After enjoying the first couple weeks of my Corona Vacation I decided it was probably time to get busy doing something…..anything. This was before the numbers got really bad but I’m near the bottom of my seniority list and it won’t take much for me to be on the street. Time to get working on a plan but what? A few years have passed since my last furlough and I’d like to think I have a bit more knowledge and experience than I did then, heck I even have a degree now. Too bad its in Aviation Science, Doh! Should have listened to those wise, crusty Captains all those years; diversify.
Funny, there aren’t many jobs listed on Indeed, Glassdoor or ZipRecruiter asking for candidates with an Aviation Degree. Well, I ask myself, “What else do you know how to do?” I’ve always been a bit of a computer geek but definitely not to the point of someone paying me for it. I’ve used the services of a lot of Doctors and Nurses but don’t think that qualifies me for those jobs. Even though ZipRecruiter keeps sending me pilot jobs to apply for some reason I don’t think a tugboat would handle quite the same. Those NASA jobs suggested by Glassdoor would probably do the trick, but I can’t seem to remember where I put my PhD in Astrophysics.
I explored getting my CCNA certificate but there are too many people who think local networking is losing ground to the cloud. So I thought, “Maybe AWS is the way to go.” Not a bad idea but I need money today, not next year when I pass the tests and get fully certificated. In the mean time I came across TaskRabbit and Handy and decided to sign up with both of them. Both are Gig companies that allow you to sign up as a provider of a multitude of services. Everything from cooking and cleaning to running errands or yard work. Pretty much anybody can run to the grocery store or pick up a bag of Chick-fil-A but I hoped to earn a bit more from other skills I have so I registered for furniture assembly, television mounting, sprinkler and minor home repair and other similar semi-skilled jobs.
They were both extremely easy to sign up for and may require a background check fee of around $25. With Tasker, the app the TaskRabbits, as you are called use, you set your job preferences, geographical availability and price you
want to charge for services. They give you a recommendation but its really up to you. Then its up to the customer who needs the service to enter their task and select your pretty face out of all those who appear on the search results. Initially I started my prices low as you are ranked by number of jobs performed and customer reviews. By starting with low prices I hope to get more jobs and reviews after which I’ll be able to raise my rates.
Within a week I was hired for my first task of assembling a bed. As it turned out the customer had completed it the night before so instead I hung his TV and put together his new sofa. My first Five Star Review!
My experience with Handy has been mixed. I haven’t done any jobs yet because their system works a bit differently. The client posts their job and the first Handy worker that wants it simply takes it. To make it even more complicated a Handy worker is able to set up his account to auto-pickup jobs that match his profile. I haven’t found a way to specify your work area geographically so I am hesitant to turn on the automatic pick-up since I’m not willing to drive 2 hours to make $40. I That makes it difficult to get a job because I first have to look at the details of the job and the location before I will accept it, by then it’s usually gone. On Handy they do seem to be higher paying and maybe that’s why they’re harder to get.
One last company to leave you with. Dolly is a company that connects movers for small moving jobs. Don’t need a U-Haul; book a Dolly. You can sign up as a Helper or a Hand.
Helpers are required to have a truck, box truck, van or a trailer. Due to this requirement they are paid more then Hands. Helpers can bring assistants but they must be listed with the company and are paid by the Helper. Even though I don’t have an acceptable vehicle I decided to sign-up and if it looked like the money was there I’d buy a trailer for our SUV. As I went through the process I found the liability risk just to great and decided not to complete it. Essentially you’re liable for any damage that may occur during the job. They can randomly pair you up with a Hand on a job and you could potentially be on the hook for damages they cause.
That’s my experience for know, I’ll let you know when I reach Elite status on TaskRabbit.
