How old were you when you received your first real pay check? I was 16 and working in a gas station. Before that I did almost anything for some spending money. Shoved snow, mowed lawns, dug gardens, baled hay, trapped a little, washed and polished cars, ect.

I also was 16 working at a drive-in

I was 16 when I first started receiving a real paycheck weekly where taxes were taken out n etc. That first real job like that for me was working for a fairly large chain of grocery stores.I worked at the one in my home town bagging groceries,stocking shelves,facing shelves,glass bottle returns,clean up type work sweep and mop.

It probably was around the spring of 1985. I believe the minimum wage then was a whopping $3.35 per hour !! I think we may have started at $3.75 per hour. Before that I mowed quite a few yards and did odd jobs.

Fifteen and a half. Working at a local butcher shop. The owner would cash our checks for us from the till.

If we worked outside legal hours, we'd get pad in cash.

Maybe 12. Detassling corn.

I was 13. Worked for a pulp jobber. I cleaned the horse barns. they were skidding with horses . Received a pay envelope on Friday. He paid in cash . Sunday I took horses out for water and to clean the barn s. they were more like canvas lean too;s

16.......worked at Pizza Villa, downtown La Crosse, WI.
3rd Street (bars, etc)
Friday & Saturday nights we had a bouncer for the "ill behaved" , and for good reason. Observed some eye opening situations during that time. Even the police didn't want to break up a "cat fight" (two women going at it).

Prior to this, odd jobs to scrounge some cash. I also was a caddy here and there.

got paid in cash
was 14 and had to show up ever day after school and weekends tending to near 200 head of hogs.
did get alot of time off for football season lol

14

Worked for a welder dad knew

Cleaned shop, mowed yard and did some cleanup work on parts on Saturdays

I was 16, worked at the local iron foundry 3 hours every morning before school. Knocking out pig iron and sweeping the pour deck, made good money for a high school kid.

Zim

First Job....where they took taxes out...I was 15.

Working at the sports shop in town...fixing bikes..putting new bikes

Together... sharpening skates ..selling hockey & Ski equipment.

All for 1.60 per hour...I remember riding home on my 10 speed with no hands

And looking at my first check ...I though I was RICH !!!!

14....in tobacco field cropping tobacco....$12/day.

Worked every summer for various tobacco farmers until I was 18.....and making $20/day.

We have a saying down here in the Deep South...if you grew up working in a tobacco field, you can work anywhere.

Best part was every farmer's wife cooked dinner (lunch to you yanks). It was a spread of the best southern cooking and fresh vegetables and meats you can imagine.....with all the sweet tea you could drink.

Always brought me a clean shirt to change into after dinner at 1pm before we went back to the field. The morning shirt stunk and was soaked and covered in sticky tar. I always hated touching that first sticky leaf after dinner with a full belly.

Where are these young workers today?
Not here that I can find.

Single parent and being the oldest,
I started pretty early.

When I graduated to screw gun guy
on grain dryers I knew I made it big lol.

14. Bucking hay bales for a neighboring ranch. Worked all summer for several years.

fifth grade summer so 11. $56.22 in real money in a little brown envelope for two weeks in a Zobel's boat yard in NJ. I could not believe that they told me TAXES were taken out every week from MY MONEY. I was expecting the $60 they told me

12 I got paid in cash

13 I got a paycheck

Parents had to fill out a form at school and stuff if I recall right.

Worked at a funeral home age 12 - 25

Twelve when I had a paper route, but mowed lawns and stuff before. Then at 15 working in a fly fishing shop, (yes they existed in the early 70's).

Started getting my paychecks signed by my wife when I was 25. We opened our first fly shop and she always paid herself less, even though she worked as much as I did.

Pete

16 Worked in a restaurant and painting houses in the summer
Had 2 paper routes (morning and evening) when I was 12 -16 but no paycheck

16 for the first check. Groundskeeper for the local knothole. Paid in cas before that. Bailing, umpiring and mowing.