Why I Started Financial Advisory Part-Time as a New CPA—and What Made Me Stay

I had just passed the CPA board exam. I was finally starting the career I had worked hard for, so adding another career at that point probably did not make much sense from the outside.

But I was also thinking about the kind of future I wanted to build. My boyfriend then—my husband now—was the same way. We were both eager to have a good future, so we actively explored side hustles, small businesses, and other ways we could eventually earn beyond our salaries.

We did not have a large amount of capital for a traditional business. When the opportunity to explore the insurance industry came along, one thing that appealed to us was the manageable financial barrier compared with paying for inventory, rent, equipment, or a physical space. For me, getting started was mainly about completing the applicable licensing and company requirements.

So I thought: why not try? I had no idea then how much that decision would eventually change the direction of my career.

I Was a New CPA—and a Mom Trying to Build a Better Future

At the time, I was working in Makati with a basic salary of around ₱13,000 a month. I was grateful to be starting my CPA career, but I also had a toddler. Realistically, that amount did not feel like much when I was thinking about my child and my family, not only myself.

My reason for exploring something part-time was very practical: I wanted an additional source of income. Hindi naman complicated yung reason ko. I wanted to continue building my CPA career while finding another way to contribute financially.

I was not trying to escape accounting—I had literally just worked hard to become a CPA. I was simply asking myself, “What else can I build alongside this?” At that stage of my life, financial advisory was something I was willing to try.

I Already Believed in Life Insurance

The opportunity did not feel completely foreign because I already had my own personal life insurance plan before joining Pru Life UK. I did not enter the industry needing to convince myself that financial protection had value. I already believed it did.

What I needed to learn was how to communicate that value properly to other people. That became a very different kind of learning experience.

I Was Shy, and I Knew I Needed to Grow

I was naturally shy. Talking to different people, starting conversations, presenting, and putting myself out there were not things that came easily to me. Still, I knew I could not stay inside what was comfortable forever if I wanted to grow.

Slowly, I started learning. The training I experienced was not limited to insurance solutions. It also exposed me to communication, financial concepts, sales, leadership, goal-setting, self-management, and people skills. The development felt more holistic than I initially expected.

That part of the journey is one reason I now encourage professionals to notice the strengths they already carry—and the new skills they are willing to build. I share more about that in my perspective on insurance careers for CPAs and other professionals.

What Made Me Stay Was More Than the Income

I entered partly because I wanted additional income, but doing the work part-time still required something valuable from me: time. There were evenings and weekends I could have spent elsewhere, activities I had to schedule intentionally, and moments when it would have been easier to skip what I needed to do.

A big part of what kept me going was the people. I saw teammates and leaders who genuinely wanted me to grow. They shared what they knew, encouraged me while I was learning, celebrated progress, and helped me see that I could become better.

The environment I experienced felt uplifting. Being around my teammates and leaders often gave me the motivation to continue, and that mattered more than I expected when I first joined.

I Started Seeing the Purpose Behind the Work

As I gained experience, I began to look at the work differently. Every client represented a person or family who had taken a step toward preparing financially. More clients meant more people I had the opportunity to help.

Yes, additional income followed when the work produced results. Over time, though, I also cared more about how many people I was actually able to help through the work I was doing. That purpose made the effort feel more meaningful.

Opportunities Came Little by Little

When I started, I was not thinking about travel incentives or recognition. My mindset was much simpler: extra income, side hustle, let us see if this works.

As I continued doing my best and qualified for different opportunities, I experienced more of what the career could offer. There was recognition, training, new environments, new people, and eventually travel. None of these was automatic; each depended on the work and the applicable qualification requirements.

Travel was especially meaningful because I thought I would need to wait much longer before I could afford experiences like it. In 2022, I had the opportunity to visit Sydney through a qualifying company incentive. The fact that it came as a reward connected to work I had already been doing made the experience even more memorable.

I did not join the industry because of trips. Experiences like that simply showed me that the career could open doors I had not expected when I first started.

Starting Part-Time Gave Me Room to Discover the Career

I still appreciate the part-time route because I did not have to immediately walk away from the profession I had just worked hard to enter. I could continue building my CPA career while learning something completely different on the side.

It gave me time to experience financial advisory instead of deciding what I thought about it from the outside. If you are considering a similar setup, I have also written a practical guide to exploring financial advisory while working full-time.

Eventually, financial advisory was no longer only something I did for extra income. I was growing, helping people, learning from people who wanted me to improve, and seeing possibilities that were not visible to me at the beginning. That was what made me stay.

Your First Reason Does Not Have to Be Your Forever Reason

You may be exploring a part-time opportunity because you want additional income. That is valid. You may want personal growth, a different environment, meaningful work outside your current profession, or simply the chance to build something alongside the career you already have.

You do not have to know exactly where it will lead. I certainly did not. I started as a newly passed CPA who wanted extra income for her family and was curious about building something more. I stayed because I found growth, people, purpose, and opportunities—and a version of myself that probably would not have developed in the same way if I had never tried.

You can read more about how that early decision became the work I chose to pursue in my story. What began as a side hustle eventually became something much bigger.

This article shares my personal experience and is not a guarantee of earnings, incentives, travel rewards, recognition, career progression, or business results. Compensation, recognition programs, incentive programs, travel qualifications, licensing requirements, and career opportunities may vary and are subject to applicable company, agency, and regulatory terms.