Welcome to the third weekly rundown of my “Adventure in Gig World” series. I’ll be taking you through what it’s like to be a freelancer in the NYC gig economy, explaining what I earn, what I spend, and what I do on my journey to save $4,500 by November 30th.
NOTE: For legal purposes I will not be disclosing exact salaries or the brands I work with unless given permission.
I always keep my schedule in a physical planner. The act of writing down my commitments and seeing them on paper cements them in my mind. It helps me stay organized, and there’s something satisfying about Xing out the things I accomplished.
Freelancing comes with flexibly and freedom to accept/deny jobs according to your own priorities. But it also means that things can change from the employer’s side. Sometimes the changes are great, sometimes they are infuriating. To succeed as a gigger, you need to nimbly roll with the punches.
Monday: Everything went according to plan.
Tuesday: I thought I’d be working 10am-3pm as a health ambassador. I ended up working 7:30am-5pm as a greeter at a luxury office building.
Wednesday: I thought I’d have the day off. I ended up working as a health ambassador 10am-3pm.
Thursday: Everything went according to plan.
Friday: I thought I’d be working a street team activation. It was cancelled due to rain, meaning an unexpected day off. (Unless cancellation compensation is written into the contract, you’re just shit out of luck when things like this happen.)
Saturday: I thought I’d have the day celebrating my roommate’s bday with a mitzvah at night. I ended up booking a daytime Mitzvah immediately followed by the evening one.
Sunday: Everything went according to plan.
I even squeezed some fun in! I met an old friend for a Chinatown food crawl, and I went out for a burger and beer Friday night for my roommate’s birthday.
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(Note: This is post tax, assuming I estimated my taxes correctly… )
$ 1321 from in person gigs and $150 for online work
Total Hours Worked: 49 hours
Average Hourly Wage Post Taxes: $30.02/hr
The Goal: Save $4,500 by November 30th
Thoughts and feelings on the week:
This week was a wild ride. 22 year old Katie would have broken down under the stress of all the changes. After 5 years in the gig economy, I’ve learned how to go with the flow. In fact, I’ve learned to enjoy tumultuous weeks such as these. New experiences and problem solving make me feel accomplished and satisfied.
I have some pretty cool things lined up for next week. Stay tuned… you won’t want to miss it!
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Good for you for going with the flow!
wow! Well it's certainly not a boring week is it? So varied!