marqueemoon

It's not at the top of my career choice list, but I would pick it over a lot of other things.

timmhaan

not these days. however, if i was back in college or between jobs i might look into doing it for a summer or something. i'm sure in small doses, it would be fun.

iamtim

That's what I was going to say. I'd like to do it just to have done it, an every once in a while thing, but not as my sole support.

I agree with you on the wrenching, too.

jschen

Money doesn't bring happiness, but money in excess of what is required to sustain your lifestyle buys freedom to make choices without consideration for cost. Sitting in an office all day is really dull if that's all you do, but many interesting jobs happen to be in such a setting.

As for me, I think it would be interesting to try being a bike messenger for a few days, maybe for a week. But it's almost certainly not the type of work for me. I'm too undisciplined physically, and I would miss the types of challenges I deal with now.

roadfix

One day if I ever become un-employed I'd like to try a little messengering. I already have those bikes.......'cept the BIG BAG....

roadfix

See what happens when you spend your entire life in Reseda?

soni_guin

bike messengers take deliveries that have to be there within an hour. They do courthouse filings for law firms, they run messages from accountants who are in the client's office back to their accounting firm.

They do this for LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR PER DELIVERY.

If we could cuss on this website, my answer would be FARK NO, I wouldn't do that job...... again.

rpc180

There are lots of them here in DC. With all the federal and national buildings here official papers go back and forth all the time. I think it looks fun, but I'd only do it part time too, it'd never support my lifestyle like jockeying the desk does. Sadly, entry level computer really beats out entry level courier in that department.

ovoleg

I do not understand. How do you make money if you are only making this much for a delivery?

How do you get clients?

Thanks ;D

Treespeed

You usually make more than a dollar per delivery, and you are also usually delivering multiple packages and at any one time. Also some legal messengers work on an hourly basis because of wait time at the courthouses. Despite the computer world there is still plenty of paper needing to be shuffled back and forth in this world. You get clients the way any company gets clients, advertising, and folks seeing your messengers all over town.

ovoleg

Seems like alot of work in one day and people not treating you with respect. I love riding, but I cannot handle that

Thanks for clarifying this with me

caloso

There are days when I'm stuck in a hearing all day listening to self-important people drone on and on, and my butt is getting sore from the chair, and I'm freezing because they keep the A/C cranked up so the fat guys don't sweat through their jackets, when it seems like it would be the coolest thing in the world.

But it's not realistic for me.

Mo'Phat

I suppose the reality doesn't equal the imagination. It's not like Quicksilver. Sure there's some riding, but mostly it's elevators, office lobbies, and lugging a huge chain around.

55/Rad

OMG, I just spat my sandwich at the screen. What a mess.

Being born and raised in the Valley, I find that quite funny.

55/Rad

ovoleg

I wasn't born or raised in the valley but this place is much better than mots parts of LA

Everyone is so mean to me, I am going to go cry now \
Euro, save the day!!

pedex

federal law prohibits anything less than $3 per run(what customer is charged), most messengers get a percentage of that

to say ALL messengers dont make decent money is BS, quite a few of us make $200/day or better.......I just made $65 today between 2:45pm and 4:15pm, but I work for myself, have tons of experience, and I get paid what I charge, nobody gets a cut of what I do

I offer 2hr,1 hr, and 1/2 hr svc @ $4, $5.50, and $7.50 respectively in the downtown zip code, $2 additional to those rates for each zip code I cross outside of that. Roundtrips are double, and waiting time is $20/hr. Process service is $35/each for businesses, $75 each for residential.

Machka 

Bike messengers deliver mail/messages between offices in the downtown core of most cities. FedEx/UPS/Airborne/USPS aren't going to take a message from one office building to another and back again, several times a day, all day long! Most of those companies have set delivery times - once or twice a day.

The bike messengers in Winnipeg are a part division of local courier companies. The companies have the car division to handle larger packages or things that have to go from one side of the city to another; the truck division to handle large boxes etc.; and the bike division to handle the lighter stuff going short distances downtown.

Bikes are better for that sort of thing because, it is often too time consuming for cars to drive from one office building to another, and find parking ... over a short distance a bicycle can be much faster. Also there is the issue of parking ... most of the time cars have to pay for parking, which can get expensive, and there's no guarantee they'll find a spot right in front of the building. Meanwhile the bike messenger can just zip from one building to another, lock his/her bicycle to something, and be in and out of the building quickly and inexpensively.



I was offered a job as a bicycle courier in Winnipeg on a few occasions ... my ex was a car courier, and the company he was with needed people now and then. I considered it, and in a way there was some appeal, but it just wasn't really what I wanted to do.

CastIron

What a $h!t job. At least to me (and my ill temperment for such things). Gawd knows there are scads of mess wanabe's roaming about here, though. I'll yake the mess themed bags and leave the rest, thank-you. Pedex: you've my respect, not envy.

pedex

I average 60 miles a day, 5 days a week, my delivery area is about 18 square miles. Yes I ride some elevators and spend around an hour a day in the county court house, its part of the job.

Is the job what many THINK it is, no, absolutely not. Can anyone do it? No, Ive seen 200+ failures in last 3 years. Takes a couple years to even learn the job. Takes a year just to get into decent physical shape, add another year to learn good handling skills and get fairly fast at it.

My bike lock weighs a couple of pounds, I usually dont even know I have it, it fits in my back pocket. Not everywhere is like NYC, Vancouver, or LA or SF.

soni_guin

that's the way it was here 10 years ago when I was wasting away a a courier... It used to be $5 a run, but some company came in and started charging $1 per run... everyone else had to cut their rates or give up their downtown to downtown runs.

Messengers got 60% of the total charged, plus $9/hr waiting time

I'm sure the rates have increased by now...

daytonian

Props - that some crazy mileage. I'd put money on you against any here.

pedex

did 14334 miles in 2005, 16,500+ in 2004, about 12,000 in 2003 I think

Unfortunately one thing the job does do, is I dont fit in anywhere, we messengers are quite rare, especially the career long term veterans. There's 1.1 million people in columbus metro area, there's only 4 veterans with more than 3 years experience here now, and one of them is laid up with a torn ACL.

daytonian

Bike poser - "So whataya do to stay quick? Intervals, hills, tt's"?

Pedex - "I ride a metric Monday thru Friday"

Poser - "Cool, what day do you do it"

Pedex - "All 5"

Nachoman

Money isn't everything. Happiness is 2%.

jyossarian

Nah. It was fun when I was in college, but now I surf BF too much to be an effective messenger.