# Are you/were you happy with your Uber career/job/hustle?



## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

Poll, past or present drivers are free to answer

Also feel free to discuss.


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

I’m good with it.
App on, app off. My choice.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

Uber's Guber said:


> I'm good with it.
> App on, app off. My choice.


I wasn't app on no work, on call at a moment's notice for free. If you are lucky you got 3 pings in 12 hours from home, if you were very lucky you would get a ping after you dropped off or on your way home or go sit in a downtown parking lot hoping you don't only get 3 short min fare rides in 2 hours. 
App off no chance of money. But I was in a slow and oversaturated market.


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

I like the flexibility of doing this gig when I feel like it. No pressure to produce.


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## Atom guy (Jul 27, 2016)

I like. it. I treat it like a job, and work the same hours every day. Over the last 2 years I've figured out my market and been able to up my daily earnings goal twice, while working less hours. Are passengers annoying sometimes? Sure. The BS complaints are annoying too. Ok, sure. But I can be home for lunch every day, take time during the day to work out, take a day off to live life if needed. It's working well for me right now.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

Atom guy said:


> I like. it. I treat it like a job, and work the same hours every day. Over the last 2 years I've figured out my market and been able to up my daily earnings goal twice, while working less hours. Are passengers annoying sometimes? Sure. The BS complaints are annoying too. Ok, sure. But I can be home for lunch every day, take time during the day to work out, take a day off to live life if needed. It's working well for me right now.


How much did you pay last year is SECA (self employed fica) taxes?


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

Lee239 said:


> How much did you pay last year is SECA (self employed fica) taxes?


If your in florida, you will pay zero on Fica, rates are too low to turn a profit on paper.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> If your in florida, you will pay zero on Fica, rates are too low to turn a profit on paper.


Not in busier areas like Fort Lauderdale or Miami where they can get surge and are busy and can drop off and find another pick up and the rates are higher.


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## wontgetfooledagain (Jul 3, 2018)

I did it for 3 months as an experiment and found that it was a complete waste of time. Beating your car up for $8 per hour is madness. It's a shame so many drivers never do the math and figure out how little they are making after expenses.



Uber's Guber said:


> I like the flexibility of doing this gig when I feel like it. No pressure to produce.


No pressure to produce=no money.


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

wontgetfooledagain said:


> No pressure to produce=no money.


Pressure to produce = you're probably poor.


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

Lee239 said:


> Not in busier areas like Fort Lauderdale or Miami where they can get surge and are busy and can drop off and find another pick up and the rates are higher.


It actually gets quite busy in Orlando, the problem is that even back to back wall to wall fares will still only net you like $10.00 an hour. There's way too many pings that will end up being less than a 3 mile 5-7 minute drive, which is the upper limit for a min trip.

$10.00 an hour here is like 2 1/2 canceled fares, 3 minimum trips, or 2 ten minute drives, or one 15 minute drive. (or some combination of the above)
(or $17 for 1 hour wait at the airport, 30 minutes driving the paxhole, and 30 minutes back to the airport)

Each of those scenarios takes about a 45 to an hour of time included waiting for pings for less than $10.00. EXCEPT the 15 minute drive. Which is a lot rarer than the other scenerios.


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## Mordred (Feb 3, 2018)

I like it. I live downtown and work from home. So I only leave the house when I'm on a ride. It's pretty chill.


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## Frustrated!!!! (Jul 7, 2017)

Lee239 said:


> Poll, past or present drivers are free to answer
> 
> Also feel free to discuss.


Extremely happy best paying job and schedule I've ever had!!!


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

Like the job, hate the pay, hate the companies and their lies.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

It is what you make it. I ran roughly $300 (240uber / 60lyft) + $35 cash tips last night for 9 hours. I'm exhausted but the extra cash is nice.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

You are lucky that you are in a good market. I couldn't gross that much in 2 weeks where I am.


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Lee239 said:


> How much did you pay last year is SECA (self employed fica) taxes?


