First time i laughed out REALLY loud reading a forum thread... Thanks, pedex and r-dub:-)

a posenger/lackey for dave baer

So since you guys need to get the package to it's destination and fast, I take it you need to learn to be a quick flat tire changer, as well. I would be screwed. I'm so slow at changing a flat.

Ahhhhhhhhh, Baer wheels, probably only bike shop in town that understands "track bike"

anna says hi, btw. and don't count out ezra.

So I've got a question that is sort of related.

Do many of these companies hire part-time? I can't imagine messengering full time (no benefits, terrible pay, etc.), but I could see working somewhere enough to get medical and then scooting around on a bike on my days off. Does this sound like a real possibility, or am I dreaming the impossible dream?

i work three days a week and can uasually make my rent in one week.

Lots of companies will let you ride part time, albeit, they are usually the samem companies that will hire anyone, and pay bad.

There are some companies that just straight up only offer part time. There's one in Boston that doesn't do deliveries after 11-12.

Interesting thread and so many funny replies, that made my day
Want to give it a try since it summer vacation, now to find a messenger company in Montreal

Edit: Found a amusing page here
https://thelink.concordia.ca/article..../02/08/1842223
Messenging on ice, a Québecois/Canadian thing

I sling drops in Sacramento right now and it is all legal work for me, which can be cool since they are pretty close together. Friggin hot sometimes.

Getting a gig really depends on the local market. Seattle was murder trying to get a gig. I remember talking to one guy at a cafe. He told me he was quitting that day. I passed by his dispatch about 2 hours later and they had already filled the job. All the other places really depended on who you knew, or how well you know the city.

I didn't even bother looking for a company when I got into town. I work directly for some law firms on 1099. (Independent contractor. They don't have to pay any bennies. They can fire at will.)

It's slower. Somedays do a lot of circling around downtown/Capitol Mall, but when it rains it pours.

If you see any couriers hangin around waiting for calls, ask them about their companies. Its often the best way to get info. Like who pays what, who contracts and who salaries, if they have any guarantees if any, medical, etc.

Also ask if you have to rent a radio/cell phone/pager from them, or if they provide.

Be advised that the better/ more reputable/ intelligently managed companies will be more picky, have the better athletes, and will usually put up with less BS.

Good luck.

I know this is an old thread, but you guys must work for terrible companies. Mobile Messenger pays $9.75 a delivery at least and you normally do about 2 an hour so do the math. Goddamn how can someone for peanuts?

mobil

what the heck?

this sounds ideal to me.

how hard is it to get a job? i live in mississippi and my bike is pretty much all i have. no experience cept that i ride all day every day. if i could get up there could i get a job?

I took a job as a messenger and started a few weeks ago... I will be 43 next week.

I have a guaranteed minimum of $100.00 / day and have been provided with a Blackberry for a nominal monthly fee as this is how we are dispatched / communicate with our drivers and riders. I also get to use this for personal use and the fee I pay is a write off.

I am setting things up to work as a sub contractor and besides the crackberry can claim my bikes, repairs, and even a portion of my mortgage and grocery bill as ligit expenses as I need my shop and this kind of work requires some massive food intake.

I am already in the kind of shape to do this...I rode 10,000 miles last year and have been hammering the fixed gear bikes for over a month in preparation for the job.

My lead at work has told me he is impressed so far and even a little stunned to find he can throw me a bunch of end of day b lines (bank returns) and have me complete them as fast as anyone.

I work with a good crew and have a decent "boss" who is an experienced bike courier (12 years).

Our city core is small and we are planning on expanding our bike service next spring to include more distant locales that will pay a corresponding and much higher rate of pay for runs... a good rider will only have to do 10 - 12 runs of these kind a day to make a good living if they want to go long.

"I took a job as a messenger and started a few weeks ago... I will be 43 next week."

where do you live? and have you ever been a messenger before?

They get much higher paying jobs. It's called return for investment.

+1. After four years as a messenger, you'll still be a messenger. Not much room to move up. After four years of college, you'll have a much wider range of options with a degree in hand. And if you still don't want to work, there's always grad school.

I live in Edmonton, Canada and have never messengered before this.

But... I am would you would call pretty hard core as I can ride all day at high speed (and do), can handle the core traffic, know the city, and have often been mistaken for being a messenger.

And I know bikes.

I took the job with the expectation that I will be allowed to build my own client list (I already have been assigned some good regs) and that my pay should nearly double in the coming months as I take on more and more work... expanding our coverage is a very attractive proposition as I can see us taking away a good deal of the car based work by doing it for less and still allow riders to make a decent wage.

I can make the trip from the city centre to our south or west limit in 8 -10 minutes by bike whereas a car could very well take twice that time due to traffic and limited bridge crossings... one of these trips is a $20.00 net.

When I am not mess'ing I work as a bicycle mechanic and do private work and wheel building which also helps pay the bills... I have a growing list of clients here too.

I work with a fairly forward thinking company that knows that it needs to take care of it's team if it has any hope to be successful and our client list grows daily since we are building a good rep as being some of the fastest biatches out there.

We're gonna need a few more bikers pretty soon as right now we're a small 2 man crew (bikers) and there are times we have to call in our boss to do backup due to the volume of calls.

I don't plan on doing this until I am 65... I may have the opportunity to apprentice with a local builder and this is what I want to do more than anything else... build bikes.

Right this is a good job as it gives me enough flexibility to spend time with my daughters (I love the bankers hours) and it's fun... and I need fun.

Being a messenger is stupid but awesome. Every Sunday night I groan at the thought of another week but then along comes another Friday and I'm happy I made it again...

The most I've made is 160$ in a day and the worst is 50$

If i could make 150$ every day I'd be pretty happy but it just doesn't work like that

When work is steady, I average 85-100$

except that after paying 30g's a year for training in college, there is a lot more money-making potential (60g +). even if the training for messengering pays you, the max earning potential will not be nearly as high (30~35g) as someone with a college degree. college is an investment, it pays for itself down the road, provided you graduate.

The messengers that can last for 4 years plus are doing it because they enjoy it.
I tried the office work, 9-5 bull**** and that wasn't for me, I wanted to be working outside doing something I enjoy.
I also do freelance design work on the side.

In essence, I'm getting payed to do two of the things I enjoy most. Having a degree wouldn't have gotten me any closer.

Dude, I've lived in west Texas. Yes there is good money with oil. I've also done military. Good pay and benefits in that too (Could be better). But there is a reason we do it. It's not for money. It's for the thrill we get. Faster and faster until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.