I'm an ex-Wall Street trader who drives for Uber and Lyft. Gas prices have me rethinking which trips I take.

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Business
Bill Lewis poses for the camera wearing a blue suit, white dress shirt, and white tie.
Bill Lewis worked on Wall Street before becoming a full-time ride-hailing driver.

Bill Lewis

We asked 12 gig workers how much they made in 2025. The answers varied wildly.

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Travel
Daniel Mondragon

Matthew DeFeo for BI

Gig workers and the companies that pay them often talk about earnings in hourly terms.

That doesn't tell the full story, though.

Voracious demand for robotics training data is transforming gig work

Tech Insider : Business, Economy, Environment
An Instawork Pro recording his activities
An Instawork Pro recording his activities

Instawork

5 experienced side hustlers share their breakthrough advice for finding success

Tech Insider : Business, Crypto
Side hustlers
Side hustlers

Courtesy photos

I made $37,000 assembling Ikea furniture last year. It gave me the flexibility to run my own business and farm.

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
Sandra Navarro, who assembles furniture for Taskrabbit, wears a purple t-shirt and dark baseball cap while posing against a beige background.
Sandra Navarro said she has carved out a niche on Taskrabbit, assembling dressers from Ikea.

Sandra Navarro

A senator is pressing the IRS to raise the mileage deduction that Uber drivers rely on to offset spiking gas prices

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics, Economy
A woman sits behind the seat of a Honda car while driving. In a smartphone holder to her right, a phone shows a ride-hailing app with directions for completing a ride.
Senator Ruben Gallego asked for a higher per-mile deduction from the IRS in a Thursday letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

DoorDash and Uber tap gig workers to collect data for everything from training AI to stocking stores

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Technology
A red DoorDash bag hangs from the handlebars of a e-bike as someone wearing black pants, a black coat, and black gloves pushes the bike.
DoorDash now lets users train AI or photograph store shelves.

CARLO ALLEGRI/Reuters

DoorDash is giving drivers gas 'relief payments' as prices at the pump near $4 a gallon

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
A moped rider with a red DoorDash insulated bag waits at an intersection in Washington, DC.
DoorDash delivery drivers can earn "relief payments" for fuel based on how far they drive each week, the company said on Monday.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

How much gig workers earn per hour across Uber, Grubhub, and similar apps

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
A sign reading
Uber drivers ranked among the gig workers with the highest per-hour earnings in 2025, according to Gridwise.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Gen Z is adopting cats at higher rates than dogs. Pet care company Rover is taking notes.

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
A man wearing a tan shirt smiles while looking down as a tan-and-black cat sits on his shoulder and looks at his face.
Rover is seeing an uptick in cat ownership, particularly among Gen Z, CEO Bren Turner said.

Mohamed Elshahed/Anadolu via Getty Images

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