Quite so.
Even becoming a PPL examiner is more complicated these days. In the past, to become a BX examiner you needed 1000 hrs FI time plus a recommendation from the CFI and a flight test; with 1500 hours FI time you didn't need the flight test. The authorisation fee covered 2 years. You then had to conduct at least 2 tests per year and pay the re-authorisation fee for the next 2 year period. There was no bar on examining your own students and you only needed a CAA Class II medical certificate.
Now you have to apply to the CAA and receive approval to train as an examiner. That seems fair enough, but surely you should be recommended as well? The hours requirement is now only 1000TT as pilot and a mere 250 hours FI time. Not enough, in my view! Some people have even applied to become examiners without having had the 'No Applied Instrument' restriction removed from their FI rating..... After approval, you then do a 2 day training course, followed by a flight test with an FIE acting as the dummy student. That's fair enough as well. To revalidate the authorisation (which is now for 3 years), you have to conduct at least 2 tests per year; however, in the last year you have to do either an observed or a dummy skill test with an FIE. If it's a dummy, you hire the ac, pay the FIE around £190, then send everything off to the CAA...with a cheque for the approval fee. That'll cost around £300-400 more to you in all than in the days of being a BX examiner. Plus, if you don't apply to re-authorise your GR approval at the same time, you'll have to pay an additional re-authorisation fee for that as well...
You don't have your own set of examination papers any more unless you are the nominated custodian for your RF/FTO. But the biggest problem is that you are not allowed to conduct any test on someone to whom you've given any instruction for the course of training leading to that test. So, if you're a PPL FI at a Club, you will find that it'll be difficult to do much examining if you do a lot of instructing. Alternatively, you'll end up just doing LSTs, LPCs, IMC tests and PPL Skill Tests, plus a few PPL progress checks and safety checks - and not much instructing. So there's not a huge incentive to become an examiner for those with relatively low hours...
If there's one aspect I'd throw out, it'd be the daft 'Observed or Dummy Skill Test' requirement. Fair enough to do it once as the initial check and perhaps for the first re-authorisation... But thereafter it's an utter waste of time and money. It doesn't even count as a 'flight for the re-issue of a licence or rating' for SEP Class revalidation purposes!
So, add the FE approval requirements and costs to those for maintaining your FI rating and the costs become significant. In a 3 year period you'll have to revalidate your FI rating which, if you elect to concentrate more on examining than instructing, could mean that you will find the hours needed for revalidation by experience quite difficult to achieve. So that would mean going to a FI seminar (£250 plus travel and overnight accommodation), flying a revalidation FI skill test (about a day plus hire of the ac and the FIE's £190 fee); for FE re-authorisation another dummy skill test (ac hire plus £190 for the FIE) - and pay the CAA's approval fee for another 3 years. Not forgetting up to 6 JAA Class 1 medical revalidations and a dual training flight with another FI for your SEP Class Rating.....
The paperwork required for even a simple LPC is vastly more complicated now - and you have to keep it for a number of years in your records.
Personally I don't really find this too much hassle as I only teach and examine part-time. I think the 'observed or dummy skill test' is pointless after the first re-authorisation and I also disagree with the JAA doing a volte-face on the FI revalidation requirements. Again, fair enough to make the first revalidation a compulsory FI skill test, but thereafter they should have left things as they were with the '2 out of 3' option unchanged.