Queenly Smith: Meet The Ghanaian Woman Who Transitioned From Being An Aerospace Engineer To A Banker
Queenly sets out to achieve her childhood dream of becoming a pilot someday. She sets out to get all the ranks of education she needs to become one of the best Aerospace Engineers there is hence travels abroad to pursue a master's degree in her field.
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She would soon realize the master's program she is reading serves her in no way hence makes an interesting transition into the banking and finance space.
Every child has a dream to belong to a particular career someday. These dreams sometimes are as a result of seeing their parents work and thrive in that field or receiving an unforgettable special treatment from a professional or just the mere fact that the child's favorite character in a movie happened to have worked in that field.
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Queenly, like many other children, knew exactly what she wished to be someday. She, therefore, took the necessary steps to get to the finishing mark where her dreams become reality.
This meant learning extremely hard to ace the Basic Education Certificate Examination to gain admission to one of the best all-girls secondary school in Ghana, Wesley Girls' Senior High School and then to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Ghana to study Aerospace Engineer to become the pilot she had always dreamt of.
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Taking Aerospace Engineering at KNUST
Queenly reported to the university mentally and physically prepared to face all the challenges and wins her program would throw her way because she already knew it is not the easiest program.
" I didn’t expect it to be easy at all and truly, it wasn’t easy but thankfully we made it!", Queenly told YEN.com.gh.
She put in all the work that was required to excel. This meant denying herself of fun sometimes just to put some reading in and staying up late to study.
Switching from Engineering to Business field
In a quest to gather more knowledge in her field of studies, Queenly chose to further her education after completing her bachelor's program. She applied and gained admission to Carleton University in Ottawa to pursue a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering.
She began her studies only to find of that what she studied as Aerospace Engineering at KNUST was actually Aeronautics Engineering hence the master's program she was reading was completely different from what she knew.
" I realized during my first semester that what we did in Ghana was more of Aeronautics which is about aircrafts mainly and not Aerospace which is more focused on space. My interest was in aircrafts."
The program she flew all the way from Africa to Canada to study was not what she knew of and she could not just go through with it. She had to switch.
"The program did not align with my interest so I decided to switch programs. So I moved on to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Business with Law at the University of Salford, Manchester", she shared with YEN.com.gh
Entering the Banking space
Just before starting her national service after school, someone submitted Queenly's CV to a bank and they reached out to her.
"They called me to take an aptitude and when I passed, I got the chance to do my service with them"
After her service, she went for a training in Nigeria where she was taught all there is to know about banking for five months and she settled at the bank after.
Qualities and skills working in the banking sector has bestowed on her
Changing careers meant adopting new skill sets and certain qualities and Queenly made YEN.com.gh aware of some of the things she has picked up along the line.
" I have learnt a lot in my field. First of all I am a marketer now and that means learning how to effectively communicate with clients. I have also become very organized and this help me work smart and not just hard. I have also learnt how to acquire business, sustain business and grow with the business"
Fighting negative thoughts about her career switch
Like many people, there were times Queenly started questioning the decision she made especially when the going got tough but she always became at peace anytime she helped solve a clients problem.
"There've been so many times I felt I made the wrong choice. There were moments I lost interest in banking but I always told myself that every situation you find yourself has a good side so I tried to do my best at every I do.
The joy of filling my customers' needs keep me going. The banking sector is tough and comes with a lot of pressure but when you give out your best and your customers are satisfied, sometimes those feelings trumps the negative thoughts"
Highilight of her career
For Queenly, meeting the needs of her clients have been some of her proudest moments in her career. Having a happy and satified customer at the end of the day sparks joy in her life.
"I am always happy when I get satisfied customers all the time. They keep me going. Being able to process loans or solve a problem for a client makes me feel very fulfilled."
Advice to individuals planning to switch careers
People who are contemplating a career switch are being advised by the now-banker to weigh their options and do what makes them happy. According to Queenly, it is all about enjoying what you do at the end of the day.
"My advise to anyone seeking to pivot to other fields is to be certain of exactly what you want for yourself and make the preparations towards that. Weigh all the possible options available and find out which one resonates with you.
I am personally all for exposure and learning new things and I believe there is something to learn in any field. There should just be an interest and you will succeed", Queenly shared with YEN.com.gh.
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