Heh, you seem to be one of the few that either avoided indoctrination into believing that employee mentality is the cat's meow, or you broke out of it having gained knowledge that somehow remains obscure to most people. Either way, good for you.

But yeah, this mentality is worked it's way into us from the time we're young: "Go to school, get good grades. Go to a good high school, get good grades. Go to a good college, get good grades. Then, get a great paying job. Be Ambitious!" Our parents help out with that, so do our teachers, and even our peers. It's kind of hard not to fall into that.