Mai Perkins’ resume includes a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, work as a college professor, a high school teacher in the Middle East, starting her own consulting business, published writer and videographer. With all this experience under her belt, many are surprised when they find out her current job title: Uber driver.
You read right. Perkins in one of the 20,000 Uber drivers taking New Yorkers from point A to point B. She’s combining her love of writing and being an Uber driver with her popular blog “Uberlicious” (uberlicious.nyc). On it she discusses the passengers she drives (anonymously), the good and bad about being an Uber driver and tips for those interested in getting behind the wheel.
“I’m one of the few women Uber drivers,” she said. “I don’t feel like a cabbie. I feel like someone’s homegirl who is giving them a ride.”
Originally from Los Angeles and residing in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Perkins attended Howard University, where she studied fine art and earned a master’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College. In 2013, she earned another master’s degree from The New School in international affairs.
Her years of teaching include being an English professor at Kingsborough Community College and the College of Staten Island. Perkins also spent a year teaching English to high school boys in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2010, she started her own consulting firm, Mai Content, LLC. She provides writing services to various clients, including writing grants, freelance writing and writing content for businesses.
Wanting to take her academics to the next level, she aspired to get a doctorate. However, things changed.
“When I took the job in UAE, it showed me that I no longer wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “When I got my second masters, I wanted to take all of my experiences from my past, get my doctorate and become a writing scholar. As things unfolded, that didn’t happen.”
With an ongoing interest in writing and building her business, a full-time job would not allow her the time to perfect her empire. Her boyfriend advised her to become an Uber driver, which would allow time to write content and provide an income.
“I hadn’t considered the idea,” she said. “There were all these practical variables that made me want to become a driver.”
Perkins is part of a small sector of Uber drivers like her. Only 14 percent of drivers are women and there are no numbers that measure the number of Black women who are drivers. However, it’s safe to say that number is predictably low.
The experience inspired her to start her blog. Well aware that there are only a few of her kind in the “Uberverse,” the blog gives a unique perspective, telling a few of the 8 million stories in New York City.
Driving with Uber for only eight months, Perkins said the job takes her across the city and face-to-face with some of the most interesting people, most of whom are discussed on her blog.
“I’m a storyteller,” Perkins said. “If I’m going to be driving around New York City, I’m going to have tons of stories to tell. I knew when I started with Uber I was going to have a blog.”
Some of those stories include driving actors Alec Baldwin and Wallace Shawn. Others are touching, including one about a musician who was on his way to a relative’s funeral asking Perkins advice on which song to play at the service.
One of her most recent posts is about the street co-naming in Brooklyn of former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and friend of hers, Carey Gabay, who was murdered last year in Brooklyn during the J’Ouvert celebration. She vows to tell the story about her friend whenever she’s taking a passenger by the street sign.
“Who would have thought that driving your car around all day can open up so much rich storytelling,” she said. “I always start in front of my house in Bed-Stuy and I let the chips fall where they may. Part of the adventure is that I never know where I’m going to end up.”
