With regards to the "rantings on PPRUNE" and the general discontent at Emirates, I've always said that the most important thing is to come with your eyes open. Anyone considering Emirates should be aware of a few things that have happened recently:
1. The company capped the amount that they will pay for your utilities. Now you can debate the impact (worse for some than others) but the real chilling thing about this is that everyone's contract explicitly states that the company will "meet the cost of water and electricity". The company did not even bat an eye when they decided to violate our contracts and there is very little practical recourse here.
2. The company stated that it was their goal that every pilot be given 30 days of leave a year. Sounds great but again, our contract explicitly states that 42 days of leave will be given. What makes this even worse for pilots from North or South America (or Australia) is that in many if not most cases, they did not even award 30 days. Their practice is to then assign leave in small units of 4 to 5 days a month, count them towards days off and still schedule you for a fully productive month (90-92 hours). Anyone who has tried to go home for less than 10 days will spend a fair amount of time just recovering from the jet lag.
3. Fired a pilot who was in training for mis-entering the approach runway in the FMC and then when the error was discovered (late in the approach), flew the wrong MAP.
4. Increased the overtime threshold from 78 hrs. to 93 hrs. per month (31 day month) under the guise that since we are all flying ULR, the old threshold wasn't realistic. Since the change, most pilots are flying an average of 92 hours. The company basically increased the work we do by 15% for free and then lied about the reason. All this as they proudly trumpet in the press that there were no layoffs or paycuts at Emirates.
5. Previous new joiners, while promised a certain level of accommodation (a villa for pilots with families) were actually given "temporary" accommodations that in some cases consisted of a small 2 bedroom apartment for families of 6. Again, they think nothing of outright lying and do not feel compelled in the least to live up to their word.

I could go on but I hope that at least some of you get the point. The company is getting desperate and is going to start promising things to get you to join. They may even improve the package but will then spend the next few years taking it back. As you can see, even if it is in your contract, they will feel no obligation to honor their word. As far as comparisons with other employers or with unemployment, I'll leave that to you.