CO,
I do not work for EK and I do not necessarily disagree with you. As I said, I have friends on both fleets. My mates on the 777 love the airplane and the routes. No question about that - although most are pretty knackered after their longish flights (fatigue is an issue with any longhaul flying) to LAX, SFO and Sao Paulo. They also acknowledge that growth will slow and some routes will be swapped for A380s over time. Other people have talked about the potential differences in upgrade times and I have nothing to add on that front.
My good friend on the A330 side actually enjoys his routes - but that is his perspective. People have different opinions and perspectives. That said, avoiding the A330 fleet "at all costs" seems a bit extreme. Talk about fleet pride - you certainly have it. My mate on that fleet would disagree but you also have your sources with their own opinions. I think sitting as FO on the 777 and A380 fleets would probably be similar experiences but you can't get to the A380 from the 777 from what I hear. So, if it takes you 2-3 years of A330 time to get to the A380 then that's what it takes. Perhaps you get some A340 time and their longhaul routes to explore in the interim.
I don't work for EK as I don't have the required time/experience yet to be considered. I have friends who do and some enjoy EK while others are not so happy and are looking to return home. Some great advice: keep your expectations low (expect bumps) and go to EK with your eyes wide open understanding that the grass is not necessarily greener in the brown desert.
Like any job, it is what you make of it... You could do a lot worse than flying an A330 for EK.