In recent years, the thus far waning job market has seen a sudden eruption. Finding a job used to require a degree, a number of years in experience on a certain subject, and a nice, juicy resume with all the details of your professional life. But now, as it seems, making a living has become much simpler than that. With a surge of smartphone apps such as Uber and Lyft, you can now make a living driving people around with only a driver’s license and a clean criminal background. Using these apps, people have been able to pay their bills without the need for much education or experience.
But what happens when you’ve been driving for Uber or Lyft for a couple years, and you want to move onto something a little bit more substantial? Get into mobile detailing, apparently. MobileWash, an up and coming app for the iOS and Android platforms, promises to deliver on-demand car washing to the people of Southern California at a reasonable price. But it ALSO allows people who want the comfort of having their own business without the cost and risk of a business to make money. The biggest perk? $66 dollars per wash. Under normal circumstances, it would seem too good to be true. But the structure that MobileWash has built, which allows their contractors to bring home the vast majority of their profits, says otherwise. With a company offering so much potential, it brings to question the value of a typical, entry-level office position. Is the future of career building centered on the contracting of on-demand services? And if so, how will that affect the normal job market? Perhaps the answer to low income is not to increase minimum wage, but to stimulate the job market by adding some healthy competition.