This year, I've been seeing more news on the gig economy. Think of flexible working hours, doing what you love, be your own boss and freelancing. These are all part of the gig economy. In Singapore, about 9% of the workforce here are in the gig economy. That is still not a lot as compared to countries like the US having 30% of their workforce in the gig economy.
Interestingly, an article on the Straits Times said that "about 47 per cent of Institute of Technical Education, 35 per cent of polytechnic and 10 per cent of university graduates went into part-time, temporary or freelance jobs last year - more than double the share from a decade ago." More and more young people choose to have freedom in their work instead of going into full time work in the corporate world.
Do You Like Your Job?
More often than not, we hear people saying things like Monday blues, cant's wait for weekend to come, tired of working or I hate my boss. All these are signs that a majority of people don't really like their job but still have to work in order to survive. This is a stark contrast compared to those in the gig economy where a great majority enjoyed their work as freelancers.
I'm not suggesting that you quit your job right away and go straight into the gig economy as its still a risk to forego your stable monthly income. However, there are some ways the gig economy can benefit us to reach financial independence earlier so we do not have to work for the sake of working anymore. Does this sounds good to you?
How The Gig Economy Can Benefit Us?
The gig economy is getting larger and more connected now that it is easily accessible to most of us or in fact all of us. In Singapore, it is estimated that about 1.5% of the workforce are 'secondary' freelancers, meaning these workers freelance part-time alongside other jobs and would include students, housewives or retirees who take on side jobs for additional income.
When I was in town for work, I often see many students riding on their bicycle or e-scooters with a big bag. The names on these bags are familiar, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Food panda are some of the most common ones I've seen. All these are young students earning some extra pocket money.
Then, there's Uber and Grab where many of them are doing it part time apart from their full time job. I heard drivers can easily earn a few thousand dollars extra just by driving part time. There are even more freelance jobs online. Just a search on Google and you can find any jobs which matches your skills and you can get paid doing it. Some of the categories can be seen below:
I also recently saw some advertisements on a crowd sourced tuition portal called Tueetor. There, you can be matched to any students who are looking for tuition that matches your skills. You can earn some extra money by teaching others. I've not tried it before but it does looks good. There are so many requests on the website which we can see from the map. Its like the Uber and Grab of Tuition.
Multiple Streams of Income Through The Gig Economy
I suppose the gig economy will continue to be more popular as people become more aware and savvy on how to take advantage of it to increase their income. This is like a dream come true for those who always wanted to build multiple sources of income.
I personally already have a few friends who are in the gig economy. They can potentially earn double of what the average person of their age are earning. However, as mentioned earlier, it can be risky to quit your job and go straight into the gig economy, though we can start on the sideline first and see how it turns out. If you can offer value, people will be willing to pay for your services.
We can also accelerate our goal towards financial independence through the gig economy. With higher income, it makes it easier to achieve our financial goals and one day we'll realise we have got out of the rat race. Rather than working in a job which we hate for the rest of our lives, we can make some plans to have more freedom and happiness in our life.
*If you're interested to create your own financial plan, do check out this article which I've written previously. Also, check out how you can retire in 7 years in this article.
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