Finding Internships in San Francisco, California

San Francisco is the second largest city in California, second only two Los Angeles, in the most populous state in the USA. Known for being a hippy-esque, beautiful bay-side city, it’s the perfect place for those looking to take on an internship, especially in tech. 

Known for the Sexual Revolution, the Peace Movement, and a major player in the fight for gay rights, San Francisco is known for its left-wing, liberal political environment. It’s also a big draw for tourism in California and the United States as a whole. 

What is San Francisco like?

San Francisco is a constant hub of innovation. Serving as headquarters for companies like Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Mozilla and Craigslist, as well as home to five of the top major banking institutions, there’s all kinds of opportunity.  Not far from San Francisco, in Silicon Valley, live the headquarters for Google, Apple, and Facebook as well, just to name a few. 

The city is also home to many venture capital firms, which naturally tend to invest in the robust tech sector. 

Seattle is the only city that beats San Francisco for percentage of residents who have a college degree. San Francisco also has the highest percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities. It is also extremely diverse, with white non-hispanic residents making up less than half of the population. 

San Francisco is also, unfortunately, incredibly expensive to live in. Rents in the city regularly top $1000 per bedroom in a shared apartment, and that’s on the incredibly low end of the spectrum. 

Public transportation is good in San Francisco, with the availability of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and within the city, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, known as Muni. Those who wish to have access to a car without the obligation of lease can also do so via membership with various companies in the area. 

What kinds of internships are available in San Francisco?

Given the amount of tech and finance firms in and around San Francisco, the options are virtually limitless for those looking for internship opportunities in the Bay Area. 

Institutions of higher learning include the University of California, San Francisco, which is the only University of California campus dedicated to graduate education in health sciences. University of California, Berkeley, one of the top public schools in the US, is also nearby in neighboring Berkeley. San Francisco State University has an enrollment of 30,000 students and the Academy of Art University is the largest institute of art and design in the nation, both of which are located in the city. Additionally there is the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program. Clearly, there’s something for just about everyone in San Francisco. 

How to find internships in San Francisco

Each one of these schools offers their own online and/or on-campus programs for helping students find internships or apprenticeships via various online platforms associated with the institution. Some schools, such as University of California campuses, also hold on-campus interview programs during certain parts of the year which allow employers to meet potential applicants directly. 

For those who do not attend a Bay Area school, online search engines such as internmatch.com, linkedin.com, and simplyhired.com, among others provide listings to San Francisco area internships. Be sure to look in Silicon Valley as well for a wider array of options. 

In Conclusion

San Francisco has such a diverse and rich amount of opportunities, it’s no surprise why so many bright people flock there in order to build companies, learn, intern, and work. Though the amount of bright minds, and rich earnings, has driven the cost of living up significantly over the past decade, this only serves as testament to the appeal and opportunity available in San Francisco.