Forget mowing lawns or working at the local ice-cream store.

Hans Pang, a 17-year-old California high-school student, got his summer job at a hot Silicon Valley start-up - and saw the value of his stock options soar to more than $100,000.

Mr Pang, who told the San Jose Mercury News that he "likes being around cool machines", worked in technical support for executives at Alteon Websystems (ATON.O), a San Jose-based company which sells Internet hardware and services Web sites.

Instead of a salary, Mr Pang, the son of an acupuncturist and a parttime bank teller, agreed to accept an option of 750 Alteon shares. When the company went public last week, the value of his stake shot up to more than $100,000. The value later settled at about $70,500.