The exodus of 12th graders to engineering to secure a career over decades has led to stagnation in the industry, with many deeming engineering to have declining potential to fetch someone a job they want. Many with engineering degrees are forced to move to other avenues to make a living. Do Delivery Agents Earn More Than Engineers? This is also the time when gig-working and its presence, particularly in the quick-service and food delivery sectors, have ballooned.
Over the past decade or so, delivery partners of the renowned Swiggy and Zomato have become a part of the social fabric. The working conditions and the remuneration of these individuals have often been the subject of heated discourse in the past. In what is perhaps an aberration but conspicuously eye-popping, Loveena Kamath, a YouTuber, conducted a vox-pop report for her channel's full-discourse.
In the video, she speaks to two delivery agents, both of whom incidentally work for two competing companies, Zomato and Swiggy. In the interview, Kamath is seen asking the delivery agent about what they earn. Both the delivery agents claim that they earn in the range of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 a month.
This figure, understandably, boggles many minds, as many engineers, particularly software engineers, do not end up with a package of above Rs 25,000 am month. This, even with some deviations, is still well away from the earnings gained by the aforementioned delivery partners. One of the delivery agents broke down their weekly earnings and claimed Rs 10,000–Rs 12,000 a week.
In addition, the delivery agents also claimed that they earned about Rs 5,000 in tips on a monthly basis. The video also claims that the riders work for about 3–4 hours a day. Here, the video maker also claims that the riders get a base price of Rs 40 per delivery, irrespective of the distance, whether it is 40 or 100 km, which inherently puts riders on tricky ground.
Netizens React To The Video Many reacted to this 'analysis' on social media platforms, where this video was posted. Some of the users reacting to the video on Instagram expressed varied opinions. One user said, "They work hard; they're not like engineers".
Other users pointed out and inquired about the expenses, including fuel prices and the money spent on them. Another user added, "Do understand,not all cities offer such earnings nd not all swiggy partners will earn this much.Eg : I'm currently in kochi nd I'm also a swiggy rider with -worse and worse months with low earnings in these days.
" When we come to some other reactions, another user, who claimed to have worked as delivery agent pointed out the perils of the profession and said, "I also worked as a delivery partner but making 40k as delivery patner is not easy U need to work more than 12 hrs daily U need to face traffic daily Back pain Compromised health Bike maintenance and petrol Accidents at any given moment" Another user pointed out the fallacy of comparing two very different professions. Being a software engineer would allow you to expand and increase one's base pay over the years, unlike a delivery agent, who may not have the same luxury..
