Top 10 Tech Apprenticeships, Internships and Entry-Level Jobs in Orem, UT in 2026

Table of Contents

• Your Trailhead Moment: Choosing Your Path into Orem Tech
• UVU Applied AI Apprenticeship
• Apprenti Utah
• Qualtrics Software Engineering Internship
• Vivint Engineering & Design Internships
• Year Up
• IT Support Specialist Roles
• Business Process/Data Analyst
• UVU/BYU Sponsored Internships
• Silicon Slopes Startup Internships
• Remote-Friendly Support & Junior Engineering Roles
• Packing Your Bag: How to Choose Your 2026 Path
• Frequently Asked Questions

UVU Applied AI Apprenticeship

For those aiming directly for the most in-demand summit - artificial intelligence - this is your specialized trail. Launched in 2025, Utah Valley University's pioneering program is a direct pipeline into Utah County's growing AI startup scene, offering a blend of structured education and real-world application that generic bootcamps can't match.

The program combines intensive classroom learning in deep learning, LLMs, and computer vision with paid, on-the-job training at partner startups. As highlighted in a UVU news release, the apprenticeship is built with employer engagement at its core, ensuring skills translate directly to local jobs at companies like SchoolAI and Clarion AI. Apprentices earn competitive hourly wages during their placement, with the program's timeline being cohort-based and dependent on partner company needs.

This path is ideal for those with foundational programming knowledge who want to specialize rapidly. You'll pack practical skills in modern AI frameworks and natural language processing, moving beyond theory. The targeted outcome is placement into high-growth AI companies right here in Utah Valley, making it the most direct route to an emerging and lucrative peak in the Silicon Slopes ecosystem.

Apprenti Utah

This federally recognized program represents the quintessential "earn-while-you-learn" path, meticulously designed for career-changers who can't pause life for a full-time degree. Apprenti Utah provides paid training followed by a full year of on-the-job learning with major employer partners ranging from Amazon to respected local tech firms across the Silicon Slopes.

The financial model makes it accessible: initial training pays $18-$25/hour, rising to a full entry-level salary - typically $50,000 to $75,000+ - during the apprenticeship year. The total journey spans a manageable 2-5 months of focused training plus 12 months of applied work. You can specialize in high-demand tracks like Software Development, Cybersecurity, Data Science, or Cloud Support, with the program famously prioritizing aptitude and drive over traditional four-year credentials.

"This is geared toward those who may not be able to go to a coding school because they are a working mom... they don't have forty hours a week to give." - Clint Betts, Silicon Slopes

The summit view boasts exceptional outcomes, with over 90% of completers transitioning to full-time roles. As highlighted by the state's own Apprenticeship Utah initiative, these programs are a "multifaceted solution to tech talent acquisition" and report a stellar 94% retention rate. For a proven, low-risk route to a stable tech career with a near-guaranteed outcome, this established trail is hard to beat. Explore current opportunities at Apprenti Careers.

Qualtrics Software Engineering Internship

For the university student with a stellar academic record, securing a summer software engineering internship at Qualtrics in nearby Lehi is akin to a guided climb of the region's most prestigious peak. This highly competitive program offers unparalleled exposure to enterprise-scale software development and is a primary pipeline for the company's full-time hires.

Compensation reflects this elite status: interns command top-of-market rates of $30-$45 per hour, often supplemented with housing stipends during the intensive 10-12 week summer program. Success requires mastery of a specific tech stack, including full-stack development, Java, Go, and distributed systems. This path is designed for computer science students who have already built impressive personal or academic projects that demonstrate practical skill beyond coursework.

The critical summit view is the coveted "return offer" for a full-time position. As with most major tech internships, timing is everything. You must apply almost a year in advance; applications for the Summer 2026 cohort will open in August or September 2025. This high-stakes, high-reward summer can define your career launch, placing you directly into one of the Silicon Slopes' most sought-after engineering roles.

Vivint Engineering & Design Internships

Based in Provo, Vivint offers a unique expedition into the integrated world of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart home technology. Unlike pure software internships, this opportunity lets you touch the full stack, from UX design for touchscreen interfaces to the firmware running on physical security cameras and sensors.

