The pros and cons of being a delivery driver largely come down to lifestyle choices and personal preferences. Smart drivers who make good use of their time can make a good income, but it requires resilience and the willingness to put time, repairs, and gas into your his or her vehicle.
Some drivers love the feel of the open road while others don’t enjoy having to pay for the wear on their vehicles and the uncertain supply of jobs. This is a decision for each driver to make, and most of making delivery driving worthwhile comes down to time management, but other factors aren’t always considered. This article will be discussing the top 6 pros and top 6 cons things about working in delivery gigs.
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Pro: Time management
Being a delivery driver is a great way to earn money on your terms. A driver can set his or her hours. This creates endless possibilities for scheduling. If there’s a large event in town, a determined driver can work from morning until night. Nobody tells the driver when to clock off.
The opposite is also true. Working as a delivery driver can be a great way to supplement one’s income on a day off or in addition to another job. University students can make extra money on the side as they work through their studies whenever their education is done for the day.
Even full-time parents can work during the day while their children are at school. This can make for a great excuse to get out of the house and explore.
Con: Vehicle maintenance and Gasoline
First, a driver must use his or her vehicle for deliveries. The driver is then responsible for all maintenance on the vehicle as well as providing gas to get to pick up and delivery locations. All of this can eat into a driver’s income, especially if the vehicle being used has poor gas mileage or is very high maintenance, or might require expensive parts.
When a delivery pickup is very far away and the delivery spot is only a short drive from the order pickup, some drivers can even lose money by the end of a delivery. Veteran drivers would be smart to consider these factors before accepting any order.
Pro: Surge in orders
Savvy drivers can dramatically boost their income by striking when the iron is hot. When there are more orders than there are drivers on the road, many apps will increase their paying rate. Some Uber Eats drivers report surges increasing pay raises up to 100% when demand is very high. Others like DoorDash has Challenges.
It’s always important for drivers to check when special events or peak ordering hours are in his or her area. By tracking these events, a driver can greatly improve their income for time spent driving and putting wear on their delivery vehicle.
Con: Lull in orders
Sometimes drivers won’t always be the luckiest workers on the road. Just like taking advantage of common surge times and special events in an area, lulls in order volume on certain apps might bring prices down, hurting overall income.
Just as smart drivers will pay attention to surge hours, they will also track when orders typically drop throughout the week and avoid these lulls. Some drivers may not have a choice about when they’re able to work, so they will have to be extra careful in ensuring that a drive is worth taking.
Pro: Instant Pay
Most major driving apps can deliver directly into your bank account from the delivery app. This means there will be no waiting for the bank to approve the charge or wait to service it.
While this might not be the case with some smaller institutions, most major American banks can get a driver’s money directly into his or her bank account the moment finger meets the button.
Con: No Benefits
Just as drives enjoy the benefit of flexible work hours that many office workers lack, they are not afforded things that many salaried positions include, such as a 401(k) or insurance benefits of any kind.
Drivers in America will have to find other ways of ensuring health insurance. While a driver is responsible for their own car insurance, some apps can help drivers receive discounts from certain insurance companies.
Pro: No passengers
While this might be seen as a con to some drivers, some appreciate the fact that they not only do not have a manager or boss to answer to, but they don’t have to have other people in their car.
This means that the driver has full control over his or her workspace, and usually no messes to clean up after a Friday or Saturday night of driving.
Con: Delivery Driving Requires Discipline and Resilience
Just as the flexibility of delivery driving is a great strength, it can also be a problem for some drivers. It can be easy for a driver to blow off a day of driving as there is no boss or time clock to dictate when to buckle up.
Likewise, a slow night with minimal pay and car trouble can quickly damage morale. Delivery drivers need to be both disciplined enough to put in the time and resilient enough to get through the sessions of little pay.
Pro: Meet interesting people
Delivery drivers are bound to meet interesting people in their travels. Whether speaking with staff at the pickup site or conversing with a customer, delivery drivers have all kinds of opportunities to make connections and create stories.
The more creative drivers on the road might even use these personalities they encounter for artistic inspiration, or you might even run into someone with another career to jump into.
Con: Limited Promotion
While delivery driving can be a great opportunity to earn money on the side or even work full-time, there aren’t any opportunities for advancement at this moment. Some apps will introduce special perks or offers to their drivers, but there isn’t a way for a driver to advance in the field from a professional standpoint.
Pro: Low Barrier to entry
One of the reasons that there are so many delivery drivers on the road is that almost anyone can jump into the labour pool.
All one needs is a safe vehicle with proof of insurance and licensing, and a driver can get started very quickly.
There are no special degrees or certifications needed beyond the base ability to operate a vehicle and be 18, or over; you’ll meet the age requirement for most food delivery jobs.
Con: Postural Issues
Delivery drivers who operate out of a car can end up sitting for long periods of time in their car all day. This can cause tightness in the hips as well as the shoulders and neck. Over time this can lead to back problems and headaches as the muscles of the core and upper back grow pinched and weak.
Delivery drivers would be smart to make sure that they stretch before and after every day at work to ensure proper posture and avoid injury down the road.
As one can see, the pros and cons of being a delivery driver generally revolve around time and cost. Some drivers enjoy the isolation of a car while others might despise it. This is up to the driver, but the ability to balance time spent driving with the amount of money one can make is ultimately up to the driver’s wit and ability to gauge when demand will be very high or slump.
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Smart drivers who can learn their way around their prospective platform and city can easily boost their income, while drivers who try to power through lulls and put wear on their car might wind up disheartened.
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