# Is Instacart and gig work a smart move for a youngster?



## Perfekt Spellar (11 mo ago)

I have a friend that put an offspring through college, but instead of pursuing a career related to their college major, the child is doing gig work such as Instacart, Amazon delivery, etc after a few years since graduation from college.

We were debating the pros and cons of this. 

The pros were probably more money initially than an entry level job and flexibility. The cons were not gaining professional work experience and the longer one is out of the real workforce,it becomes harder to break in. Another con was it cost $200k for that degree that is not needed to do gig work. 

Personally if it was me, l would determine if l wanted to work in my field of college major, and if not, get a 2nd degree to something more suited to my liking. I would not give up so easy after investing $200k on a degree. 

I would like to hear what others think the youngster should do going forward. AFAIK there is not any student debt as the parents paid for tuition, room and board.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

I think it's up to the kid. Unless that degree is a graduate degree, they probably don't have a very good chance at getting a job in the private sector. Besides, any work experience is good. You can't just walk into an interview with a degree but a non-existent or minimal work history and expect to get an offer.


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## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

You always need to have a long term perspective. If you end up doing gigs most your life, you will have nothing to speak of in retirement, social security or 401k.

Not to mention no safety net in a medical situation. No workmans comp, no disability, no medical payments.

I paid over 10k in medical expenses over the past year out of pocket, and of course this type of work has pretty much made a normal retirement impossible.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

College is a risky gamble. I have an MS in mechanical engineering but could never pass an interview. I will soon have a BS in Software Engineering but have failed interviews already a lot for paid positions. Unlike for mechanical engineering where there are no unpaid internships, there is volunteer work available in Software that I am currrently doing, however I am approaching my mid thirties and I expect to face age discrimination for most paid jobs now.

Paying for college is not a good investment.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Perfekt Spellar said:


> I have a friend that put an offspring through college, but instead of pursuing a career related to their college major, the child is doing gig work such as Instacart, Amazon delivery, etc after a few years since graduation from college.
> 
> We were debating the pros and cons of this.
> 
> ...


Sure.
Instacart will give you an inside track to Lucrative Supermarket Jobs !


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Perfekt Spellar said:


> I have a friend that put an offspring through college, but instead of pursuing a career related to their college major, the child is doing gig work such as Instacart, Amazon delivery, etc after a few years since graduation from college.
> 
> We were debating the pros and cons of this.
> 
> ...


Sounds to me like an organ grinder and
a monkey would have been a better investment
I would strangle my kid to death for even 
suggesting something so absurd
Even if I am making more money than
he is likely to make his first few years..


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Is Instacart and gig work a smart move for a youngster?

NO.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

_Tron_ said:


> Is Instacart and gig work a smart move for a youngster?
> 
> NO.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

*Is Instacart and gig work a smart move for a youngster?*
That depends on how well you are educated? 
He who Know Nothing, 
See Nothing and Does everything. 
(That would be Me)  
I Have a Gig-a-Phone, it only work with Gig Apps.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

jaxbeachrides said:


> You always need to have a long term perspective. If you end up doing gigs most your life, you will have nothing to speak of in retirement, social security or 401k.


We actually will qualify for Social Security.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

There is something really, really wrong in this country.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

UberBastid said:


> There is something really, really wrong in this country.


Not just this country...It's what happens when poo poo head clowns, run the world.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

I reccomend it.

No matter how awful the jobs are for the rest of their lives they won't seem as bad as doing gig work was.


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## Atavar (Aug 11, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> We actually will qualify for Social Security.


No, Social Security is a paid insurance plan. If you are not paying in to it you will not be able to draw from it.
If you don’t believe me go to the SSA website and set up an account and do a forecast of what your SSA retirement will be. It is all based on the money you have paid in from your wage jobs. 
I was lucky and had a couple of moderately high paying jobs for a couple decades so I get to draw almost 2K a month. 
Another friend of mine who worked minimum wage jobs draws almost $700 a month. 
Social Security is not welfare.





Benefit Calculators - Estimate Your Benefit


Retirement Benefit Calculation



www.ssa.gov


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Atavar said:


> No, Social Security is a paid insurance plan. If you are not paying in to it you will not be able to draw from it.


But 1099 workers pay into it as well as those who file W-2's.


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## Rickos69 (Nov 8, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> But 1099 workers pay into it as well as those who file W-2's.


Its like mission impossible. IF YOU SO CHOOSE!


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> But 1099 workers pay into it as well as those who file W-2's.


You have to have a taxable profit in order for it to count towards social security.

uber/lyft drivers don't. And delivery drivers are slipping closer into the not profitible catagory every day.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> You have to have a taxable profit in order for it to count towards social security.
> 
> uber/lyft drivers don't. And delivery drivers are slipping closer into the not profitible catagory every day.


