Childcare is not only time consuming, but it can be a huge drain on a parent’s bank balance. New data from analysts at StandOut CV uncovered the jobs where a parent would be better off working in the gig economy than in their current profession, when taking into account childcare costs, as well as the flexibility that comes with the nature of gig work.

Further analysis from the UK Gig Economy Report revealed the top employers within the gig economy, and found Uber was the most popular with an estimated 150,000 drivers in the UK (as of Feb ’21), making up almost a fifth of (18%) of all gig workers. Following Uber was food-delivery app Deliveroo (12%), and freelancer hub People Per Hour (also 12%).

With the flexibility to work around childcare duties in mind, experts were able to work out how much extra money could be made if parents were to switch professions, and become an Uber driver – working the same amount of hours, but in their own way.

This analysis took into account associated costs such as childcare, commuting, taxes, licence fees, and petrol costs as well. Twenty of the most popular jobs in the UK were analysed, as well as various key-worker roles; these are the top 10 jobs where additional income could be made from Uber:

Parents in customer service roles have the potential to earn 80% more driving for Uber than in their current roles, with the estimated additional monthly income more than £1,200. For teaching assistants, the additional monthly take home is just under £1k, a 62% increase on their current salaries.

Should bus drivers look to swap double deckers for Uber cars, the additional potential to earn is 60% more than their current salaries, which could see them taking home an extra £900 plus every month.