Pilots need to know what EK is all about BEFORE they join. As we all know after we join it is too late.
The pay is middle of the road as has been said before. What one needs to look into is how expensive Dubai is. £50 for very slow internet a month, food that is 30% more than in the UK and petrol that is getting to be on par with England.
What has not been stressed is how bad EK mangement treats everyone. It lies constantly and does not give a damm. It does not honour its contracts and has no intention of doing so if it does not suit them. It sacks pilots for little or no reason, (Let's not bring up YMML.) from everything for taking a picture in front of a broken airplane to bringing a pillow to your girlfriend in economy. They have seemed to back off a little because they know they are having trouble getting pilots and word gets out. Yes, thank God for pprune.
If you do come to the sand understand it is very tough to get out of Dubai with all of the bonds they put on you not to mention the money it costs you to move you and your family to the middle east. Don't come for a lark. You will have to be here for about 5-6 years to make it worth your while. Then it will be time to upgrade (if you're lucky) and you will want to stick around longer all the time probably mssing home.
The pilots that come from the bottom feeders have a different story.