‘Some also earned more than 100,000 rubles a month’: Tatarstan couriers talked about their salaries

Market analysis

The courier delivery market in Tatarstan has shown a contradictory picture. According to Avito Job, over the past month, employer competition for job seekers has grown by 10%, while over the year it has decreased by 60%.

The average salary offered in the republic was 99,700 rubles. Over the month, it has decreased by 3%, but over the year it has increased by 17%. In Kazan, the average salary of couriers reaches 101,800 rubles.

Earning 100,000 rubles per month is real

The Yandex.Food for Partners website has a calculator for calculating approximate earnings. According to its data, with a standard eight-hour workday and a 5/2 schedule, a walking courier can earn 48,600 rubles, and a bike courier — 67,200 rubles.

However, to receive a salary of more than 100,000 rubles per month, a walking courier needs to work more than 11 hours a day without days off and a bicycle courier more than 8 hours a day without days off. As for delivery drivers in cars, their earnings are about 100,000 rubles per month when working eight hours a day 25 days a month. But it is worth considering that the calculation of funds is based on a good order ratio.

“I remember there was an elderly man, he earned more than 70,000 a month”

As for income, delivery workers agreed that high earnings are real. But it can be affected by weather conditions, people's demand for services and the physical endurance of the courier.

“I remember there was an elderly man, he earned more than 70,000 a month. But he took his work very seriously, and his schedule was extremely busy, almost 12 hours a day, without days off. In general, in many deliveries, earnings depend on the demand coefficient,” a former courier for Yandex.Food service who wished to remain anonymous shared with Realnoe Vremya.

Realnoe Vremya calculated and analysed data from the job search website hh.ru. According to it, a courier's salary varies from 25,000 rubles to 210,000 rubles and higher. Education is often not required for such a profession.

“In my circle, no one earned 100,000. The maximum is 40-45,000, and that's if a person works without days off for almost 12-14 hours a day. I got less — up to 25,000. But I also worked less — 6-8 hours a day 5/2, sometimes less. In winter, you can earn more, from 40 to 60,000 rubles. I think it’s because of the higher rate and bonuses, because it’s very hard to work in winter: few couriers, weather conditions,” answered a courier from the Yandex.Lavka service who also wished to remain anonymous.

You can control your earnings yourself, since the schedule is often flexible, the amount of money received largely depends on the efforts of the employee. Thus, the salary can be less than the subsistence minimum or, conversely, more than 100,000 rubles

“The salary depends entirely on the number of hours worked, that is, the more shifts, the more earnings. There were also those who earned more than 100,000 rubles a month. I got about 15,000 rubles a week, personally, working for this amount was enough for me,” said Irek Muginov, a courier from Samokat service.

“As a part-time job, working as a courier is an interesting experience, but I wouldn’t offer it to anyone on a permanent basis”

The delivery workers shared that such work can be a joy, it all depends on the interests and goals of the employee.

“As a part-time job, that's it. Basically, you get paid for a walk. But since I only worked as a bike courier, I also enjoyed riding a bike. And they give you everything, there's a place to have lunch. But bikes are a disaster. They break down all the time, and they don't always have time to replace them in a timely manner. In general, working as a courier is an interesting experience as a part-time job, but I wouldn't offer it to anyone on a permanent basis. It's better to find a decent job,” answered a courier from Yandex.Lavka service who wished to remain anonymous.

In general, the services treat their employees with care, but there are some downsides. Among the negative aspects, couriers noted unforeseen weather conditions and a reluctance to stay in this field for a long time.

But there are disadvantages of the job that are related only to the physical capabilities of the worker. They can cause inconvenience to girls or school-age children.

“They give out a uniform and equipment, you set the schedule yourself. The difficulties include bad weather and difficult clients. I also wouldn’t recommend it to girls, there are often heavy orders over long distances,” said a former courier for Yandex.Food service.

It should be reminded that this summer, Russian teenagers most often worked as salespeople, waiters and couriers.

“Mostly students are couriers”

In 56% of cases, employers offer flexible hours with the possibility of combining them with another job or study. Such employment is ideal for students and schoolchildren.

From the stories of those surveyed, it turned out that in the delivery industry, workers often change, which may be related to the motivation and age of the couriers.

“It is mostly students, I’ve even seen schoolchildren lately. I know that many people choose this type of work to combine with their studies. I myself took shifts during the university holidays,” shared a former courier for Yandex.Food service who wished to remain anonymous.

Earlier, Director of the Kazan Employment Centre Timur Mullin noted that the labour market in Russia is free — a person can study to be a lawyer but work as a courier, in fact, he is employed.

“When I was there, one or two newcomers always came every week. Mostly young people work, the same students, many foreigners. But there were also couriers who were over 40 years old. Everyone has their own goals,” said a courier for Yandex.Lavka service who wished to remain anonymous.

“Most likely, it just adds up to a large sum”

The secret of the high salary of couriers lies in the volume of work. The more hours worked and orders delivered, the higher the earnings.

“You earn this way because you work a lot, since a highly qualified worker has much fewer hours worked than the same courier who can work 16 hours every day, without days off,” shared Irek Muginov.

It is worthy of mentioning that this March, there was a shortage of couriers in Tatarstan. The demand for delivery services grew faster than the number of workers increased. In this regard, earnings in the delivery service may also depend on the demand for services.

Based on data from hh.ru, more than half of the companies require any couriers (on foot or with a vehicle). Most often, delivery workers are sought for warehouse work or in the logistics sector.

Most likely, the earnings simply add up to a large sum. On average, one order can cost 100-200 rubles, and a courier delivers many such orders per day. And the demand for such workers is high, in fact, almost any business now requires couriers, be it supermarkets, catering, electronics or even document delivery,” noted the courier of Yandex.Food service.