Rowers to medics: Meet the people making money riding with Deliveroo
It’s much better than bar work or dishwashing
Everyone knows the infamous university problem: degree, social life, sleep – pick two.
But when you throw trying to make some extra money into the mix it can make things even harder and some people struggle under the pressure of balancing everything going on at uni.
However, there are those who have risen to the challenge, successfully smashing their work-life balance. We spoke to four people juggling the demands of their degree, their sport and their lifestyle while working as a Deliveroo rider.
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Seb Brice, Engineering, Bath
Seb studies engineering at Bath, is a member of both the cycling and rowing clubs and has somehow managed to squeeze in working with Deliveroo.
He finds being a rider fits perfectly with his active lifestyle, not just because he loves cycling, but because it actually works as extra training for his rowing. He’s even planning to use the money he makes to go on tour.
Seb rides most evenings and at this time the orders tend to be non-stop, which means he’s kept busy and the time flies by. The orders come from a mix of locals and students, although the location of halls mean that students aren’t always the easiest option.
Seb said: “In Bath a lot of the students live up the hill on campus so it’s one of our tougher orders, but you often deliver to people you know which is a laugh.”
Student deliveries aren’t the toughest job Seb’s had in his time though, he said: “One evening, one of my last orders was to a house quite far out of town. I saw on my phone what I thought was a cheeky shortcut, but when I turned onto the road I realised I had made a mistake.
“The road was at a 20 per cent gradient and I had to get right out of the saddle to keep moving. Near the top, I was absolutely dying when a large group of guys heading into town appeared. They saw me and started cheering me on – they stood on either side of me shouting Tour de France style and gave me a helpful push up over the hill.”
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Niamh Walshe, Triathlete, Oxford and Manchester
Niamh has a lot on her plate, balancing her degree at Oxford and the triathlon club.
When Niamh goes back to Manchester for the holidays, she juggles her vast amount of coursework with working as a Deliveroo rider.
She said: “I love being out on my bike and I needed flexible hours – only Deliveroo can tick both those boxes. The flexibility makes it more practical and I can catch up on reading with my Kindle app in between orders.”
The outdoors element working with Deliveroo is a big benefit for Niamh, as she is extremely sporty and loves how she can simultaneously keep fit and make money.
Instead of nights out or a new bike, she’s putting her hard-earned money to good use and is saving up for a trip to The Gambia with a charity called Mango Trees, an organisation which supports education in West Africa.
Being a Deliveroo rider has provided Niamh with plenty of memorable experiences, although some are more embarrassing than others. She once got stuck in a set of double doors when she tried to enter a restaurant without taking her bag off first.
She said: “All the staff were there and we all know each other quite well now as they’re a popular restaurant with Deliveroo customers, so they thought it was hilarious having to free me from my predicament.”
There have been a lot of positive memories though, like when she bumped into the head coach of the GB Paracycling Team.
“He thought it must be hard work with the Deliveroo bag so he gave me a boost up the rest of the hill. He and Chris Hoy tweeted about it afterwards.”
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Becky Hartshorn, Medic, Manchester
As someone who was already a regular cyclist, Becky loves the fitness aspect of being a Deliveroo rider and it even saves her money on a gym membership.
The flexibility appeals to her as well as the opportunities to sign up for additional hours when you need some extra cash.
Becky said: “If I’ve got loads of work to do or if I’ve got a big social occasion, I just don’t work. However, last term I found cycling around for a few hours was a good break from revision and I could still get to most things after getting in from working in the evening”.
The work itself is fairly sociable as well, meeting all the people you deliver food to, including the occasional fellow student.
Becky is always a popular sight, bringing delicious food to people in need. She said: “During exam season I took a couple of deliveries to people in the library, who looked like they’d been in there for an unhealthy amount of time”.
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Matthew Battey, PhD, London
Matthew has been working with Deliveroo for almost a year, joining whilst completing his PhD as it’s the best fit for his busy lifestyle.
As a seasoned worker, he prefers it to the catering jobs he’s had previously because of the freedom of being out on a bike rather than being stuck behind a bar or in a kitchen.
Matthew said: “The hours are super flexible, which is great if you’re studying during the day and need to only work weekends or evenings, for example.
“It’s easy to balance the work with studying because I can work in short bursts, so there’s always time to get other things done. I also drop my hours if I have a busy period of study coming up, and raise them again when I have more time”.
He’s delivered to some unusual places, including the thirty floors of London’s tallest ode to pickled vegetables – the Gherkin.
Not a bad way to spend a study break.