Using cultivation theory, this qualitative study analyzed the influence of television in shaping the work ethic among members of the baby boom generation. It also probed the role of social, cultural and historical events, as well as personal experience, in shaping the work ethic and career paths. The results showed some cultivation effects, particularly in the definitions respondents held of the work ethic, and in feelings of low self worth during periods of unemployment. The study also found a strong cultivation effect in the childhood occupational dreams respondents had. The study found limited resonance effects based on the impact of the social upheaval televised in the 1960s and 1970s, but did find mainstreamed memories of those events, based on images broadcast on TV. Other findings included some conflicted feelings about the role of education in career success, and fairly consistent feelings of job insecurity and disappointment with retirement benefits.