Technical interns earn between $20 and $35 per hour, gaining hands-on experience in a complex, product-driven environment that few software-only companies can match. A hallmark of the program is its strong mentorship, with dedicated guidance from senior engineers providing a supportive climb. You'll develop skills that bridge software engineering, product design, and tangible hardware, making you exceptionally valuable in the growing smart home sector prevalent across Silicon Slopes.

As with most structured tech internships, strategic timing is crucial. Peak hiring for the coveted Summer 2026 positions occurs in the fall of 2025, aligning with the broader competitive internship landscape in the Lehi-Provo corridor. This path offers a specialized summit view: deep, integrated product experience that can set the foundation for a career at the intersection of software and physical technology.

Year Up

Year Up represents a mission-driven, supported ascent specifically engineered to close the Opportunity Divide. This national program has significant regional impact in Utah, providing young adults from underserved communities with intensive professional training followed by a critical corporate internship, blending technical skill development with crucial workplace competencies.

The structured pathway spans one year total: six months of immersive training where participants receive an educational stipend, followed by a six-month internship phase with hourly pay. Tracks include IT Support, Project Management, and Business Operations, ensuring participants gain both the hard and soft skills demanded by employers. The program’s success is built on deep partnerships with the corporate world, a factor highlighted by Jobs for the Future as essential for such initiatives to thrive.

The summit view is one of empowerment and high placement. With its focused mission, Year Up boasts strong outcomes in transitioning graduates into roles with corporate partners. For those seeking a structured, socially conscious entry into tech that provides wraparound support, this pathway offers a proven route to a sustainable career, leveraging the same Silicon Slopes employer network as other apprenticeships but with a distinct focus on equity and access.

IT Support Specialist Roles

This is the classic foot-in-the-door path, the essential basecamp from which many successful tech careers are built. Every company in the Silicon Slopes ecosystem needs a reliable IT team, creating perennial demand for these roles at Orem-area employers like Tech Legion, DigiCert in Lehi, and BambooHR in Draper.

Entry-level wages provide a stable start, typically ranging from $19 to $26.50 per hour. The required gear is focused and attainable: solid troubleshooting skills, knowledge of operating system installations, and basic network setup. Earning a CompTIA A+ certification is often the golden ticket that gets your resume noticed, demonstrating foundational competency to hiring managers.

The true summit view of this role is its function as a "support ladder" starter. Excelling here allows you to demonstrate critical problem-solving skills and business acumen in a real-world setting, often leading to promotions into systems administration, network engineering, or cybersecurity roles within the same company. It’s a sustainable, low-risk start with clear upward trails, and a strategic way to get your name on the roster at a top tech firm. Current openings can be found on platforms like Indeed's entry-level IT listings for Orem.

Business Process/Data Analyst

This pathway serves as the crucial connector ridge between business needs and technical solutions, ideal for those with degrees in Business, Analytics, or even the humanities who want to pivot into tech without becoming a software engineer. You'll act as the interpreter, using data to optimize processes and drive decisions for local SaaS companies or Utah County fintech firms.

Entry-level salaries in the Orem market typically range from $45,000 to $65,000 per year. The essential gear for this climb includes proficiency in SQL for data querying and visualization tools like Tableau or Power BI. However, your most important piece of equipment is strong communication skills - the ability to translate complex data insights into actionable business recommendations.

This strategic path leverages analytical thinking to build a tech career. It’s a role in high demand as companies across Silicon Slopes seek to make data-driven decisions. Gaining experience can start through targeted education and local opportunities, such as those listed through UVU's Information Systems & Technology internship portal, which connects students with vetted roles at area businesses.

UVU/BYU Sponsored Internships

Don't overlook the powerful, university-outfitted journey available through the curated pipelines at Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University. Both institutions' career centers leverage deep, longstanding networks with local and national companies to funnel students into vetted, high-quality internship roles that are often not advertised to the general public.

