Sources: 
Janvi Kalra, an AI engineer at OpenAI, encourages students to pursue internships at both Big Tech companies and startups to gain a comprehensive skill set early in their careers.
Kalra explained on The Pragmatic Engineer podcast that the experiences at these two types of companies are "wildly different," offering unique learning opportunities.
"The way I saw it, the upside of going to Big Tech was, first, you learn how to build reliable software for scale," she said, emphasizing the importance of mastering scalable software development.
Conversely, she highlighted that startups provide interns with
"more responsibility, along with a better chance of materially affecting the company with your work."Kalra recommends that students do one internship at a startup and another at a Big Tech firm to gain a
"very robust overview of what both experiences are like very early." This approach, she believes, equips interns with diverse skills and perspectives that can benefit their future careers.
By combining the structured, large-scale engineering experience of Big Tech with the dynamic, hands-on environment of startups, interns can develop a balanced and versatile professional foundation.
This advice reflects a growing recognition in the tech industry of the value in varied early career experiences to build adaptability and broad expertise.
Sources: OpenAI AI engineer Janvi Kalra advises interns to gain experience at both Big Tech firms and startups, highlighting the distinct skills each environment offers. She emphasizes that Big Tech teaches scalable software development, while startups provide greater responsibility and impact opportunities, recommending a mix for a well-rounded internship experience.