Next time you’re passing by McDonald’s (MCD), think of ‘This is Us’ star Chrissy Metz, whose first job was behind the counter at the Golden Arches in Gainesville Florida.

She took the job as a teenager with a very clear goal in mind: “I wanted to buy a pair of shoes,” she said laughing during an interview with Jen Rogers on Yahoo Finance’s My Three Cents. “My mom's like, ‘We're not spending a hundred dollars on a pair of tennis shoes.’ I'm like, "Oh, you might not. But I will!"

Metz worked the drive-thru and the front counter for two years. She says she learned a lot about the value of hard work and treating people well.

“My manager was so awesome, and he was so helpful in the way that he would speak to me or speak to any of the employees, which made me want to work harder for him,” Metz recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, wow. You do absolutely get more (flies) with honey.’”

But it wasn’t all fun and happy meals.

“Here's the thing: You're surrounded by this food you should not be eating, at least for me. And you smell like french fries, and it's not really cute when a really cute guy walks in and you're all self-conscious,” she says. “It's not easy. I don't think fast food employees get enough credit.”

[See Also: Netflix star Ellie Kemper pays for at least 5 streaming services — including Netflix]

But when asked if she would recommend the job, she doesn’t hesitate for a moment.

“I think it’s such a great learning experience, and it really instilled a lot for me,” she says.

For the record, Metz did use her McDonald’s earnings to buy that pair of tennis shoes. Now, if only she would tell us how her character Kate Pearson pays her bills on ‘This is Us’.

My Three Cents with Jen Rogers is a weekly interview series that explores celebrities’ history with — and relationship to — money. Find it exclusively on Yahoo Finance.

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