Currently, college students are not limited to just studying; many young people try to learn something new and earn money alongside their studies. An example of this is a student from the second year of the BBA program in Bangalore. During his college holidays, he worked as a Rapido captain for about three months. In addition to earning money, he aimed to understand the difficulties faced by people engaged in the gig economy, i.e., working through applications.
The student decided to cooperate with Rapido during the holidays, and his goal was not only to earn income. He also wanted to understand the operating principles and algorithms of platforms like Rapido.
Initially, it was difficult for him to understand how the application worked. However, gradually he figured out which areas received the most orders and at what time he could earn more. After that, he started planning his work schedule and location according to this data.
The student said that he usually started work at 8 am and continued until about 4:30 pm. On a good day, his income could reach around 1200 rupees, but this amount was before deducting expenses for gasoline and other costs. Thus, 1200 rupees did not represent his net profit. Fuel costs for the motorcycle and other related work expenses were also deducted from his earnings. The student noted that working continuously for such a long time was not easy, and he did not take long breaks during these hours. This experience helped him realize how difficult work can be for people whose entire income depends on such gig work.
When there were fewer ride requests, he engaged in food delivery. This allowed him to earn extra income in his free time. However, there were challenges even in food delivery. He mentioned that sometimes the food at the restaurant was prepared instantly, but in other cases, he had to wait 20–25 minutes. During this time, the courier was idle, and his income did not increase.
The student worked in busy areas of Bangalore, including railway stations and other crowded places where the probability of getting an order was higher. He shared screenshots of his earnings so that people could review his data. According to him, in May, he completed 96 orders and earned 5650 rupees. In June, his income significantly increased, reaching 16660 rupees. Then, in July, he completed 233 orders and earned 14222 rupees. These figures demonstrate that monthly income is not constant and can vary depending on the amount of work, time, location, and orders received.
The student emphasized that his goal was not only to earn money. He gained the opportunity to understand the true state of affairs in the gig economy. He felt the need to constantly wait, fuel costs, as well as problems related to customers or delays in food preparation at restaurants. Furthermore, the rules and algorithms of the application affect the work. Most importantly, income in gig work is never fixed: sometimes there are many orders, and sometimes one has to wait for a long time. Therefore, for those who entirely support their lives with this type of activity, daily earnings are extremely important.
After publishing his story on social media, people highly appreciated his experience. Many noted that he viewed gig work not only from the perspective of earning but also from the worker's standpoint. Some users shared their own experiences; one of them mentioned that while studying, he also worked and earned about 1500 rupees, working at different times in the morning and evening. This student's experience shows that even small work done during studies can teach a lot. Besides earning money, it is important to learn to communicate with people, value time, work hard, and understand the real difficulties of any job.