15.3% of profit


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## Z129 (May 30, 2018)

I can go out driving at 3am and earn some money without breaking the law. That's pretty cool. The lack of scheduling appeals to my lazy side. It is a good side gig. However, I would like a larger percentage of this upfront pricing, and I would like the per mile/minute fares themselves to be higher. I'll drive until I am deactivated and walk away without regrets.


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## matty moo (Aug 21, 2018)

I do Uber Eats [only] in Miami on a scooter. I average around 12/hr. Some days 10 and best day yet was 20/hr. Most of my orders end up being from downtown where traffic and parking are a nightmare. If I was trying to do Uber Eats there with a car I would have stopped a long time ago. With the scooter I can get around in traffic much easier and parking is pretty much never an issue. It sucks that we have zero employee benefits even if we work for Uber full time, no insurance, no paid vacation etc. What I do like is working whenever I want to and also no boss breathing down my neck all day.



Atom guy said:


> I like. it. I treat it like a job, and work the same hours every day. Over the last 2 years I've figured out my market and been able to up my daily earnings goal twice, while working less hours. Are passengers annoying sometimes? Sure. The BS complaints are annoying too. Ok, sure. But I can be home for lunch every day, take time during the day to work out, take a day off to live life if needed. It's working well for me right now.


One of the main plusses for me doing Uber [Eats only, on a scooter] is the online/offline flexibility. Figuring out your market [areas to work in, location and other details about popular pick up and drop off locations etc] made a big difference for me after a month or two of experimenting/learning etc.


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## Clothahump (Mar 31, 2018)

So far, I'm still liking it. I drive part time in Houston, just to make some pocket money and get out of the house. No serious whackjobs or drunks (yet) and I've met a bunch of nice folks.


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## matty moo (Aug 21, 2018)

I am still generally happy. The number one complaint I have is wasted time waiting around at restaurants that don't have stuff ready on time. If Uber could figure out how to eliminate that sytem flaw then I would make several dollars more an hour. Other than that I don 't mind it. I make more than the local minimum wage and I can log on and off whenever I want. There are a lot of other annoyances: super secure high-rises that take ten minutes from arrival to delivering to the door to getting back on my scooter etc. I wish there was a button to click that would allow me to say "please do not send me to this address again."


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## emdeplam (Jan 13, 2017)

Love it! Being able to be at the forefront of a transportation revolution! Changing how people get around, one shared ride at a time! The IPO is gonna rock!


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## Z129 (May 30, 2018)

emdeplam said:


> Love it! Being able to be at the forefront of a transportation revolution! Changing how people get around, one shared ride at a time! The IPO is gonna rock!


I love your enthusiasm. I'm looking forward to the IPO as well. I just want to see it happen. I wonder how much pressure Dara is feeling knowing that Lyft is racing ahead of him on the IPO? I hope he thrives on stress.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

emdeplam said:


> The IPO is gonna rock!


It's gonna tank like a rock.


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## Z129 (May 30, 2018)

Lee239 said:


> It's gonna tank like a rock.


Go down like a Led Zeppelin?

hehe


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## matty moo (Aug 21, 2018)

emdeplam said:


> Love it! Being able to be at the forefront of a transportation revolution! Changing how people get around, one shared ride at a time! The IPO is gonna rock!


You actually believe any of us drivers will get part of the IPO? If you really believe that then you sound delusional.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

matty moo said:


> You actually believe any of us drivers will get part of the IPO? If you really believe that then you sound delusional.


Of course not, that's when they stop calling us partners.


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

The more time goes by the less I’m driving. Most of the time it’s not worthwhile for me. My driving as a nearly free community service days are over.


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## Texie Driver (Sep 5, 2018)

just getting started, but doing it very strategically and it is making long driving i already have to do during the week profitable on the way home, and to have some fun getting responsible adults home on the weekend. i already put 20k miles a year on my car tax deductible, i am not adding that much by shuttling people along my long routes to do my other gig. made $232 my first week, $290 my 2nd. good money for otherwise unpaid time, i am happy so far. the rate per hour just isn't part of my calculations because it is time during which i ordinarily would not or could not be earning, it is horrible per hour. it is great to decompress, meet people, and have some fun making the depreciation on my car more profitable.


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

It's getting to the point where DF is about the only way to make a decent profit driving.