These sponsored opportunities typically offer compensation between $18 and $30 per hour and span disciplines from computer science and information systems to tech-adjacent business roles. Students find these positions through dedicated campus portals, such as UVU's dedicated computer science internship portal, which connects them with companies like the fintech firm Lendio or local tech employers.

The key advantage of this path is its structured support and reduced friction. Faculty often coordinate directly with employer partners, and the internship frequently includes academic credit, integrating the work experience directly into your degree progression. This creates a legitimate, educational launchpad with strong local roots, offering a guided entry into the Silicon Slopes ecosystem that can be more accessible than navigating the open market alone.

Silicon Slopes Startup Internships

The Lehi and American Fork corridor is dense with venture-backed startups - this path is the exhilarating scramble with a breathtaking view. Interning at a growing company like Brevium or LVT (LiveView Technologies) means trading rigid corporate structure for immediate impact and the chance to wear multiple hats on a small, agile team.

Compensation remains competitive for technical talent, typically offering $25 to $32 per hour. The required gear here is foremost adaptability; you might contribute to real-world feature development, QA automation, data analysis, or a bit of everything in a single summer. In this environment, a robust portfolio of personal projects or bootcamp work will often get you noticed faster than a pristine GPA alone.

The summit view is one of breadth, growth, and community. You'll gain exposure to how a company operates at a foundational level, with a steep learning curve that few large corporations can provide. Perhaps most valuable is the networking within the intimate Silicon Slopes startup community; the connections made here can be invaluable for future opportunities. Exploring current openings on platforms like Indeed's tech internship listings for Lehi can be your first step into this dynamic ecosystem.

Remote-Friendly Support & Junior Engineering Roles

Your first tech job in Orem doesn't require a daily commute to a Lehi office park. This virtual trailhead offers geographic flexibility but demands supreme self-discipline, as the competitive landscape for remote entry-level positions is particularly steep. Roles range from customer support for software products to highly coveted junior engineering positions at tech-forward companies.

Compensation varies widely by role and responsibility. Remote support positions often start around $17 to $22 per hour, providing an accessible starting point. Remarkably, some fully remote "New Grad" software engineering roles can offer total compensation exceeding $140,000, though these are exceptionally competitive and require a standout portfolio.

"I feel discouraged with the Tech job in Utah... I have applied to more than 1,000 positions and only get around 5% response." - User in r/Utah on Reddit, discussing the 2026 job market.

This path requires a strategic, targeted approach. For support roles, stellar written communication and patience are paramount. For engineering, a demonstrable portfolio from bootcamps, personal projects, or open-source contributions is the critical key. As noted in the Silicon Slopes 2026 Recruiting Guide, the market has shifted toward "focused scaling," meaning employers are highly selective. Success requires leveraging niche job sites, networking proactively, and tailoring each application beyond the generic spray-and-pray method.

Packing Your Bag: How to Choose Your 2026 Path

The trail you choose must match your starting point and resources. For those who need income while training and value structured outcomes, apprenticeships like Apprenti Utah or the UVU Applied AI program are ideal. University students should prioritize the competitive cycles for Qualtrics and Vivint internships, marking their calendars to apply in Fall 2025. Career-changers and bootcamp graduates often find the most immediate traction with IT Support and Data Analyst roles, using certifications and project portfolios as their primary gear.

If your current gear needs upgrading before hitting these trailheads, an affordable, structured bootcamp can be the perfect training hike. Programs like the Back End, SQL and DevOps with Python bootcamp (16 weeks, $2,124) build the foundational skills for data and AI careers, while local community support in the Provo-Orem area provides crucial networking. These focused programs, with graduation rates around 75%, can efficiently prepare you for the technical demands of the paths outlined.

Remember, in Orem's Silicon Slopes, your preparation determines the hike. With its unique blend of tech giants, a growing AI startup ecosystem, and a cost-of-living that lets you enjoy the view, a rewarding career is waiting. Assess your starting point, pack the right gear of skills and persistence, and take that first, confident step onto the path that fits you best.

Frequently Asked Questions