Twenty-three-year-old NS Manickam was the first in his family to graduate from college. The resident of Tirunelveli completed his Computer Engineering degree a year ago and looked forward to a job in Chennai that would give him a steady salary, incentives, a good work-life balance and a promising career.

But, reality struck him hard after he got a job with an IT start-up. It had been only months into his new job when the youth realised that he could barely make ends meet with rent, fuel expenses eating into his salary, apart from the money that he had to send home.

“My starting salary was just Rs 15,000. I could barely save anything with all the trappings of living in a city like Chennai. My family was really upset, and asked me to come back to Tirunelveli and take up farming like the rest of my cousins. But I didn’t want to leave Chennai,” said Manickam.

Then, his friend had a brainwave: since Manickam’s work gets over by 5pm, why couldn’t he use the rest of the evening to earn extra money? “I enrolled as a Zomato food delivery boy. I had my own bike and enjoyed riding, so I had nothing to lose. I started off working from 7pm to 10pm every day and within a few months, my savings multiplied by four times,” he said.

Five months later, Manickam quit his ‘stable’ and now works as a full-time ‘delivery executive’. He earns close to Rs 35,000 a month -- more than double of what his engineering degree helped him earn. “My parents don’t know about the job change yet. I told them I received a promotion,” said Manickam, with a grin. “I feel there is no shame in this profession, as customers treat us with respect and there are several incentives for those who work hard.” The only downside appears to be the uniform. “So I have to wear a uniform every day? I neither have a boss nor fixed work timings. I can take weekends off if I wish, and most importantly, I earn more money than my fellow batchmates who work in software companies!” he said.

Manickam is not the only one who chose this path. His decision has found echoes among youth in cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy. These fresh graduates have come to realise the benefits of working as freelancers in what experts term as ‘gig economy’ jobs.

Diane Mulcahy, an American author writes in her book The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want: “It can be a consulting assignment, contract work, freelancing... really, anything where you’re in the driver’s seat.”

Such job options are popular in the west, and now young Indians with a two-wheeler or car have been choosing these alternatives over traditional career paths. Food delivery apps, cab and logistic aggregators, as well as e-commerce websites are the most preferred employers and people seem satisfied with the job despite their hard-earned degree being of hardly any use in the profession. Getting the job is easy too. All the employers need is the candidates to have a basic education and they can be hired with a quick background check.

Since such companies function better with more manpower, getting a job is easy and the fear of being laid off is almost non-existent currently, say industry experts but, for how long will this scenario last?

E Balaji, the president of People Services, TVS Logistics, said that such gigs can be viable short-term plan for youngsters but not a defined career plan. “We will have to wait for five years or longer to see if this can be a viable long-term plan. Most people stay in this field for a couple of years, and quit after they have made some good money.” “There are health risks involved with riding a two-wheeler all day long and being prone to accidents. I, however, feel it’s a tactical choice that such youngsters make before moving on to a meaningful job.”

GS Ramesh, chairman of the HR consulting Layam Group said that it is the lack of suitable employment options for educated professionals which led to the popularity of gig economy jobs. “Someone with a BE or MCA degree would ideally wish to get a job in tune with what they studied or trained in. But unemployment has always been a crippling factor, and that’s why alternate opportunities have emerged. Despite the surge in demand of manpower in all these e-commerce websites and delivery services, the law of economics will always hold when it comes to supply and demand.” 

Ramesh added that this is not a healthy or sustainable shift, and there is an imbalance in the market and economy now which can create problems in the future. “Here, number of working hands is given more importance than the employees’ knowledge. In the West, job-oriented education is given priority so students know exactly what they want to do early in their teens.” 

City-based Flyman Logistics is one of the local companies who work with such youngsters. Founder Sanjay Kaliappan admits that this is a preferable option for many who like the liberty of working without too many restrictions.

 “They can log in and log out whenever they wish to.” He, however, added that most of the college graduates in his employment lack commitment. “We always have people coming in for jobs but they do not look at it as a career. They need to think long and hard about what they wish to do with their careers. After they gets bored of this, they have to start from the bottom of the pyramid again in whichever line of work they choose and make up for lost time.” 

Kaliappan added that the lack of benefits such as regular salary increments, PF, insurance and so on, could negatively affect these workers in the future. “These youngsters need to have a clear plan in mind and only then step into this industry. Or else, they may regret it later,” he said.

Sanjeev, 22, works with a logistics company, Delhivery, that handles orders for e-commerce giants such as Flipkart and Amazon among others. He is a college dropout who took up the job to support his family. “I can read and speak a little English, and have a two wheeler so I was able to get a job as a delivery boy. I pick up ordered products and deliver them throughout the day.” 

Their salary, however, is lower than those who work with food delivery services. Sanjeev makes Rs 16,000 per month. “I like this job because it is tension-free. If I work for food delivery companies, I have to be on the clock and rush to deliver. My job is a lot more relaxed even though I have to meet deadlines,” he said.  

Sanjeev’s only complaint is the weight of the consignment that sometimes he has to carry on his back. He said, “On some days when I have many orders stacked, I have to make sure I drive carefully as the bag can get extremely heavy. I also have difficulty with my back when I have to climb stairs with the load.” 

He also talks about a couple of surprise job perks: “Once, I had to deliver a package to actor Vijay’s house. I’m his biggest fan and was ecstatic to get this chance. Though I was too scared to ask for a picture, I managed to shake his hand and convey my regards. My friend who works with Swiggy has also delivered food to many celebrities in the ECR region.”

Vijayan, 41, has been a driver-partner with Ola for a year. He signed up with the service as he was unable to get sufficient number of customers from the stand on his own. “I partnered with Ola because all the customers switched to the service. The number of rides I used to get on my own had been decreasing so I had little option but to switch,” he said.

Vijayan, however, said that despite longer working hours, his income has not increased yet. “I make just as much as I used to earlier but now I work 10 hours a day throughout the week. I feel exhausted and my vehicle also undergoes constant wear and tear,” he added.

The 41-year-old said that while Ola used to offer incentives for each ride when he joined the service, the practice has ceased. “It used to be Rs 10 per ride when I signed up a year ago, then it was Rs 4, but now we get nothing. When customers pay via Ola money, the company takes a cut, and our commission is affected badly.” 

With a family of four dependant on his income, Vijayan feels that the Rs 22,000 he makes on an average per month is just enough for day to day expenses and school fees for his children.

Sasi, 20, is a college student who works as a part time delivery person for Uber Eats. He took up the job six months ago and likes the opportunity to earn money while he continues with his studies. “If I worked in an office or a shop on a part-time basis, I would have made only a fixed amount no matter how hard I worked. Here, I can make money depending on how much I work,” said Sasi who has tried out other services like Zomato as well.

He added that most of his colleagues are drawn to the job as they can choose their working hours. A bike, licence and a smart phone has become their ticket to supplementary income. Sasi works after college, usually between 5pm and 10pm and makes approximately Rs 12,000 per month. “My target is to ensure I make Rs 500 per day. This gives me the money required to pay my college fees,” Sasi said.