My Friend Just Started Working for DoorDash. Here Are the Top 3 Pros and Cons

A friend of mine who worked full-time for many years took a career break recently after having a baby. She loves being home with her toddler, but the idea of not earning an income is pretty foreign to her. As such, my friend recently decided to start working for DoorDash to drum up extra cash. And while it's largely been a positive experience so far, there are some negatives to be aware of. Here are her top pros and cons.

Pro No. 1: Extra income without spending a lot of money

My friend happens to own a vehicle that's a plug-in hybrid, so when she's driving locally, she doesn't necessarily have to fill up on gas. So she doesn't really have to spend a lot of money to earn money with DoorDash, since her route tends to be pretty local.

Pro No. 2: A way to keep busy and avoid spending money

Even though my friend's toddler keeps her busy, she's used to working a full-time job. And when you have that mindset, it can be difficult to fill your downtime. My friend realized she was swiping her credit card a bit too often online out of boredom. The upside of working her DoorDash side hustle is that it keeps her busy so she's less inclined to shop online.

Pro No. 3: The work isn't mentally taxing

As my friend puts it herself, working for DoorDash isn't rocket science. You pick up food and deliver it to a given address, all the while following directions on your GPS. If you can drive a car, you can work for DoorDash.

Con No. 1: The income is inconsistent

DoorDash's base pay model has drivers earning anywhere from $2 to $10 or more on a per-order basis. Clearly, that's a big range. Different factors go into your DoorDash income, like the times you sign up to deliver at and how well (or not) customers tip. Though my friend likes the gig, she does wish she could more consistently anticipate how much she'll earn, as that would make maintaining her household budget much easier.

Con No. 2: Driving all over town can get exhausting

Sometimes, my friend will sign up to be a Dasher for hours at a time if she has child care coverage (which she often does at night, since her husband is home and done with work). But while the work isn't hard, it can be physically tiring if you do it for many hours in a row.

Con No. 3: It can get boring

My friend appreciates the fact that she doesn't have to strain her brain to work for DoorDash. But she admits that sometimes, all of that driving around can get boring. To make the experience more pleasant, on occasion, she'll ask a friend to come along for company. Or she'll load up on podcasts or good music so she can stay entertained.

It's important to find the right side hustle for you

Ultimately, my friend says that the pros of working for DoorDash well outweigh the cons, so she plans to keep at it as long as it works for her. If you're looking to take on a side hustle, whether to pay off debt, boost your savings account balance, or just plain keep busy, you should really aim to find a gig that works for your schedule and isn't something you dread. You'll also have to make sure you're meeting your income goals.

My friend is fortunate in that the money she earns from DoorDash is extra cash for her family. Before leaving her full-time job, she and her husband crunched the numbers carefully to make sure they could get by on his income alone for a period. So she has the flexibility to work a side hustle whose pay isn't always consistent.

Your situation may be different, though. So a gig with a fixed wage, like an hourly rate, may be a better option for you.

All told, if you're new to the world of side-hustling, you may want to give DoorDash a try if you have access to a car and don't mind the idea of spending hours on the road. But if your stint as a Dasher doesn't work out, there's also no reason to stick with it when there are plenty of options out there to explore.