In my first semester of my freshmen year, I didn’t have a job. In need of some extra money, I decided to take up the side gig of DoorDashing.

At the time, inflation wasn’t as bad and gas prices were kept down in the low $2 range. With gas being at a reasonable price, I made a good amount of money. On average, I would go out and “dash” three or four days a week and averaged around $20 an hour.

Although, I hit the market at a good time. Th e pandemic was still in effect and caused people to stay at home and order food. Through time more people got into side gigs and took away my orders. Additionally, people started to go out to eat and inflation hit.

Inflation affected “dashers” because of the gas. Gas prices almost doubled at some times. This caused orders that used to be considered “good” to now be considered “bad” because of the mileage.

All of those factors combined is what led me to quit DoorDash for the time being and got a part-time job instead. Dashing and other side gigs is attractive to students because you work on your own schedule and act as your own boss.

However, the DoorDash gig has changed recently. I recently started DoorDashing only a couple weeks ago to be able to pay small expenses. Dashers I knew told me the gig has gotten drastically worse since the pandemic ended and prices started to rise.

I heard during the pandemic, they made hundreds of dollars a day while dashing while I make around $12-15 today. Personally, I don’t mind the pay since I do enjoy the gig.

If you are someone who drives around and listens to music for fun, DoorDashing would be a perfect way to make money. The only reason that I chose this over an actual job is because I don’t have the time to work actual shifts during the semester.

This gig is considered safe in the Conway area. Overall, it is worth trying if it has ever crossed your mind to make extra money.