I don't understand. Are you telling me you didn't pay taxes? I did.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> I don't understand. Are you telling me you didn't pay taxes? I did.


On uber income? I havn't paid any taxes on that since 2018. On taxi income I pay out the wing wang every month.

Delivery income is slipping as they cut rates, soon enough it will be a money loser on paper like ridesharing is.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Perfekt Spellar said:


> I have a friend that put an offspring through college, but instead of pursuing a career related to their college major, the child is doing gig work such as Instacart, Amazon delivery, etc after a few years since graduation from college.
> 
> We were debating the pros and cons of this.
> 
> ...


He/she should do both while they still can. ‘Cause TRUST ME old folks’ pains and troubles are just around the corner. I was 18 yesterday. The day before max.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Atavar said:


> No, Social Security is a paid insurance plan. If you are not paying in to it you will not be able to draw from it.
> If you don’t believe me go to the SSA website and set up an account and do a forecast of what your SSA retirement will be. It is all based on the money you have paid in from your wage jobs.
> I was lucky and had a couple of moderately high paying jobs for a couple decades so I get to draw almost 2K a month.
> Another friend of mine who worked minimum wage jobs draws almost $700 a month.
> ...





Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> On uber income? I havn't paid any taxes on that since 2018. On taxi income I pay out the wing wang every month.
> 
> Delivery income is slipping as they cut rates, soon enough it will be a money loser on paper like ridesharing is.


Some markets you can actually make a living
In 9 months last year my ride share generated 180k 
Uber and city got a cut but I made a lot of $ too


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> On uber income? I havn't paid any taxes on that since 2018.


You mean you haven't made more than $600 any year since 2018 with Uber?


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

Grubhubflub said:


> You mean you haven't made more than $600 any year since 2018 with Uber?


He means profit.

Uber pays $0.60/mile. 

IRS mileage deduction is $0.56/mile.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

New2This said:


> He means profit.
> 
> Uber pays $0.60/mile.
> 
> IRS mileage deduction is $0.56/mile.


What's the math here?


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

Grubhubflub said:


> What's the math here?


On paper after deductions you make very little taxable profit.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

New2This said:


> On paper after deductions you make very little taxable profit.


That's why we have to be selective about the deliveries we do.


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## Atavar (Aug 11, 2018)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> Some markets you can actually make a living
> In 9 months last year my ride share generated 180k
> Uber and city got a cut but I made a lot of $ too


I didn’t say you can’t make a living. I just said if you don’t contribute (pay in to ) social security you can’t draw from it later. 
It doesn’t matter how much you make, it just matters how much you put in your social security account.


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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

jaxbeachrides said:


> You always need to have a long term perspective. If you end up doing gigs most your life, you will have nothing to speak of in retirement, social security or 401k.
> 
> Not to mention no safety net in a medical situation. No workmans comp, no disability, no medical payments.
> 
> I paid over 10k in medical expenses over the past year out of pocket, and of course this type of work has pretty much made a normal retirement impossible.


Many guys at 20 years old or so got an ira . The rest you are correct.
It depends if he is going to Wharton. Or temple..


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## HonoluluHoku (Jul 2, 2019)

A man with a $200,000 degree is not a “youngster.” As an adult, I can’t imagine anyone writing to the Uber forum on my behalf. Even if I were in my twenties, I’d be mortified. 
I’ve been paying payroll taxes since I was 14. Thank god. 
What’s his degree in?


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Atavar said:


> It doesn’t matter how much you make, it just matters how much you put in your social security account.


What do you mean "put into your social security account"? When I pay income tax, part of that goes to social security. I can't decide how much I want to put in. Are you from someplace where it works differently?


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

bobby747 said:


> Many guys at 20 years old or so got an ira .


It's easy to set up an IRA, and the contributions are tax deductible. The hard part is contributing because you pay taxes on withdrawals. So once you've put money in, it has to stay in there until you're 72.


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## Atavar (Aug 11, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> What do you mean "put into your social security account"? When I pay income tax, part of that goes to social security. I can't decide how much I want to put in. Are you from someplace where it works differently?


No, you are wrong. When your W2 wage job takes deductions they take separate deductions for taxes and social security. When you pay income tax from your gig job it is only that. Nothing is added to SSA unless you make a separate payment for that. Assuming you are in USA.
Go to the social security website to see how much you have contributed. If your only job is rideshare it will be nothing.
Everybody Should check their SSA account.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Atavar said:


> I didn’t say you can’t make a living. I just said if you don’t contribute (pay in to ) social security you can’t draw from it later.
> It doesn’t matter how much you make, it just matters how much you put in your social security account.


My response was directed to @Stevie The magic Unicorn. I've been self employed my whole life


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

New2This said:


> He means profit.
> 
> Uber pays $0.60/mile.
> 
> IRS mileage deduction is $0.56/mile.


