I´m mid 30´s. Went to an ivy. Top 5 business school. I was good at school - good grades, test scores, super involved with extra-curriculars, etc.
In the real world it has always been a different story. I´m on my third job now, this time at a MBB consulting firm. I used to work in another professional services firm and also spent time in a start up.
Relative to my academic record, I´ve always under-achieved in the real world. I am a good people person and develop relationships / network well, but I´ve never performed particularly well in my job. Based on every review I´ve ever had, I´ve achieved mediocrity at best, but probably not even that. I cannot figure out why I lack the drive and achievements in real-world settings that I always had in academia.
Has anyone else had this problem? More importantly, has anyone had it and been able to get over it? How? I do not get it. I was super motivated for my current job and got absolutely slaughtered in my annual review.
My hypotheses are: (a) I am too distracted and need to stabilize my personal life, get a girlfriend, etc, (b) I have not found something that interests / motivates me, or (c) I am a free-rider and cannot perform with the same level of ownership and accountability in team settings that I do when I´m on my own (academia).