULD join...at the very least it would give him a new appreciation for the good old US of A, the odd time he can string enough days together to go home...