Provo's location in the heart of Silicon Slopes — Utah's tech corridor stretching from Provo through Lehi to Salt Lake City — gives students access to a career ecosystem that most college towns can't match. Companies like Qualtrics, Vivint, Podium, Lucid, and dozens of startups are headquartered within 30 minutes, and they recruit heavily from BYU and UVU. Add Fortune 500 companies with Utah offices, a growing finance sector, and the entrepreneurial energy of a city that produces more startups per capita than almost anywhere in the country, and the career landscape is genuinely strong.
Here's how to take advantage of it.
Campus Career Centers
BYU Career Services
2440 WSC, BYU Campus
BYU's career services are among the best at any university. The office provides resume reviews, mock interviews, career counseling, networking events, and — most importantly — direct connections to employers who specifically recruit from BYU. The Handshake platform lists thousands of internships and job postings from companies actively seeking BYU students.
Key resources:
- On-campus recruiting — Major companies (McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, Deloitte, and many Utah companies) recruit on campus each semester
- Career fairs — Multiple fairs per year organized by industry (tech, business, engineering, humanities)
- Alumni network — BYU's alumni are famously helpful. The network is strong in business, law, tech, and government, and alumni are generally willing to take calls and make introductions
UVU Career Development Center
UVU Campus
UVU's career services offer resume help, interview coaching, job listings, and career fairs. The center has strengthened its employer relationships, particularly with Utah Valley companies that value UVU's practical, workforce-oriented education model. UVU's open-enrollment student body tends to have more work experience, which can be an advantage in internship applications.
Where to Find Internships
Silicon Slopes Companies
The tech corridor between Provo and Salt Lake City is the richest internship ground in the area. Target companies include:
Enterprise tech: Qualtrics, Domo, Pluralsight, Lucid Software, Podium Consumer tech: Vivint, Ancestry, Pattern Finance & payments: MX, Galileo, Weave Startups: Dozens of early-stage companies hire interns for everything from engineering to marketing. The Silicon Slopes community events and job boards are the best way to discover them.
How to get in: Apply through Handshake, LinkedIn, and company career pages. Attend Silicon Slopes events, meetups, and conferences (many offer student pricing). The companies that hire from BYU and UVU most aggressively are the ones where current employees include BYU/UVU alumni — leverage those connections.
Salt Lake City
The FrontRunner commuter rail makes Salt Lake City internships feasible from Provo. Financial services (Goldman Sachs' SLC office), healthcare (Intermountain Health), government (state agencies), and media companies are all accessible. The 65-minute train ride is productive time for reading or studying.
Remote Internships
The post-2020 shift to remote work has expanded internship options dramatically. Students in Provo can intern for companies in San Francisco, New York, or anywhere — while keeping Provo's cost of living. Look for remote internships on LinkedIn, Handshake, and industry-specific job boards.
Building Career Skills
Beyond the Resume
The students who land the best internships and jobs typically do more than apply online:
Build projects. For tech students, a GitHub portfolio matters more than GPA at many companies. For business students, case competition results and leadership roles signal capability. For creative fields, a portfolio of real work trumps a list of classes.
Network intentionally. Attend Silicon Slopes meetups, industry conferences, and campus networking events. Reach out to alumni on LinkedIn with specific, thoughtful questions. Provo's tech community is small enough that showing up consistently gets you noticed.
Start early. The best internships fill 4–6 months before the start date. If you want a summer internship, start applying in September–November.
Entrepreneurship Resources
If you're building something rather than joining something:
BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship — Mentorship, funding, workspace, and the Miller Business Plan Competition (with real prize money) UVU Entrepreneurship programs — Growing resources for student founders Silicon Slopes community — Meetups, mentorship programs, and an ecosystem that celebrates (and funds) student startups
Compensation Expectations
Utah internship compensation varies by industry:
| Industry | Typical Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| Tech (software engineering) | $25–$45/hr |
| Tech (marketing, sales, PM) | $18–$30/hr |
| Finance | $20–$35/hr |
| Accounting (Big 4) | $25–$35/hr |
| Nonprofit / Government | $12–$18/hr |
| Startup (early stage) | $15–$25/hr (sometimes equity) |
Paid internships are the norm in tech and business. Unpaid internships still exist in some fields but are increasingly rare — don't accept unpaid work if paid alternatives exist.
Related Guides
- Best Part-Time Jobs for Students
- The Complete BYU Student Guide
- UVU Student Guide
- Coworking Spaces in Provo
- FrontRunner & Commuting Guide
- Cost of Living in Provo
- Provo for Grad Students
Last updated: April 2026.