It's actually to 59c - 79c per mile depending on speed in my market. You can't forget the 8c a minute.

75 MPH = 59c mile (53c+6c)
20 MPH = 77c a mile (53c + 24c)

Then you have to deduct tolls, about 25% of which I end up not being reimbursed for.

Then you factor in 50% of my miles arn't paid, because Orlando.

That leaves me on uber with $1.12 in deductions for every 60-77c made.

Assume 1/4 fares is a surge fare... break even.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

And my life savings is in Real estate, I invested in vacation properties in Orlando that I actively rent, 2/3 of my houses are paid off one has a mortgage.

2 of them started as meth labs, one exploded, one just a toxic dump. The third was a just a murder house.

But it's cool, I don't have to disclose any of that crap on Air BNB yet those disclosures keep my annual tax bill down.

triple murder/suicide...

Come rent 20 minutes from _Disney_, new carpets! POOL completely corpse/entrail free.


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## Atavar (Aug 11, 2018)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> My response was directed to @Stevie The magic Unicorn. I've been self employed my whole life


Cool. So you contribute independently to Social Security?


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> Some markets you can actually make a living
> In 9 months last year my ride share generated 180k
> Uber and city got a cut but I made a lot of $ too


Instead of being coy tell us how much YOU grossed.

If your cut was 50%, that's $90k for 9 months or $10k per month or $2.5k per week or $357 per day or $30 per hour, assuming you work 7 days per week 12 hours per day (the maximum allowed by Uber).

However, in all likelihood a driver who's savvy enough to gross the huge numbers you're claiming would be savvy enough to make sure Uber wasn't grabbing 50% of the gross revenue, which means your numbers would have to be even higher than $90k for 9 months and higher than $30 per hour.

You do lots of posting on this website. Where do you find the downtime to do it? The number you posted allows for very little downtime.

Post screenshots or it didn't happen.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Nats121 said:


> Instead of being coy tell us how much YOU grossed.
> 
> If your cut was 50%, that's $90k for 9 months or $10k per month or $2.5k per week or $357 per day or $30 per hour, assuming you work 7 days per week 12 hours per day (the maximum allowed by Uber).
> 
> ...


I'm not sure how you would control
how much uber takes
To be honest w you I really dont care
I posted the 1099 as soon as it came out
It was easier to just get last week
I wasnt particularly impressed








Your assessment of the #s is pretty accurate


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Atavar said:


> Cool. So you contribute independently to Social Security?


That's actually a very interesting question
To be honest w you I would have assumed that 
all accountants have been doing that all along
I dont think i I was ever given the option not to


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## Woohaa (Jan 15, 2017)

Grubhubflub said:


> You can't just walk into an interview with a degree but a non-existent or minimal work history and expect to get an offer.


Happens every year during college recruitment sessions. Large corporations offer graduates jobs and the majority have zero work experience.


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## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> That's actually a very interesting question
> To be honest w you I would have assumed that
> all accountants have been doing that all along
> I dont think i I was ever given the option not to


What if you don't have a taxable income? Uber pays you $2 to drive 5 miles but you incur $2.50 in write off expenses, making your adjusted income $0.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

jaxbeachrides said:


> What if you don't have a taxable income? Uber pays you $2 to drive 5 miles but you incur $2.50 in write off expenses, making your adjusted income $0.


Then you probably dont have any need 
for an accountant anyway because 
you arent making any money
In that case I wouldnt be doing it
This thread was about a young educated man
Not pursuing a professional career and driving instead
I dont do deliveries, my average ride pay is $15-$20 and I personally wrote off over 60k miles last year
My mileage write off just pays for the car


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## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

That made no sense but anyways....

Why do you think there's amt? Because of rich people earning 6 figures and no taxable income.

The irs write off is 58 cents per mile.

It cost something like 8 cents a mile to run a hybrid.

That's up to 50 cents a mile nontaxable profit.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Woohaa said:


> Happens every year during college recruitment sessions. Large corporations offer graduates jobs and the majority have zero work experience.


Yeah, but that's on-campus recruitment. The person about whom the OP was asking has already graduated and been out of college for some time. What kind of jobs do these inexperienced college kids get offered anyway?


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> I'm not sure how you would control
> how much uber takes


Longhauling is certainly a way and so is taking as many surged rides as possible.



25rides7daysaweek said:


> To be honest w you I really dont care


That's a curious claim considering that the other day you told another poster how pleased you were to see a minus sign in front of Uber's take from a ride.

Your screenshot provides very limited info to say the least. It's only a one week snapshot with no surge or promotion breakdown.

How many miles are you driving? What percentage of your revenue is from surges? How many total hours beyond online hours are you working?

What are your pay rates (base fare, per mile, per minute, minimum fare)?

You're averaging $15 per ride just from fares alone. Promos aren't even included. In the absence of surge your average trip length would need to be at least 12 miles plus time to average $15 per ride. That's a very tall order.

