![Arthur Sarukhanyan gave ride share driving a try when he was laid off from his construction job. [Arthur Sarukhanyan]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ab3d365/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F4%2F02%2FThumbnailArthurSarukhanyanUberLyftDriver.png)
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 21-year-old Arthur Sarukhanyan was laid off from his construction job.
鈥淎t some point, the clients didn鈥檛 want anybody coming inside the homes, so I was kind of laid off early,鈥� Sarukhanyan said.
His next move was to give Uber and Lyft a shot.
Arthur Sarukhanyan lives in Perry, Ohio. [Arthur Sarukhanyan]
While he is still new to the 鈥榞ig economy鈥� world, Sarukhanyan said he balances working to make money with staying home to keep healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Need a Lift?
I decided, let鈥檚 try Uber and Lyft because I still need to make money. I was really, really busy in the beginning until everything started getting shut down.
There鈥檚 nobody doing anything. Downtown鈥檚 a ghost town. Nobody鈥檚 going anywhere. There鈥檚 nothing to do.
I鈥檓 only going out maybe once or twice a week and that鈥檚 about it, just because of my own safety.
After every person, I wipe down my car and when they come in, I ask them to use hand sanitizer so that their hands are clean.
Sarukhanyan asks his passengers to sit diagonally from him in the back seat of his SUV, keeping them an arm's-length away. [Arthur Sarukhanyan]
Sticking With Uber And Lyft
There鈥檚 lots of different things like Uber Eats or Instacart or stuff like that, but I don鈥檛 do that.
You can make a lot of money with it, but it鈥檚 a lot of extra work and a lot of extra interaction. I think that is not necessary for me. You have to go inside the restaurants. You have to go inside the stores and get stuff and see people and touch things.
With Uber you鈥檙e just in your own car touching your own steering wheel.
No Construction In Sight
I feel like it鈥檚 going to be a situation where construction is going to go back to where it was in 2008, where it鈥檚 nobody鈥檚 priority, and everybody鈥檚 priority is to bounce back financially, get their houses paid off, get their credit paid off 鈥� instead of building something or painting a couple bedrooms.
I feel like that鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to happen.
Before he turned to the gig economy, Sarukhanyan worked in construction. [Arthur Sarukhanyan]
Health Over Wealth
If it鈥檚 that bad that everything gets shut down then of course I鈥檓 staying home. No money can give me enough risk to hurt my personal family. I guess I鈥檓 ready to do whatever I have to do.
