Chelsea Anne Ong

They say that the journey of success isn’t linear but rather a series of twists and turns.

Ever since I was a little kid, my interests have always been with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field. I am fond of problem-solving especially related to numbers, charts, and anything that requires computation. When I was in high school, I loved chemistry so much. My strong affinity to both Chemistry and Math was what pushed me to take Chemical Engineering as my undergraduate degree at De La Salle University (DLSU). Long story short, I graduated and became a Licensed Chemical Engineer in 2017. And then what awaits me? Unemployment. I did not know what I wanted to do, how to unleash the potential in me. All I see is a confused, overwhelmed, and frustrated 22-year old. Despite that, I know I should not give up and continue to assess where I can thrive best.

Before pursuing a Master's in Data Science at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in 2019, I worked for a company that sells swimming pool equipment and chemicals. Since I consider myself an introvert, I dreaded facing clients and talking to suppliers which are part of my job. Eventually, I was able to improve my communication skills and become more confident in dealing with people from all walks of life. I also monitor the company's sales performance and find ways to improve sales. Having a profitable business starts with efficiency, which includes utilizing data, addressing redundancies, and establishing a company-wide system. During my stay, I was able to implement a system that minimizes end-to-end customer transactional time by 75%. However, my capabilities that time can only do so much. I had no knowledge of statistical and analytical tools aside from Microsoft Excel which I completely learned on my own. To thrive in a fast-paced environment, I realized I have to broaden my skill set and determine what I want to accomplish in my career. This has led me to enter the realm of Data Science, a highly technical field that I have zero knowledge about aside from the information I read on the internet.

It's been more than a year since I started my data science journey and I have been exposed to different domains which include but not limited to consumer goods (or FMCG), retail (e-commerce), development, and even food. In implementing projects, I mainly use the Python Programming Language for data pre-processing, data exploration, and data analysis. The capstone project, which is a culmination of the MSc Data Science Program, is about the determination of the drivers of sales of a multinational consumer health business using Machine Learning. At first, I thought simple mathematical analysis can solve the problem. In reality, there are a lot of factors which affect sales which makes it hard for human mind to quantify and that's where Artificial Intelligence comes in. My most significant realization out of this is that data science is going to be this generation's oil, and I am grateful to be one of the people that will push and inspire for data-driven decision making. I look forward to gaining more experience from industry leaders in the field of Data Analytics, Big Data, Machine Learning.

Now that the pandemic has forced people to stay home as much as possible, I have been in a continuous learning mode for Data Science. At the same time, I also have rekindled my hobby for cooking which had been set aside due to my busy schedule.

Skills: Natural Language Processing, Time-Series Analysis, Forecasting, Machine Learning Primary Tech Stack Used: Python, Tensorflow, Scikit-learn, Javascript, HTML, CSS, Flask, AWS

For collaboration and job opportunities, please feel free to message me on Linkedin or write me an e-mail at ongchelseaanne@gmail.com.