What was your first paying job as a teenager? I worked at a pizza joint, How about you??

[LuckyCharms]

52. I shined shoes at a brick and mortar shoe shine shop.

I was 14, and I had just received my working papers.

The owner was never there. He gave me a key to the place, and he let me open up whenever I wanted. The place was a 30 second walk from my home.

The owner didn't really pay me, or paid me minimally (in cash). I didn't mind, because I kept all of my tips over and above the price of the shine. On a busy day, I could bring home $80, at age 14!!

I lived in a town that had a huge, predominantly white collar corporation two blocks from the shoe shine place, so there was a lot of shoe shine traffic.

One day this guy came in that was dressed to the nines. As I was shining his shoes, he started asking me probing questions. Long story short, it turns out the guy was from the labor board, and he determined that I wasn't getting paid properly. He told me to lock the place up and go home. The owner was busted, and he had to pay me $700 in back pay.