I don't know why this is any issue but it is, and I'm going to take it from an agricultural standpoint because this is very personal to me, but read into it how you would like.
I work for my family's 112-year-old operation and I'm not sorry, and I have nothing to prove to anybody.
There's nothing wrong with not working for family. I respect those of you who have strayed from home and braved the new frontier of making it on your own, but you're not any better than me because of it.
I'm taking advantage of the healthy and stable situation put in front of me and there is nothing wrong with it. My future isn't a mystery and I could piss away everything and still not have to worry about my living situation for at least the next ten years, I won't do that, but I could. Can any of you self-righteous trailblazers say that?
I did go out and work for someone else. I do know hard work, and honestly working for family isn't all puppies and rainbows. You have no secrets, and you will always be viewed as "the kid." Your decisions will be criticized harder than normal because your boss not only employs you, but also raised you. Free-thinking is something you move into slowly. Your dreams are put on the back-burner to make room for the way things have been done for the last 50 years.
When you work for family, you have to tread carefully, because standing up to your boss is also standing up to an older and wiser family member and that's disrespect in a way. And if you mess up, you lose more than your job. You lose your home, the people you care about, etc.
So stop assuming that people who stay on their family operations are soft and spoiled. Just because the employees have a closer relationship with the employer, doesn't mean it's any easier.
I love my job. I love my family. And I love that I am blessed enough to combine the two.