Great balanced view from The Count. I joined easy as DEC not that long ago, having worked for a few other airlines. Yes it's not perfect (but no airline is!) and can honestly say that it's a lot better than quite a lot of whats on offer out there these days. For me it has turned out to be a really good decision and I am enjoying my time here. Whilst there is a fair bit of roster instability at the moment, especially being at the biggest base, I knew what I was getting myself into. Operationally it's a really nice working environment, I'm allowed to be a Captain again and everything isn't micro-managed in the same way as some other places. On top of that being directly employed, with a pension, LOL & share scheme is way better than being forced to be self-employed or work through an agency.
From the TR point of view, whilst not ideal, it does seem to be the way of the world and it comes down to a personal decision. However as a DEC you can claim it against tax in the UK and therefore ends up costing a lot less that the RYR option quoted above even if you do have to pay up front. Also I believe that some people may not have had to pay the TR in the past if they agreed to go to some of the less popular bases.