Hi all, it's been a while, and now that things have settled down in my workplace(s), I have a question for those of you who are 2nd or earlier gen U.S. citizens or are outside the U.S.:
What exactly causes most of the people I'm around who are not from a long family history of Americans to have such a strong work ethic or skillset in general? I've met people from Venezuela, Europe, El Salvador, Bolivia, Singapore, etc. in my line of work, all of which perform on a very high level compared to most Americans at my job. I get little snippets of information from them here and then, most of them saying they found America to have a lot more opportunity than some places they have been, but I never really understood what _exactly_ motivates them to push so hard in different areas. Is it simply a motivation from being in a different place? Were they surrounded by people in their respective country that treated things like designing and math like they are extraordinarily important? I notice that a lot of people on these forums are from different places in the world, yet nearly every single one of them could code in circles around me (which is why I'm here; to learn). What exactly makes people outside the U.S., at least from what I've seen, so skilled at particular crafts and trades compared to the average or even above average American citizen? I am curious to understand how; this is something that, as a 2nd gen American, I find to be absolutely fascinating. I don't mean any offense by what I'm asking, it just intrigues me how entire groups of people from other places can be so skilled at something like coding or math, and if it has anything to do with one's country values, that's all.
Thanks.