Several points. . .
Emirates is most definitely still hiring into the 330. The seniority list shows 11 new joiners started on the 330 just 13 days ago. (poor green bastards are probably still walking around grinning thinking they’ve hit the jackpot)
It is my opinion that the 330 will be around another 5 years or so. Emirates makes a lot of money flying people around the Gulf & India in the middle of the night, and the 330 is a perfect machine for those miserable night turns.
I think the 350 is a 330/340 replacement the way the 787 is replacement for the 767, not the 777 or 747. I would expect the 350 will mostly end up doing the crap flying the 330/340 is doing now.
I think the other function of the 350 will be to supply FOs to the 380, not to replace or supplant the 777 in any meaningful way.
Going to the right seat of the 380 is no silver bullet. It will delay your upgrade, and when you do, it’s back to the little bus shoveling **** in the middle of the night around the Gulf & India.
God knows how long it will take you to get to the left seat of the 380. My guess is twice as long as it takes to become a 777 captain with a similar lifestyle.
If you do eventually make 380 captain, you’re stuck in a machine that few other airlines fly, so it’s harder to go off and be a DEC somewhere else the way the 777 guys can.
I think if you turn down the 330 and say you are only interested in the 777 they will put you in a 777 class. They just need guys too badly right now to pass on someone who made it through selection. I could be wrong, but that’s what I’d do.