Tales of a second generation hourly worker

Family needs and the lack of a safety net add to a college graduate’s struggle to rise from California’s low-wage economy.

By Jessica Goodheart for Capital & Main

Sandro Flores, 26, has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, which he hoped would lead to a well-paying career doing biological testing in a lab. But to reach that goal, he requires additional education beyond his degree. That would mean forgoing full-time work while undertaking months of additional training. As he figures out what his next steps in life will be, he earns his living as a gig worker, driving for food delivery apps.

It is a job that demands street smarts more than studies, and requires him to sleep in his car and work days that last as long as 16 hours to make enough to get by. On a windy day in April, he steered his white Ford Fusion through West Los Angeles traffic, juggling food orders and being tailgated by aggressive drivers.

Flores’ time is governed by a constant calculus. The size of a customer’s tip, the distance between the restaurant and office workers requesting the deliveries, L.A. traffic, and his need for rest and food: These variables determine how much he can earn and what his movements will be throughout the city. He pulled over to an empty parking lot to toggle between DoorDash and UberEats, evaluating whether any given order displayed on the meal delivery apps penciled out.

To make it through college, Flores has always worked hard jobs. While a high school and college student, he was a fast-food worker, dealing with broken air conditioners in kitchens that were so hot that “you couldn’t even breathe.” He had set his sights on becoming a clinical lab scientist, a position with an annual salary in the triple digits, according to Indeed.