I interned at OpenAI in San Francisco. Here’s how I landed it, what it was like, and what I thought of Sam Altman.

• Hamza Mostafa made it his mission to reach out while he was studying in Canada. SanFrancisco working in technology.

• He went on to do an OpenAI internship in San Francisco.

• Although Canada is cheaper, there are more opportunities in San Francisco, Mostafa said.

This article, as told, is based on a conversation with Hamza Mostafa, a 21-year-old living in San Francisco. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Growing up, I wanted to work in the medical field, as did most of my family. But after taking a computer Science My goals changed while I was in high school.

I made it my mission while studying software engineering at university in Canada. Go to San FranciscoWhere everyone in the field dreams of getting a job. For me If you want to be successful in technology and learn from the best, you should be in Silicon Valley.

I finally got an internship at OpenAI He moved to San Francisco and moved there full-time in October 2025.

Like me‘As I continue to explore what my future in technology might look like, San Francisco feels like the place to be.

Once I arrived in San Francisco my network grew rapidly

When I started my undergraduate education, I wanted to work in a company. Big Tech company after graduation. My plans changed after establishing cooperatives where you switch between training and working at different companies. I did my first internship at a very early stage startup in Canada. and I realized that I really liked the startup atmosphere. You get a lot of ownership, you learn a lot in small teams, and you’re dedicated to the work. My current goal is to work at a startup or start my own startup.

I did two more internships in Canada. During the latter, I visited the San Francisco office several times, where I planned to go to tech events and meet engineers from different companies. A connection I made led to my next internship at a company. San Mateo is about 20 miles south of San Francisco. My circle of friends in the city grew very quickly. I highly recommend going to events in San Francisco to find work or meet cool people.

I applied for an internship at OpenAI, where I learned how to work faster

In late 2024, I was still bouncing between universities in Canada. and SanFranciscoWhen some people I knew in the city told me that OpenAI was running an internship program. Their knowledge allowed me to apply early and I was invited for an interview. I think the fact that I had done a lot of internships before and gained machine learning experience also helped me. I cold emailed recruiters at OpenAI to introduce myself and get their attention, which I don’t think can ever hurt.

OpenAI’s two technical interview rounds were the toughest I’ve ever done because they really emphasized speed. I had to complete a coding task while talking about my design process in a 45-minute block.

OpenAI when I felt very happy when I called to say that I had been accepted for a three-month internship. It was incredible to work in the Mission Bay office from May to August 2025 and for such an important brand.

In a conversation, I can say that the people around me are extremely intelligent and talented. They were also humble. I learned a lot from other engineers, like how I could leverage my own AI agents for tasks like coding. I move much faster now than before my internship.

Even though it was the largest company I’ve ever worked for, it felt like a startup. I was immediately drawn to things that I really liked. New hires are asked to push or merge something into the codebase on their first day, so I was tasked with making a small change.

I didn’t get to interact much with OpenAI’s CEO. Sam AltmanBut I felt like he really cared about us interns, because when he talked to us he would ask us questions about how we found the internship and whether we felt supported enough.

I want to stay in San Francisco even though it’s expensive

I signed a return offer with OpenAI for Fall 2026, but after running into visa issues I returned and am focusing on my own agency AI projects for now. There is a great window of opportunity to build thanks to AI, so I’m open to the possibilities, especially since I’m young and don’t have responsibilities like kids.

I moved to San Francisco full time in October. Starting the OpenAI internship made me feel like my decision to be here has paid off. This connected me with some really smart people at the frontier of AI, and although it’s expensive and competitive, the concentration of talented people and opportunities makes the trade-off worthwhile for me.

Canada has excellent universities and is generally more affordable, but staying there would restrict me. There are fewer technology opportunities, especially in frontier AI.

San Francisco feels like the right place for me.

Do you have a story to share about deciding on the right place to advance your career? Contact this reporter at: ccheong@businessinsider.com

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