This book starts out talking about the concept of the gig economy and follows a few people as they make their way through gig work. The “new” structure of work will be here for awhile. The author offers no hope for those thinking to get rich quick but many folks enter the gig work with that in mind. It works for a few, the freedom and flexibility and may be a way to enlarge skills but has turned out to be much harder and undesirable for the many. The book is an Okay read, it follows Uber the most and Mechanical Turk, It bogs down and becomes repetitive, more Uber, more complaints and there will be no surprising reveals at the end, which was a little disappointing. One of the concepts, that the gig economy is just a stop gap until more jobs are in full automation is a bit scary. The Gig Economy is here and is changing the workforce. The book is not highly recommended for the campus read.
While this book may be somewhat interesting to young students and others participating in the gig economy, and those outside of it, it may not be quite as engaging for the target audience as we’d like in terms of writing style. This book also does not fit the environmental theme for this year. The opportunity for connecting across disciplines/campus may also be somewhat limited.
I agree with Faustina’s and Elizabeth’s comments. I started this book with high hopes that it would be relevant for our students. But after a strong start, it drags through the middle section, focusing on Uber and Mechanical Turk. The message is an important one, but the book is far too long for what the author is conveying.
This book starts out talking about the concept of the gig economy and follows a few people as they make their way through gig work. The “new” structure of work will be here for awhile. The author offers no hope for those thinking to get rich quick but many folks enter the gig work with that in mind. It works for a few, the freedom and flexibility and may be a way to enlarge skills but has turned out to be much harder and undesirable for the many. The book is an Okay read, it follows Uber the most and Mechanical Turk, It bogs down and becomes repetitive, more Uber, more complaints and there will be no surprising reveals at the end, which was a little disappointing. One of the concepts, that the gig economy is just a stop gap until more jobs are in full automation is a bit scary. The Gig Economy is here and is changing the workforce. The book is not highly recommended for the campus read.
While this book may be somewhat interesting to young students and others participating in the gig economy, and those outside of it, it may not be quite as engaging for the target audience as we’d like in terms of writing style. This book also does not fit the environmental theme for this year. The opportunity for connecting across disciplines/campus may also be somewhat limited.
I agree with Faustina’s and Elizabeth’s comments. I started this book with high hopes that it would be relevant for our students. But after a strong start, it drags through the middle section, focusing on Uber and Mechanical Turk. The message is an important one, but the book is far too long for what the author is conveying.