Why Delivering Pizza is Bad For You

2 May 2024 · 1 min

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In this segment of his YouTube monologue, Feras Alhlou argues that side hustles with low barriers to entry—such as pizza delivery or babysitting—do not help individuals develop valuable professional skills. He labels these jobs as “low‑barrier” work that anyone can perform, which ultimately leaves workers in a non‑advantageous position in the long‑term knowledge economy. Citing Cal Newport’s book So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Alhlou explains that in a knowledge‑driven market, people who cultivate specialized, sought‑after skills become assets that command premium pay. Consequently, choosing a side hustle that fails to build such skills wastes time and limits future earning potential.

Chapters

The other problem with picking up side hustles that anyone can do is that they won't help you develop any important professional skills. These are called jobs with low barriers of entry, the fancy way of saying anyone can do it. Jobs that anyone can perform don't put you in an advantageous position and in the long run will waste your time. We live in a knowledge economy where people with specialized, sought-after skills are the ones who get rewarded the most. Cal Newport talks about this in his book, So Good They Can't Ignore You. Being sought after means turning yourself into an asset where you're sought out and paid a premium for your work. If your side hustle is delivering pizza or watching your neighbor's kids, you're not building sought-after skills.