Thinking of becoming a taxi driver, but worried people will look down on me

[jayshahid]

I'm a 32-year-old guy who's been struggling to get a proper career started in tech despite having degree in bsc and MSc in CS. Long story but will not discuss more details about my struggles

I'm considering becoming a taxi driver to earn money and become more independent, but I'm embarrassed about what people might think.

From what I've noticed, many taxi drivers seem to be older people or immigrants, including Pakistanis and Africans. I rarely see people I went to college with doing it.

Most of my former classmates, friends and acquaintances seem to have established careers by now. I feel awkward imagining them finding out I'm driving a taxi while they're working in professional jobs.

I know there's nothing wrong with honest work, but I can't help worrying about being judged.

At the same time, I don't want to spend years worrying about other people's opinions while struggling financially and waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

Should I go ahead and try taxi driving despite my fear of being looked down on by others?

Fair point!

Wow, I didn't know that - they're further on than we are in the UK. Completely driverless... as in you order one on an app and an empty car turns up on its own?

I use Uber almost every day.
It's a great service (much better than when you had to ring to book for a taxi).
It's definitely not a job I would look down on.
If I had ever learned to drive I would seriously consider doing it as a job.
You get to drive around all day listening to the radio.

By the way....I have seen a few of the driverless cars pootling around on test runs.
I tell you this - I will never use one of them. No thank you.

We have a mix of people doing taxi work round here, one chap writes books as well.

I would echo what another poster said - don't shape your life around what people may or may not think. What material difference do the thoughts others hold in their heads, make to you?

I used to have to take loads of taxis for work and always loved a chat. Very few of them set out to be taxi drivers; I met ex police, ex corporate (a friend of mine was in investment banking and now drives a taxi), on one occasion someone who had been a croupier in Las Vegas before taxi driving. It's a normal job, that attracts people with the flexibility and chance to meet people.

You could become a driving instructor if you like driving!

My husbands a taxi driver. He earns a good wage, works hard but the hours can be unsociable (like a lot of jobs!)

btw. My husband is Pakistani. Does that make ok for him to do a lower class job in your option? It seemed like you were saying it’s ok for immigrants to do the job but you wouldn’t deem it as good enough for you because of being put in a box labelled for immigrants. If you’re going to drive a taxi, lose the attitude.

You have a degree and a masters. While I certainly wouldn’t look down on someone who makes their living as a taxi driver, I do think that you should follow a career you would be proud of yourself for. You have skills that people need, you may just need a way of leveraging yourself into that sector and get some advice on how to do it. There are tech jobs, move location if you need to.

If they do look down on you it says a lot about them and nothing about you!

My dad was a taxi driver for 30 years, very comfortable life, own home, supported a family, holidays every year. And now very comfortable with good savings in retirement. Why on earth would anyone look down their nose at a taxi driver? It’s a perfectly respectable way to make a living.