I have to disagree. Going with the family business is the easy way out. OP has great potential and skills that shouldn't be wasted that way. OP is going about getting a job the wrong way. Many good, experienced people won't get so much as a "no thanks" when applying to the likes of Google, Facebook, Uber, etc. for myriad reasons. If OP is serious about a career in software engineering, he needs to apply to more than just a few jobs and not focus on well-known companies. He would quickly and easily get an offer to do some interesting work. OP needs to start working at a software company yesterday and get away from all this BS at home.