Best Tools For Finding Local Delivery Jobs

Delivery and courier jobs are great choices if you enjoy working outside of a traditional office setting. In 2022, there are numerous mobile apps that allow you to work for yourself while taking on delivery jobs. This gives you freedom in choosing what days and hours you work. Delivery and courier jobs have almost no requirements. As long as you have your own vehicle and are of legal working age in your state, you can sign up for the majority of driving apps. If you want something more permanent, there are additional driving jobs you can get, such as a warehouse or truck driver. These jobs pay more, but have fixed schedules and may require additional certification.

Delivery driving jobs are in particularly high demand in 2022. More customers are ordering products online instead of going out in person. Many businesses also shifted to a delivery model after the 2020 pandemic. Even with businesses opening up for in-person shopping, there are still many customers ordering delivery instead.

Food Delivery Driver

A common type of delivery job is food delivery. Food delivery drivers either work for an app, with DoorDash and GrubHub being two of the biggest examples. Through these apps, customers place orders at partnered restaurants in your community. When an order goes out, you are alerted and given the chance to claim it. The other option for food delivery is working directly with a restaurant. If you work with a restaurant, you have less freedom with your schedule, working when your employer needs you instead of logging into an app at your convenience. Because you are always delivering food from the same location, the job is less chaotic than working for a food delivery app.

The base pay for food delivery drivers is fairly low. If you work for a restaurant, you are often paid minimum wage. Driving apps use different formulas, but you end up getting paid roughly the same as a traditional restaurant delivery job. However, you also get paid in tips. This is harder to calculate, since it largely depends on what hours you work and the number of deliveries each night.

Warehouse Driver

Warehouse drivers work directly with a shipping service, such as FedEx or UPS. Warehouse drivers deliver packages from a variety of sources to houses. Most warehouses assign drivers a fixed route, but this may vary based on where you work. Your responsibilities may also change based on the warehouse. With some jobs, you are only required to drive and drop off packages. Others require you to load and unload your vehicle, which is more physically demanding. Warehouse drivers on average make between $14 and $17 an hour.

In Store Shopper

In store shopper is a newer type of delivery job. This job is almost identical to food delivery, except instead of food you are picking up a variety of products sold by a store. While these jobs were available before 2020, the pandemic saw a drastic surge in the number of both apps and stores hiring shoppers. If you are hired by a store, you are typically required to pick out all the items and deliver them directly. If you work through an app, typically an employee at the store gathers the items for you, which you then pick up and deliver to the customer. On average, these jobs pay around $13 an hour, but some larger companies pay as much as $16 or $17.

Courier Jobs

Couriers are similar to delivery drivers, but there are a few major differences between the professions. Couriers both pick up and deliver items, while delivery drivers are almost always dropping off items. There is also more verification involved with courier jobs, such as tracking the time of the delivery and getting signatures. Couriers often have a smaller delivery window because they are dropping off or retrieving time sensitive items. For example, many medical offices use courier services to bring samples to a testing facility. Law firms also use couriers to send and retrieve important court documents. Couriers get paid around $16 an hour, but if you work for a larger business, you can make as much as $25 to $30 an hour.

DoorDash

DoorDash is one of the largest mobile delivery services. At first, the company only offered food delivery but the company now partners with other locations, including pet stores and convenience shops. The base pay varies from $2 to $10, depending on your location, the time of day and delivery distance. In addition to getting tips, you may get additional wages based on select promotions. Peak pay is available if you work during busier hours. Challenges provides a bonus if you meet a minimum number of deliveries each day.

Instacart

Instacart is one of the older delivery services but it received a surge in popularity during the pandemic. The company provides two different jobs for drivers. The first is full-service shopper. As a full-service shopper, you go directly to the store to shop for the customer, then deliver the items. You can also work as an in-store shopper. As an in-store shopper, you work at a partnered location and arrange all the items for delivery, but you give the items to a delivery driver instead of driving them yourself. You are paid based on when you work. During the busier hours, you make as much as $20 an hour. During slower times, you are paid between $12 to $14 an hour.

Postmates

Postmates is classified as a general delivery service. While food and grocery orders are the most common, customers can request any other type of product through the service. Unlike with other apps, drivers are allowed to use other vehicles besides a car. You can work on a bike, motorcycle or even make deliveries on foot. Postmates also provides courier services, paying between $15 and $20 an hour.