Earlier this year, Averlyn Browne, 21, began delivering food with DoorDash, earning extra cash when she wasn’t in class at California University of Pennsylvania.
Some days, she’d do just two or three deliveries before calling it quits; other times, she’d start around 8 a.m. and go until mid-afternoon. Depending on the hours she put in, she’d make anything from $40 to $200 a day. She mostly enjoyed the work, but it had its ups and downs.
“I’ve had good days where I’ll get great tips or I’ll have a good conversation with the person I’m delivering for,” she says. “Or there’d be days where it’s super bad, like restaurants would take forever to make the food.”
Browne’s experience is growing more common as many young people eschew a traditional job in favor of flexible arrangements. They find work through gig economy companies such as Uber, Instacart, and Grubhub, which rely on independent workers who come and go as they please. But now, that business model is being challenged across the country.
Earlier this year, Averlyn Browne, 21, began delivering food with DoorDash. It was a way for her to earn extra cash when she wasn’t in class at California University of Pennsylvania.
Some days, she’d do only two or three deliveries before calling it quits. Other times, she’d start around 8 a.m. and go until mid-afternoon. Depending on the hours she put in, she’d make anything from $40 to $200 a day. She enjoyed the work, but it had its ups and downs.
“I’ve had good days where I’ll get great tips or I’ll have a good conversation with the person I’m delivering for,” she says. “Or there’d be days where it’s super bad, like restaurants would take forever to make the food.”
Browne’s experience is growing more common. Many young people are trading traditional jobs for those that offer more flexibility. They’re finding work through gig economy companies such as Uber, Instacart, and Grubhub. These companies rely on independent workers who come and go as they please. But now, that business model is being challenged across the country.