Student gig work emerges as key income source: The Doers’ Report 2025 | SME Futures

India’s students are no longer waiting to graduate to participate in the economy they are already powering it. The Doers’ Report 2025, released by TimBuckDo, India’s largest student gig platform, reveals how over 4.5 lakh students across the country are using gig work not as pocket money, but as a critical survival and independence tool earning anywhere between ₹800 micro-gigs to ₹65,000 high-responsibility roles.

The report, based on platform data spanning metros and fast-rising tier-2 cities, shows that the most common monthly gig earnings fall between ₹6,000 and ₹15,000, a range that closely mirrors essential student expenses such as rent, food, and commute. TimBuckDo introduces the Gig Survival Index (GSI) to quantify this shift highlighting that for many students, gig income now covers 40–100% of monthly living costs, particularly in tier-2 cities.

Key findings from The Doers’ Report 2025 show that students engaged in gig work earn an average monthly payout of around ₹8,000, with the highest concentration of earnings coming from cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

The report highlighted a mixed work format, with 48 per cent of gigs being on-ground, 32 per cent remote and 20 per cent offering flexible arrangements. Demand is strongest for roles including telecalling, delivery services, social media management, event operations, AI-assisted research and content optimisation. Notably, the top-earning students are able to make up to ₹1.5 lakh annually through gig opportunities.

Commenting on the findings, Mythri Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, TimBuckDo, said:

“What 2025 confirmed for us is that student gigs are no longer transitional, they are foundational. In 2026, we expect this shift to accelerate as AI-powered matchmaking, smarter work design, and deeper employer trust make student gig work faster, safer, and more predictable. Gigs will become seamlessly embedded into student life, not as an interruption to education, but as an enabler of financial independence and real-world readiness. TimBuckDo’s focus in the year ahead is scale with structure, ensuring every opportunity is backed by systems that protect, formalise, and grow student earnings.”

Adding to this, Apoorv Sharma Prasad, Co-founder & COO, TimBuckDo, said:

“Opportunity alone is not enough. If student income isn’t formal, protected, and supported by the right systems, it breaks the moment life throws a challenge. In 2025, our focus shifted from just enabling gigs to building the infrastructure that makes student earnings sustainable.”

Beyond income generation, the report highlights TimBuckDo’s evolution into a full-stack student work ecosystem. In 2025, the platform enabled students to formalise income through PAN cards, secure earnings with affordable wellness and insurance coverage, and stretch income through real-world student discounts and travel partnerships.

On the employer side, the report reveals 10–50x application rates per role, repeat hiring behaviour from trusted companies, and increasing demand for large-batch student hiring across sales, delivery, events, and digital roles. Reinforcing its commitment to trust, TimBuckDo also blocked 800+ scam job listings during the year.

With India’s gig workforce expected to reach 24 million by 2030, The Doers’ Report 2025 positions students not as future contributors, but as an active workforce already shaping India’s gig economy.