Lots to like about Emirates, but I'd do a lot of research (esp. on pprune) to make sure you understand the negatives as well.

Beyond that, with all the metal they're supposed to be getting, they're surprisingly picky about new hires. I know plenty of RJ Captains who were very taken with the idea of going there, took their wives to the interview, seemingly fit the profile, and figured the drawbacks were far outweighed by the money, growth and a seemingly brighter future. Only a couple got hired.

I know a few guys who got hired at Cathay in better times and abso-freaking-loutely love it there. Great QoL, great money, great equipment, but they live on the other side of the world from everyone they've ever known here and they don't come back except to show off the grandkids for a week or two a year. But then, HKG is a lot easier to plant roots in than the sandbox.

Another guy went to Qatar, and his analogy was he showed up with two empty buckets. One for $$$ and one for BS. You leave when one gets filled. At least at that airline, the $$$ bucket rarely got filled first.

But if what Bar said is right, DAL won't let you go for a 3-year foreign tour anyway...