Texie Driver said:


> just getting started, but doing it very strategically and it is making long driving i already have to do during the week profitable on the way home, and to have some fun getting responsible adults home on the weekend. i already put 20k miles a year on my car tax deductible, i am not adding that much by shuttling people along my long routes to do my other gig. made $232 my first week, $290 my 2nd. good money for otherwise unpaid time, i am happy so far. the rate per hour just isn't part of my calculations because it is time during which i ordinarily would not or could not be earning, it is horrible per hour. it is great to decompress, meet people, and have some fun making the depreciation on my car more profitable.


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## Texie Driver (Sep 5, 2018)

1.5xorbust said:


> It's getting to the point where DF is about the only way to make a decent profit driving.


it is great, i get on the surface streets a few blocks off the freeways, avoid rush hour gridlock there, spend 3 hours making money on the route home instead of 2 driving 5 mph on the 10 burning gas trapped behind god only knows what up ahead. i don't care what i make per hour, it is more fun. i can't imagine running around chasing mystery packages, that is what every accepted trip is to me. could be $2.60whatever, could be enough to fill my whole tank. either way i am not in freeway gridlock, my chances of arriving alive increase, and i am a lot happier when i get home, which makes everyone happier. it really doesn't have a downside for me this way.


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## clayinaustin (Jul 11, 2018)

My math may be a little fuzzy, but I think I that Uber (and Lyft) are worth it. I have been doing this about four months now, and recently I have been averaging $800 a week (before fuel, depreciation, taxes, etc.) for Uber and Lyft combined. About $150 of that is in tips. So I am looking at a pretax yearly total of around $40K. I am driving about 5000 miles a month (with the apps on), so that works out to 60,000 miles a year. At 54 cents a mile, I can deduct a little over $30K, and only have a taxable income of around $10K. Yes, I have to factor in fuel (2017 Chevy Silverado), maintenance (two oil changes already), depreciation, etc. But, if my truck can last 300,000 miles (five years), then I should make well over $100K in those five years after all of my expenses. Seems like a good thing to do in my spare time.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

clayinaustin said:


> My math may be a little fuzzy, but I think I that Uber (and Lyft) are worth it. I have been doing this about four months now, and recently I have been averaging $800 a week (before fuel, depreciation, taxes, etc.) for Uber and Lyft combined. About $150 of that is in tips. So I am looking at a pretax yearly total of around $40K. I am driving about 5000 miles a month (with the apps on), so that works out to 60,000 miles a year. At 54 cents a mile, I can deduct a little over $30K, and only have a taxable income of around $10K. Yes, I have to factor in fuel (2017 Chevy Silverado), maintenance (two oil changes already), depreciation, etc. But, if my truck can last 300,000 miles (five years), then I should make well over $100K in those five years after all of my expenses. Seems like a good thing to do in my spare time.


1250 miles a week is at least 40 hours of driving. You spend 40 hours a week of spare time into Uber? Unless 100% of your trips are 70mph highway trips, that ain't spare time or part time!


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## jdo1 (Jul 30, 2018)

Extra 3-4k of supplemental income for me a month


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

steveK2016 said:


> 1250 miles a week is at least 40 hours of driving. You spend 40 hours a week of spare time into Uber? Unless 100% of your trips are 70mph highway trips, that ain't spare time or part time!


There are 168 hours in a week 
40 is less than 25% of that... yes spare time


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## NOXDriver (Aug 12, 2018)

wontgetfooledagain said:


> I did it for 3 months as an experiment and found that it was a complete waste of time. Beating your car up for $8 per hour is madness. It's a shame so many drivers never do the math and figure out how little they are making after expenses.
> 
> No pressure to produce=no money.


Uber is an easy way to extract the cash otherwise locked up in your car. If you don't feel the trade is fair, then don't do it. There are some stupid people who buy $20-30k cars thinking that Uber is a career. LOL no.

I drive a $3500 car with 115k on it that I paid cash for. Where else can I, at any time I want, drive it and get paid for those expended miles??? Other than selling it?? On top of that I get to deduct the depreciation now... lowering my overall taxes.

