This dissertation reports findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) concerning the effects of working during the teen years on educational attainment, labor force participation, income, family formation, and alcohol and drug use at age 22 and age 26. The sample includes all those in the 1962-1964 birth cohorts, allowing for the most complete longitudinal analysis of work experience from age 16 on yet reported by sociologists. Previous studies have focused on short-term consequences of working during the teen years, particularly while in high school, and have reported mixed and contradictory results. Results from my analysis of long-term effects suggest moderately negative effects on educational attainment in that working youth are less likely to attend college or to complete four or more years of college. However, working during high school has a positive effect on a variety of labor force outcomes (labor force participation, employment status, and income) at age 22 and age 26, despite the small educational decrement that working youth suffer. Those with more work experience during their teens venture into marriage earlier, and are somewhat more likely to use alcohol and marijuana. I conclude that, by the early to mid-twenties, the labor force and income gains somewhat offset the educational decrements that result from working while in high school