Thoughts after six weeks of being a cycling food courier

At the start of September I was unceremoniously sacked from my marketing job. It wasn't the first time it has happened but this time it annoyed me more than usual because I had done everything I possibly could to ensure that the job was a success - putting in extra hours and doing whatever was expected but it wasn't enough. Being sacked came after months of being undermined and bullied by several staff members and my boss. My boss was subtle about it though. She was really underhanded.

Anyway, I spent a few weeks furiously applying for new jobs and going on interviews but given it wasn't the first time it had happened and given there was workplace bullying it left a really sour taste in my mouth, especially given how much I enjoyed the role and how good the pay was.

The day I lost the job I interviewed with a call centre that had a rule that you were not only not allowed to use your cellphone, you weren't even allowed to have it out of your bag. Combined with the Google reviews that company had received it was a massive red flag for me so even though I got that role and could have started the following Monday I decided against.  For context, the previous call centres I'd worked in were relaxed about the internet and mobile phone usage provided you met your targets. I quit those because they were mindnumingly boring though.

After rejecting that job I interviewed with other comapnies. One company did a phone interview and two face to face interviews and then never actually got back to me. I later found out from them that there are some internal changes going on so they can't make a decision yet. The downside to that company, apart from their disorganisation is the fact that they wanted five days in the office, which in 2025 is just unrealistic. Hybrid is the best option for employment.  That company still hasn't made a decision so I could still get it and if I did I would probably accept an offer but like a lot of job advertisers I don't think they're actually serious about hiring. 

Four weeks into not having a job I was truly fed up with doing nothing even though I also study acting so I had an idea to buy a bike and start doing food deliveries to take the pressure off while I continued the job search. In the past I would have relied on market research call centres as my back up but the pay is not worth it for the awful conditions. 

I started doing food deliveries just over five weeks ago and despite the pay not being the greatest the best thing about it is the freedom. I literally get to work when I want. If I want to work at 2pm one day and 10pm another day I can do that. It's also really up to me how much money I make. The more I work the more money I make, so I am gradually increasing the amount I work. There are some days when I can't wrok as much because of the weather. If it's raining I decide to stay at home and if it's too hot I won't work, but when that happnes I try to catch up on the lost income the remaining days of the week because I get paid weekly.

There are so many good and bad things about doing food deliveries. The best parts are that I am in total control of when, and how much I work and although there are customers I am not answerable to anyone. I have total freedom. I also love that I'm getting paid to exercise and that I now don't have to rush during the job search.

The things I don't like are that some stores are really rude to the food couriers. I don't think they're actually aware that we are picking up for their customers and that there is still a customer behind the order. Sydney also does not have enough cycle lanes and there are some roads that are simply too dangerous to ride on. Neither pedestrians nor motor vehicle drivers respect cyclists. As I'm on a push bike I can't take all orders and some supermarket shops are extremely heavy and push the limits. Some customers can also be really obnoxious and don't realise that you can't go faster than the traffic conditions will allow.

While out delivering I have also had some random people comment that I must be fit to do it and are genuinely surprised I'm doing it on a push bike.

I don't plan to do this forever but it fits with acting, everyday is different and I'm getting paid to exercise. I also still don't want to work for anyone right now after those previous bad experiences.  I do know one other thing though, when I do eventually work for someone else again though I will only be taking part time work. There is no way I want to rely on just one source of income.

My final comment for this particular blog is that it's like any work, you can earn as much as you want to and when I build up more I will be able to earn a full time income doing it. That isn't an instant thing though because that is based on my fitness levels and cycling speed. Before I started I hadn't ridden a bike in several years, probaby since I was a kid and now I'm riding upwards of five to six hours a day. For further context, that's much more exercise than I've ever done in a day at the gym. My max at the gym is about four hours. 

It is also region dependent. Since I've started I've gotten into a rhythm where I'll reject orders that will take me away from shops or restaurants. By the time you get there and back it's just not worth it. I try to be 500 metres to one kilometre of those at all times so that I can get orders. If you're in a regional area it wouldn't be suitable but for those in a busy metro area it can absolutely be worth it and it's a really great job while you're job searching. 

I'm also only using one of the apps at the moment because there's one app that I just don't like. You can't have your phone on low power mode and the app isn't as user friendly as the one I use. The one I use also pays more on average per delivery. 

It's a damn sight better than sitting at home doing absolutely nothing other than dealing with rejection after rejection after rejection and not having an income.