Uber is a side job. I do it when I want. I could work retail or distribution but its been 90+F this week... I've been in my car in the AC driving pass. for money. Sometimes a good amount of money, sometimes not. If you think ever day is going to be a $100 day then your expectations may not be in line with reality.


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

Z129 said:


> Go down like a Led Zeppelin?
> 
> hehe


I imagine the Hindenburg but made out of led (still filled with hydrogen thou)


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## sonia170 (Sep 10, 2018)

Ubering would be okay if the company wasn't so criminal and if the passengers weren't so cheap. These short minimum fare rides with no tip are killing drivers.

You really have to figure out your market and have a strategy, to be able to hustle enough to make a decent hourly net rate.

I have an exit plan ready and am starting a new job within 30 days, but I need Instapay right now.


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## FlyHighSounds (Apr 11, 2018)

emdeplam said:


> Love it! Being able to be at the forefront of a transportation revolution! Changing how people get around, one shared ride at a time! The IPO is gonna rock!


What I'd The IPO?


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## corniilius (Jan 27, 2017)

I uber for the extra spending money to begin with. Going to see the Viking/Ram game on the 27th and used Uber money to pay for the tickets. Went to OZZfest/Knottfest a few times. Used Uber money to pay for those tickets as well. Family vacations, sporting events, club soccer...Uber, Uber, Uber... Was I able to do these things without Uber? Definitely. Uberring affords me the convenience of doing them more. I like more.


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## NOXDriver (Aug 12, 2018)

emdeplam said:


> Love it! Being able to be at the forefront of a transportation revolution! Changing how people get around, one shared ride at a time! The IPO is gonna rock!


'Ride share'? So you happen to be going to the exact same places as the passenger EVERY TIME? LOL you have no idea what 'ride share' is.

You're a low end taxi with worse rates.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

NOXDriver said:


> 'Ride share'? So you happen to be going to the exact same places as the passenger EVERY TIME? LOL you have no idea what 'ride share' is.
> 
> You're a low end taxi with worse rates.


Actually I think that it's you and the other full time drivers like me that don't understand


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

Driving is ok on some days, and sucks on others. It does, however, allow me an extremely flexible schedule and immediate availability to cash without touching my investments or raiding my bank accounts. I can live with $600 /wk driving part time.


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## Butterbeanjones (Feb 2, 2018)

I now mostly do ubereats and I have a like/hate feeling as far as delivering to door I hate it, McDonald's after 10pm hate it, idiot customers hate it, non tippers hate it. What I like as a retired person the pay supplement my pension, it keeps me busy and Im my own boss, plus when I need to play golf this is how I earn my green fees!!


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## NOXDriver (Aug 12, 2018)

oldfart said:


> Actually I think that it's you and the other full time drivers like me that don't understand


Honestly the number of markets that full time Uber leads to a decent wage is pretty small. There are only 10 cities with more than 1mm population. Of the 4 'large' cities near me the largest is 250k the rest are half that.

Tonight I drove Bloomsburg (15k pop, 8k at the University, 23k total) and there were 8 cars on the map (although I think that was a lie.. I had the pass app open and it said I was behind another Uber but there was no one on the street but me). My Gross tonight was less than $40 for 3 hours.


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

NOXDriver said:


> Honestly the number of markets that full time Uber leads to a decent wage is pretty small. There are only 10 cities with more than 1mm population. Of the 4 'large' cities near me the largest is 250k the rest are half that.
> 
> Tonight I drove Bloomsburg (15k pop, 8k at the University, 23k total) and there were 8 cars on the map (although I think that was a lie.. I had the pass app open and it said I was behind another Uber but there was no one on the street but me). My Gross tonight was less than $40 for 3 hours.


Who do you blame if you choose to drive for Uber in a shitty market? Like everything else in a small town, your choices are sometimes limited by availability. Want a more diverse selection of jobs? Move somewhere that supports it. If you don't, that's your own fault.

Monday 6 hrs worked, $174
Tuesday 6 hrs worked, $203
Wednesday 2 hrs worked, $82
Thursday 2 hrs worked, $66
Friday 2 hrs worked, $64

18 hrs = $589


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