Both the Uber and Lyft platforms have been around for quite some time. You might know someone who drives for them. If you don’t have a friend or relative who does, perhaps you know a friend of a friend who made this their career.
It’s possible that someone might have another fulltime job, but they moonlight as an Uber or Lyft driver one or two days each week. In a time when many individuals have side hustles, this kind of a setup can work as well.
Both Lyft and Uber have strict driver and vehicle requirements, and if you want to drive for one of them, then you must qualify. How might you know if you will like this kind of work, though?
Let’s talk about who may find this type of career worth it. It’s definitely not something that will work for everyone, but some people might like it.
Do You Not Want to Go to College?
First, you might think about whether you want to go to college. If you’re fresh out of high school, and you hated every minute of it, then perhaps you’ll feel that you don’t want to continue your academic career.
If so, then driving for Uber or Lyft makes sense. You don’t need a college degree to do it. You might also look into this as a possibility if you graduated from college, but you couldn’t immediately find a job in your field.
If you’re in this second position, then you might drive for Uber or Lyft until such time as you find a job for which your degree qualifies you. If you can’t find one, and you don’t mind staying in the rideshare niche, you may even make that your career.
How Do You Feel About Driving?
You also need to consider how you feel about driving. Some people love it, while others detest it. You might also fit into a third category where you don’t feel strongly one way or the other.
If you like driving or you don’t mind it, it makes more sense that you’ll pursue this as a means of supporting yourself. If you can’t stand driving or you have a phobia about it, though, then presumably you will want to steer well clear of this path.
Do You Like to Work at Night or on the Weekends?
You can make your own choices as far as what hours you want to work if you become a rideshare driver. However, you might do best if you work nights and weekends.
You can always pick up day shifts, but nights and weekends may earn you more money. Some rideshare drivers don’t like working at those times, which means you will have less competition.
For instance, if you hang out close to airports on the weekends or at night, you can often get consistent work that way. You might also spend time in a downtown area if you know that people need rides back to the suburbs in the evenings.
Do You Have a Driver’s License with a Clean Record?
You will also need to have a driver’s license and a clean record. Both Uber and Lyft will look into your background before they hire you. If they see that you have several prior DUIs, that will probably disqualify you from doing this kind of work.
If they see that you have a checkered past, that might also prevent them from hiring you. For example, if you have some violent felonies or sex crimes in your background, and you’ve served jail time for them, the companies won’t consider you seriously for a position where you must interact with customers on a daily basis.
Do You Have a Suitable Vehicle?
You will also need to have a reasonably new vehicle in at least decent shape. Uber or Lyft will want to know about your form of conveyance.
If you have an old, beat-up car that barely runs, that will disqualify you. If you can get some money together to buy a newer one, though, that should enable you get your foot in the door.
Do You Like Talking to People?
You also need to think about whether you do okay talking to people. It’s true that don’t need to say anything when you have a passenger in the car. In fact, some people like it more if you don’t talk much while you’re driving them somewhere.
However, many times, you will have a passenger who wants to speak to you. If you can’t stand making small talk, then you might feel you want to look for a different job for that reason.
You should at least have the capacity to make small talk for a few minutes. Otherwise, you’re probably going to get a lot of poor reviews because people feel you’re surly or standoffish.
Do You Detest the Idea of Working in an Office Environment?
You should also think about whether you like the idea of driving around instead of sitting in front of a computer. Many individuals work at the sorts of jobs where they’re in a cubicle. They’re a part of office culture.
Some seem to thrive there. They may have office friends and go out with them as a group for happy hour a couple of times each week.
Not everyone likes that kind of a structure, though. Plenty of individuals appreciate working in the rideshare niche because they’re not part of a structured corporate hierarchy.
Instead, they like it that they’re essentially their own boss. Yes, you technically work for the Uber or Lyft companies, but you have a lot of freedom. You can pick up only the passengers you want, and you can create your own schedule.
Consider all of this before you contact Uber or Lyft and talk to them about becoming a driver. Not everyone will do well in this life, but a certain kind of individual might thrive in it.
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