#gig-economy

#gig-economy

What I didn't know was that the role would require me to assume multiple fabricated identities, and use pseudo profiles created by the company to engage in intimate and explicit conversations with lonely men and women,

What does it take to become the most successful AI surveillance company in 2025? If you're anything like Flock, the startup selling automatic license plate readers and facial recognition tech to cops, you don't really need much AI at all - just an army of sweatshop workers in the global south. Bombshell new reporting from 404 Media found that Flock, which has its cameras in thousands of US communities, has been outsourcing its AI to gig workers located in the Philippines.

Finally, a descriptor that just might work. Finding terms to describe those of us who don't have kids is challenging. We're usually referred to as what we're not (non-moms, unparents, people without kids). Cumbersome, clunky, and not very respectful. Beginning with Major League Baseball in the mid-1970s, free agency gave professional athletes the flexibility to develop their careers after their contracts expired. The practice gradually spread to other professional sports and is now well-accepted by sports organizations and fans around the world.

I think there will be fun things that people are going to be doing in the cars that are not just driving. It's making drinks, it's telling stories, it's being the local guy,

Before graduation, she had already lined up an engineering job, but it required frequent moves around the country. I was happy for her, but I was tired of long-distance and wanted to settle down. I also knew that following her to her various job locations would make it hard for me to have my own career. However, I loved her, and that was more important.

"Most Dashers follow the rules of the road and do the right thing. However, we recognize community concerns about safe riding. In a city as dense and dynamic as New York, setting a lower speed limit for e-bikes is a smart and sensible step. That's why we are supportive of the city's new policy of a 15 mph speed limit for e-bikes," reads the company's blog post.

"Well, friends. I did it. I've now had my highest-income month of my life again." So begins a TikTok video by content creator Chelsea Langenstam detailing her "$56,244 income month" breakdown, along with deductibles, as a solopreneur. Langenstam then outlines her various income streams: budget templates, brand deals, referral fees. "I don't share to brag," she says in the video, currently sitting at over 100,000 views. "I share because I want to show you what's possible in real time."

It's a tech CEO's wet dream, but a labor economist's worst nightmare: to film some content for a TikTok reel, one San Francisco woman decided to hail a Waymo to complete her Doordash delivery. The TikTokker, real name unknown but who goes by the handle @dmpnzzz, posted the minute-long clip last Thursday. She doesn't say much about the finances of the experiment, but the clip does raise an interesting question: can you Doordash in a Waymo and still come out ahead?

Relying on one gig is like putting all your eggs in one very fragile basket. The most successful gig workers I know have multiple income streams flowing at once. Think about it this way: If you're driving for Uber, you're already in your car. Why not deliver food between rides? If you're freelance writing, why not offer social media management to the same clients? The key is finding gigs that complement each other instead of competing for your time.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history,

While it's not unusual for young people to work multiple jobs through college and early in their career, Gen Zers are stacking jobs on top of jobs as a way to DIY their own careers. (One Gen Zer, Carissa Ferguson, says she's earned more than $144,0000 selling voiceovers, content creation, and copywriting on Fiverr's platform.) Of those surveyed, 67% said that multiple streams of income were essential for a sense of financial security.

There's a turnaround in the climax of this noctambulist Paris immigrant drama that suddenly charges the film's seemingly neutral title with meaning. Food courier protagonist, Souleymane, is hopefully in the process of altering his destiny, and this key scene is carried by fantastic acting from Abou Sangare: trembling violently as a lifetime's tension and struggle, as well as the daily grind of an app wage slave, comes pouring out.

Work camping is a lifestyle that combines working and camping. Work campers often trade labor for compensation, which can include a free or discounted campsite, utilities, and sometimes wages. We bought a house in Florida nine years ago and live there for six months in the winter. Our 42-foot Monaco Class A motor coach is our home for the other half of the year while we work camp. Since 2019, we've work camped in New Hampshire. I also do DoorDash in both places.

Sure, it's hard to live anywhere right now, but the disparity between the haves (who've been cannibalizing creative industries for decades) and have-nots (y'know, the creatives carrying the industry on their backs) has never been quite so wide. No one can sustain a job in their dream field anymore; no one can afford even the most modest lifestyle. As Aziz Ansari claims in the opening moments of his directorial debut, Good Fortune, the American Dream is no more.

