How to Become a Contract Courier

The world is moving away from 9-5 working and the “gig economy” is becoming more popular. Nowhere is the gig economy more prevalent than in the contract courier industry.

This article will go through the steps into this type of business, as well as what you need to do to be successful in this field. It will also cover the various types of courier jobs available today and how they differ, as well as the risks of becoming a contract courier.

How to Get into Couriering

As you have probably guessed already, getting courier jobs is not easy. You must be at least 18 years old, have a clean driving record, be able to work with deadlines, and know your way around the city you live in very well.

The industry is looking for someone with at least two years of driving experience with an excellent record for accidents and tickets. Most contract couriers today are expected to have a clean criminal record as well.

A courier is expected to use their own vehicle to make deliveries, so it needs to be in good running condition and reliable at all times.

Making Your Courier Career Successful

The first part of any courier’s job is having a good relationship with the shipping company. This means that you’re going to have to show up on time and give the company a reason to want to work with you.

You’ll have to be able to handle long hours, so being able to work through your shift even when there’s a high volume of packages gives you a lot of job options.

This can require a lot of organization and studying of customer requirements as well as knowing which days are most efficient for packing and delivering packages, as well as knowing how those deliveries will affect the shipment times later on.

Another thing that is very important to do is to know your state’s laws on package delivery, as some states are very strict about what is required for this type of delivery.

This can mean that you may need to complete training classes or take a test before you are able to deliver packages legally. You also have to make sure you have all the proper license and identification needed, including a driver’s license, identification card, and insurance.

Courier Jobs: What Are They?

Once you have a good relationship with a shipping company, you’ll start to get a lot of courier jobs. There are many different jobs that you can be given. Some of the more popular courier jobs include:

Air Courier: also referred to as air express, is used for delivering time-sensitive packages. This type of courier job is more secure than airmail and takes less time, resulting in less chance for damage or loss.

Hot Shot Trucking: used for sending urgent deliveries of goods from one country to another. This usually requires delivery within 24 hours, so sea travel is much faster than the other methods.

Contract Courier Risks

One of the most important things that you must do in order to be successful is to protect yourself from criminal charges, especially because you are doing a job that is somewhat dangerous.

This means doing everything in your power to not get in any trouble with the law.

Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash