| tl;dr: If you're not passionate about what you're doing, it's hard for some people (myself included) to work hard or have what one might call a good work ethic. For me, college didn't do anything for my work ethic. I was like you in HS: got good grades without trying. I got to college and found that I couldn't skate by, but didn't know how to work hard. I also didn't feel very engaged. I graduated, and got a job with a smallish (~350 people) public company. It was interesting, but again, not super engaging. I got my stuff done, but I wouldn't really say I had a good work ethic. I spent 5 years there before I finally decided to leave my comfort zone. Then I joined a 5-month-old startup as employee 16. I was actually passionate about it. For a little over a year I did 14-16 hour days, and I didn't mind. I really loved it, and I loved the people I was working with. This is the first time that I actually realized that I even could work hard. Of course, that story didn't end very well: I burned out, and the company itself lost its way (in my opinion, though they're still kicking and have at least released a product now). After a total of 16 months, I quit and took 5 weeks off. Now I'm working for an older startup with around 30 people. The work is interesting, but the demands on my time aren't as great. I don't feel the pressure or desire to work quite as hard, and for now, that's fine. I'm thinking I want to start my own company at some point, but I lack that idea that I feel like I can really be passionate about and that will drive me to want to work like a madman. So that's it for me, at least: I have a crappy work ethic unless I all-out love what I'm doing. Maybe that's actually a good work ethic, but I just have a low tolerance for things that bore me. Who knows. |