u/Akshat0812

I'm a Chartered Accountant who qualified in May 2025 on my first attempt. After qualification, I got selected as a Credit Manager at ICICI Bank, but I didn't like the environment and my father wanted me to join the family business, so I resigned and joined him.

Around the same time, I also had an interview opportunity with Berger Paints, but I couldn't attend because I was alone at the shop and my parents were out of station to help my brother. So I lost that opportunity too.

For the last year, I've worked in our family business, often 12–16 hours a day. However, my role is mostly operational:

-Making bills

-Handling cash collections

-Attending customers

-Sitting at the shop when my father is unavailable

I don't have much involvement in decision-making. Whenever I suggest modernization, digitization, process improvements, inventory systems, marketing ideas, etc., my father generally dismisses them as inefficient or unnecessary. He gets visibly frustrated when I try to implement changes.

I also don't feel respected in the business:

Staff don't really treat me as an authority figure.

Customers usually ask for my father when they see me alone.

My opinions don't carry much weight despite being there every day.

At the same time, I am managing the construction of our new family house almost entirely on my own. It's a very expensive and time consuming project, and I sometimes feel my father indirectly blames me for pushing him to start it two years ago. A large portion of his lifetime savings has gone into:

-The new house

-My elder brother's marriage

-My sister's marriage

-Various family expenses

What hurts me the most is the comparison with my elder brother.

My brother lives away from home and doesn't contribute to the family business. Over the years, my father has helped him financially multiple times:

-Down payment for a flat

-Expenses for his child's birth function

-Down payment for a new car

My father never asks him to contribute money back to the family.

Meanwhile, after spending a year working in the business, I have almost no savings of my own (around ₹5,000 in my account).

A recent incident really affected me emotionally. I wanted to buy a ring and asked my father for money. He said he didn't have money. Around the same period, he was helping my brother with the down payment for a new car.

When I pointed out the contradiction, my father said he would sell his old gold chain and buy me the ring instead. That actually made me feel worse because I couldn't accept that. I immediately refused. What hurt wasn't the ring itself- it was feeling like there was money for everyone else's needs but not for mine.

Now I've applied for an position at PSU and have an exam coming up this Sunday. I've been preparing for it seriously.

However, my parents are planning to travel out of station to help my elder brother, who is unwell. Because of that, nobody will be available to manage the shop, and I may not be able to attend the exam. The exam center is outside town, and I feel that if I insist on going, there will be conflict because the shop and house cannot be left unattended.

What makes this more frustrating is that this isn't the first opportunity I've sacrificed because of family obligations.

The complicated part is that I don't think my father is a bad person. I genuinely believe he loves me and wants me to inherit the business eventually. He has worked incredibly hard throughout his life and has taken care of the entire family.

But I feel trapped between two realities:

If I stay in the family business, I have responsibility but very little authority and unclear succession plans.

If I try to build my own career, I feel guilty because my father depends on me and I would have left him alone in a critical phase of his life.

I also don't have the courage to ask my father questions like:

-When will I actually get decision-making power?

-What is my financial future in this business and family?

I feel guilty even bringing those topics up.

So my questions are:

-Am I being unfair or entitled?

-Am I overreacting to the way my father supports my brother financially?

-Should I continue investing my time in the family business?

-Should I prioritize independent career opportunities instead?

What would you do if you were in my position?

I'm looking for honest opinions, especially from people who have worked in family businesses or faced similar situations.

TL;DR: Newly qualified CA. Left a bank job to join family business and have worked there for a year, often 12–16 hours daily. I have responsibility but little authority, almost no savings, and most of my ideas are dismissed. My father financially supports my elder brother but I feel my own future remains unclear. I may now miss another important career opportunity because family obligations prevent me from attending. I love and respect my father, but I feel stuck between loyalty to family and building an independent career. Am I seeing this situation clearly?

Need suggestion

UPDATE: Regarding my previous post asking for front elevation design suggestions.

Qualified CA, spent a year in family business, feeling stuck and unsure whether I'm being unreasonable

Please suggest, which one of these 1400mm x 800mm tiles will look best on the marked 1350mm wall?