Generative AI is moving from drafting emails to shaping labor markets. On platforms like Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Upwork, millions of workers rely on hourly rates to compete for jobs. As AI increasingly influences pricing recommendations, business leaders face a critical question: Do large language models (LLMs) make these pricing decisions fairly? Or do they perpetuate the same biases and inequities that have long plagued human labor markets?

According to the 2025 National Association of Realtors' Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, 43% of younger millennials carry a median student debt of $30,000 with around 29% of older millennials having a median debt of $35,000. That's on top of the average millennial's credit card debt of $6,691, per Experian. Retirement? Seventy-five is optimistic. The American dream we were promised is behind us, and millennials, also known

I started out in sales at 18, pounding the phone at a mortgage brokerage, and I've been working in sales since, at companies like Tesla, Wells Fargo, and Securitas Technologies. About two weeks short of Christmas last year, I got laid off. Now I haven't been able to get a full-time sales position for nine months. I've been applying for a minimum of 10 to 15 sales positions a day, and I've had about six interviews.

"Adjustments related to tips from earlier periods may relate to different reasons depending on your impacted tips, including cases where customers were not charged for those tips," the message read.

Your $45K starting salary looked decent on paper until reality hit. The reality is that's the same $15/hour everyone was making in 2008. And it sucked then. Rent swallows half your paycheck before you even think about groceries. Student loans demand their monthly tribute like a financial overlord. And that emergency fund your parents keep mentioning? Please. This isn't an avocado toast issue. This is a laptop is required to function at work... even apply to work... issue.

Ansari plays Arj, a struggling documentary editor in L.A. who makes money by working part-time at a hardware store and a Taskrabbit-style company called "Task Sergeant," where his tasks can range from waiting in line for people who want viral cinnamon buns to organizing messy garages. It's grueling and demeaning work which leaves Arj subject to the whims of unforgiving clients who stiff him on payment for things that are outside of his control (the cinnamon buns run out before his turn in line.)

In writer / director Julian Glander's new animated sci-fi feature Boys Go to Jupiter, a young gig worker named Billy 5000 ( Planet Money's Jack Corbett) hoverboards his way through life in Florida with only one thing on his mind: he needs $5,000 and is willing to deliver as much food as it takes to make the cash. At first, the delivery guy's semi-magical, "let's get this bread" style of thinking seems to stem from his fixation on a hustlebro streamer's videos.

Daniel Medved, a single dad of three in Seattle, said his situation limits him to only fully remote roles, which shrinks his application pool. He said his company has been more than helpful when it comes to raising his family. "Flexibility has been the single most powerful retention tool that my company has had," Medved said. He needs to get his two daughters and son ready for school daily and "If you add a commute to that, the math doesn't work."

Megha Yethadka, global head of Uber AI Solutions, revealed the new gigs in a Thursday LinkedIn post in which she said drivers sometimes have downtime during the day or might want to make some extra cash after hours. Yethadka said the work can involve reviewing photos, counting objects, classifying text, recording audio, or digitizing receipts. She said the gigs are "Powering our enterprise customers worldwide for their gen AI models or consumer applications."

The gig economy isn't just about food delivery or ridesharing anymore. It's grown into a space where skilled workers can turn expertise into real, sustainable income. Many of the best opportunities now go beyond quick cash and offer meaningful, long-term potential. Successful gig workers today aren't just chasing tasks; they're building client relationships and honing specialized skills that pay more. This shift transforms gig work from side hustles into thriving independent careers. Here are 12 gigs that can truly be worth your time.

In a surprising deal that was somewhat brokered by Gavin Newsom, Uber and Lyft are going to let their 800,000 California rideshare drivers unionize and get collective bargaining rights, though drivers can still refuse to join the union. According to the union group SEIU California, there are now 800,000 rideshare drivers in the state, and that's one out every 24 California workers who are at least sometimes gig drivers. And Uber and Lyft have traditionally been notoriously resistant to giving them minimum wage guarantees or any form of job benefits.

Here's what astonishes me: sometimes those with the most are the least generous. One DoorDash shift, I delivered a $40 order to a family in an upscale neighborhood - almost a 20-minute drive from the restaurant, with homes easily worth over $1 million. They tipped $3. After accounting for the distance from the store to the customer's home, I made the equivalent of $8.50 an hour for that Panera run.

DoorDash has called the proposal "extreme" and said it "puts delivery and the benefits it brings at risk." And "when app lobbyists talk, many Council members pay close attention," writes The City's Claudia Irizarry Aponte.