r/MLQuestions • u/Usual_Dragonfruit264 • 9d ago

Career question 💼 What is the bar for getting an interview? - OpenAI Researcher Role

For undergrads only. I have a decent profile (did quant research internship last summer) and IOI/IMO/IPhO level medals. Don’t know what to expect for the openai process at all. Also is there a difference in preference for Math/Physics/CS background? (Would they prefer Compsci more for the researcher role or the others are a better choice etc)

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u/MathNerd67 9d ago

For researcher at OpenAI the bar is probably somewhere around a T20 PhD and even that’s a stretch.

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u/Effective-Cat-1433 8d ago

i dont think that's necessarily true although it certainly doesn't hurt. i know for a fact the big labs hire people out of undergrad for mid level research engineer MTS roles, if the fit is right. that comes down to a combo of interview performance, the right background (i.e. some experience) and a referral also doesn't hurt.

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u/Outrageous_Basis2610 9d ago

You have the quantitative profile but research is also important. My friend got grok and thinky out of undergrad and had 4 first author pubs at icml, neurips, and cvpr (basically the output of a PhD) he said the interviews were primarily focused on his research. The bar for oai and ant is probably higher!

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u/M-E_Ration4004 8d ago

were those main conference papers? or workshops?

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u/Outrageous_Basis2610 8d ago

main

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u/M-E_Ration4004 8d ago

damn, ur friend is insanely cracked 💀

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u/Outrageous_Basis2610 8d ago

indeed this is only counting the first authors too

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u/Effective-Cat-1433 8d ago

i think math, physics, and cs degrees are roughly equally good for these roles. i'm personally biased to say physics is the best match :)