Women in tech: How Susan Chang broke into machine learning

Susan Chang, a Principal Data Scientist at Elastic, successfully transitioned from economics to machine learning by leveraging her self-taught programming skills, initially sparked by her passion for video games. With a master's degree in economics, Susan realized that her curriculum did not sufficiently prepare her for a career in machine learning, prompting her to independently develop her coding abilities. At Elastic, she applies machine learning to enhance data security, specifically working on projects that use generative AI to detect malicious attacks. Aside from her professional endeavors, Susan actively mentors aspiring machine learning professionals and is writing a book to help others enter the field. Her journey underscores the importance of curiosity and self-directed learning, and she emphasizes that diverse educational and professional backgrounds can lead to opportunities in technology. Her visibility and efforts to mentor others are inspired by her own experiences and the support she received from visible women in tech.