The Gig Economy

[the]

Ever hear of the Gig Economy? It's where you do little spurts of work here and there outside of your main job so that you can pay the bills. Generally speaking Uber (the beginning of a great name, btw) and Lyft are the iconic examples of this. A job to help fill in the space while you are between jobs.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/jia-tolentino/the-gig-economy-celebrates-working-yourself-to-death

Some of you know that I am a career advisor by trade. You may or may not know that the unemployment office in your U.S. state is funded by Wagner-Peyser and WIOA. Now I don't remember if it is just my states guidance, or if it is written into the WIOA law, but I think the idea that encouraging people to work long term gigs is pretty shitty. To put it another way, I think that putting people into a mindset where they need to work 12 - 16 hour days just to barely make it is shameful. We even have a workshop where you can learn about getting involved in The Gig Economy BLECH!

The reason I don't like it is because I think there are much better things to do with your time than to spend it doing odd jobs for people. At the very least I think you should get the whole $20 for mowing the neighbors lawn, not $7.25. What do you guys think?

 

[Eventhorizon]

I think it should be discussed as an option for making money but certianly not pushed as an extended or sustainable main source of income. Discussed because some people may not even know about the possiblities.

 

[souvenir]

That's not really how I view a gig. I hire people for gigs to do things that I cannot or don't have time to do. Make an internet commercial for me? Photoshop the background out of a pic for me? Do a voice over? Do you know how long it would take for me to photoshop the background out of a pic? I can do it. I have photoshop. It would take me half a day because I don't use it that much anymore. I paid someone 25 bucks and it was done in an hour. He probably spent less than 15 minutes on the pic. That's decent money. I hire people for gigs all the time. I can't hire a long time employee for the job, but I have a job I need done all the same and I'm willing to pay someone to do it.

I do gigs too. The trick is to do gigs that make you money in the future off the one gig. I have monthly income from a gig every month that I completed years ago. Enough of those gigs give you freedom to travel and work from wherever you want. I have my real estate license. I consider that a gig. It is not my career. It's a gig. I will help someone list their home or help them find one in a new city. They are usually not clients like most real estate agents use the term as clients. I have license in many states. I consider that sort of job as a gig.

My career is something entirely different. It's the thing I've done for the longest amount of time, and is the background income and what funds my retirement. To rely on a career is to chain yourself in some ways. I think it's always good to make extra money.

You can view the gig economy as people being exploited but these people are free to choose their hours, what they will be paid and to chose what gigs they will accept.

Do you think that's encouraging them to exploit themselves?

I agree that it's not good to rely on gigs as a long term solution, but supplemental. People don't think about supplementing their income enough. They put all their eggs in one basket. That's not a secure strategy for most people.

 

[Skarekrow]

If someone is working a full time job+ (40 or more hours a week), and they are not living beyond their means but only trying to get by and survive - then they should make a wage substantial enough to support themselves and enough to help raise a family should they so desire - without having to take “gig” jobs for supplemental income.
It’s another thing if it’s something you enjoy doing and want to make extra cash or do for a specific purpose such as take a vacation you have wanted to take.
Wages in the US have stagnated for around 30 years now give or take...benefits such as medical insurance, pensions (what the hell is that anyhow? ((I had one for two years before the hospital eliminated it completely)), retirement, paid time off, sick leave, etc. have either been stagnating along with wages or have been cut out entirely by most employers who continue to see their profit margins grow while their workers are barely making it paycheck to paycheck.
It’s gonna be a total shit storm when Gen X on down start to reach retirement age and have nothing to fall back on because it’s impossible to save even $50.
It’s already becoming a mess with the Boomers starting to “retire” (aka - no longer able to physically do the work required) as most don’t have nearly enough saved to make it, or had what they saved stolen from them when the stock market crashed in ’08-09.
It’s just corporate greed plain and simple, except now it’s blatantly supported by those in Congress and elsewhere who continue to cut funding for programs that the working persons tax monies have been paying for or into their entire working career with the supposed promise that there would be something to keep them afloat when they needed it or were at the appropriate retirement age.
(sorry we can’t pay you your pension that was subtracted from every paycheck, too bad)
(Such as SS and Medicare - technically not even the money of the government to cut or withhold)
It’s sad.
Corporate welfare and the need for endlessly higher profits to satisfy shareholders has destroyed huge portions of the social “safety net” that were set up to prevent this from occurring - all with the blessings and law writing power of “elected” officials who clearly are in power only through the influence of the almighty dollar and the lobbyists who peddle and write the laws only to have their lackeys implement them usually with little to no regard for the negative effects it will have on the majority of the population.
The attitude seems to be - so long as profits keep going up...fuck em.
Grandpa can drive an Uber or work at Starbucks until he keels over dead into the ice tea.

 

[Pin]

Eh, it's good when you've got a full-time job.