I did my time. The first few years were fun and had lots of days off to travel. The pay was poor but I guess the money/lifestyle balance was OK. That all changed over time.
Like many others, I liked the idea of a quick command but the reality is that command time is only good if you want to chase contract jobs (I don't). If you join any half reasonable outfit you will be starting at the bottom again so the command time is almost irrelevant (good background but irrelevant to progression in a new company).
Having made a conscious decision to not piss money away in DXB, I left with enough to buy a house back home but that was about it.
I am glad I did not have to endure a bankruptcy at my pre-EK airline but with the benefit of hindsight better decisions could have been made.
As an aside, it always horrified me to see guys destroy their marriages just because they couldn't give up the left seat or being too arrogant to place family before job.
The airline industry is like the Titanic after it broke in half, ethics, manners and courtesy are long gone and it is all about positioning yourself on what you think will be the last bit of wreckage to go under while you wait for "rescue" whatever that may be (career change etc).