If your claims are true you're an extreme outlier who's found a very lucrative honey hole that allows you to be a shuttle bus driver going back and forth on the same 12 mile loop over and over again, possibly involving the airport. You're not driving around Chicago giving rides because that's way too unreliable to maintain a $30+ per hour pace.

Obviously you're screening your rides for destinations because there's no way you could maintain your pace if you give rides that take you out of your staging area.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Nats121 said:


> Longhauling is certainly a way and so is taking as many surged rides as possible.
> 
> 
> That's a curious claim considering that the other day you told another poster how pleased you were to see a minus sign in front of Uber's take from a ride.
> ...


Boy you sure do like to crunch #s
You are making assumptions based on
theories that might not be sound
I really dont care if you believe my #s dude
Dont really know who you are talking to either
It apparent you have run the numbers and understand what they mean but its unlikely that
you are going to teach me anything about ubering
We are in agreement they suck ass by the consistantly ways they waste our time
and attempt to manipulate us
I'm making alot of money and love to work 😁
Here's some raw data for you from
one of best weeks last year. Have at it...


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> Boy you sure do like to crunch #s
> You are making assumptions based on
> theories that might not be sound
> I really dont care if you believe my #s dude
> ...


I asked for mileage and surge numbers for the nine month period and so far you refuse to provide it. Instead you posted the above snapshot with a bunch of minutia I didn't ask for.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Nats121 said:


> I asked for mileage and surge numbers for the nine month period and so far you refuse to provide it. Instead you posted the above snapshot with a bunch of minutia I didn't ask for.


Idgaf what you asked for LOL
Who the hell do you think you are
the Spanish Inquisition ????


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## Dammit Mazzacane (Dec 31, 2015)

Being a delivery runner full-time is a loser move when playing the long game. Side gig, OK; short-term plan, yes; but full-time for life, no.
Whatever degree they got should be able to let them obtain a career which is capable of the potential to earn a larger wage + benefit package, less personal wear and tear, and more job stability than working delivery apps fulltime. Degrees matter less and age out as you get older -- it's what you get out of them is what that counts.

Imagine an interview in 10 years:
"So, you went to this college a long time ago for a degree in this field, but I don't see practical experience on your resume... what have you been doing the past three years?"
"Oh uh well Iam proud to say I have a 4.9 rating on Instacart and know where everything is in the grocery store by heart!"
"We're done here..."

Imagine being an Amazon contract deliveryman after age 40. The bones creak. Especially after your first big car accident because somebody else wrecked into you. An accident statistically increases in likelihood when driving more miles.


And they have a degree! Only about one-third of Americans have a college degree! They're squandering an advantage.


I suppose a lot of people already said the same.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Dammit Mazzacane said:


> Imagine an interview in 10 years:
> "So, you went to this college a long time ago for a degree in this field, but I don't see practical experience on your resume... what have you been doing the past three years?"
> "Oh uh well Iam proud to say I have a 4.9 rating on Instacart and know where everything is in the grocery store by heart!"
> "We're done here..."


Right, but by the same token what are you going to say when they ask you what you were doing? It's fine if you're looking for work in your chosen field, but you can't just be sitting around doing nothing in the meantime. You're right about not bragging about your Instacart rating though. I think that would be considered fluff.


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## Dammit Mazzacane (Dec 31, 2015)

In the original poster's case, the college grad has been hustling through delivery gigs for a few years now.

It's something to give an interviewer versus nothing, but very lackluster for the long game.

They should consider dipping into something in their career field to reinvigorate their career. A very junior role in a very big company hunting for warm bodies during The Great Resignation. Do deliveries as the side gig.

I dunno, there's a pitfall because as an adult they now may be dependent on the income so cutting back delivery work income might be untenable. However, as OP says the kid's parents paid for practically the whole college experience, the case study might already be living a gilded life in their parents' basement.


OP said "I have a friend that put an offspring through college, but instead of pursuing a career related to their college major, the child is doing gig work such as Instacart, Amazon delivery, etc after a few years since graduation from college."


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## Dammit Mazzacane (Dec 31, 2015)

Or find a biodome...


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> Idgaf what you asked for LOL
> Who the hell do you think you are
> the Spanish Inquisition ????


You did the bragging, not me, thus you set yourself up to be challenged to back it up.

You chose not to so I'll leave it at that.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Nats121 said:


> You did the bragging, not me, thus you set yourself up to be challenged to back it up.
> 
> You chose not to so I'll leave it at that.


I did back it up.
That week that I posted tells more than 
everything you need to know about my
market and how i make the money.
You are kinda the one that's whining about pay
If you cant make money doing this one or more
of these three things is happening
1 you are in a crappy market
2 you are too lazy to do the work
3 you suck at ubering
Crunch those #s....


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