My last “hobby”

Well if you’ve had a chance to read the About (me) section, you’ll know I started Hobby & Glow to gently nudge myself into trying new hobbies and (hopefully) getting a better work-life balance.

Slight plot twist though my most long-standing hobby since graduating uni has basically been professional exams.

The finance alphabet soup pressure

Ever since I landed in the finance world (too many years ago to count), I kept hearing the same thing: you need to build your own little alphabet soup after your name to prove you’ve got the brain cells and the grit to survive the 9 to 5 which, let’s be honest, is more like 9 to 8 most days for me.

Being a finance girly on an investment team, the obvious one was the CFA. So off I went.

My CFA journey (not cute, not linear)

It’s all well and good to say, “I did it, woohoo!” now, but the route to passing all three levels was honestly messy.

I passed Levels I and II back-to-back early in my career, when my first job felt more nurturing and the pace was intense, but still manageable. Mistakes were allowed. People taught you. You weren’t expected to know everything straight away.

Then I moved into a much higher-pressure role and the culture change was day and night. Hours went from late-ish to beyond midnight, plus weekends. And suddenly Level III stopped being something I could just power through with enough caffeine and good intentions.

I won’t lie, having to repeat it was a very tough pill to swallow.

The part I didn’t expect to find so hard

I grew up as an overachiever who rarely failed exams, so repeating one felt like a personal crisis. And because CFA has three levels, getting two done and not finishing the last one just felt wrong. Like stopping in the final stretch of a race when you can already see the finish line.

So I paused. For longer than I planned. Life happened. Work happened. Burnout happened.

Fast forward seven years later

Fast forward to now, seven years after I first enrolled, I finally picked the studying back up and I can genuinely say, hand on heart:

I HAVE DONE IT.

Work is still tough hours-wise, but this time it felt “easier” in one big way: support.

My boyfriend has the CFA too, so he fully got it. He listened to me vent, rant, spiral, and occasionally cry (because the panic of I don’t remember a single thing I’ve studied is so real). He talked me down every time I wanted to reschedule. He reminded me that one bad mock does not equal doom.

And honestly, having someone who’s been there makes a massive difference. I’m very, very, very (important things get said three times) grateful for him getting me through that year.

The weird feeling after you finally pass

So here I am now with my big cert up top and my mini cert alongside everyone else celebrating their charters in 2026. It feels amazing but also oddly strange?

Because getting the charter also means I’m finally saying goodbye to what’s been my longest-running hobby since uni: studying.

I’m hoping this closes a chapter and frees up time for what I actually want more of, like trying new hobbies, eating at new places (always), and properly building Hobby & Glow into something fun and consistent.