3rd Line Engineer Contract Job Trends in the South East
Third Line Engineer
England > South East
The median Third Line Engineer daily rate in the South East is £475, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 8 November 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 8 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 201 | 149 | 169 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -52 | +20 | +12 |
| Contract 3rd Line Engineer jobs | 40 | 28 | 10 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the South East | 0.58% | 0.72% | 0.24% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.63% | 0.81% | 0.26% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 34 | 25 | 5 |
| 10th Percentile | £225 | - | £333 |
| 25th Percentile | £355 | - | £363 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £475 | £500 | £425 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -5.00% | +17.65% | +2.41% |
| 75th Percentile | £509 | £600 | £475 |
| 90th Percentile | £556 | - | £513 |
| England median daily rate | £473 | £450 | £405 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.00% | +11.11% | +15.71% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Median hourly rate | £40.00 | £89.63 | - |
| Median % change year-on-year | -55.37% | - | - |
| England median hourly rate | £40.00 | £30.00 | £42.09 |
| % change year-on-year | +33.33% | -28.72% | - |
All Contract IT Job Roles
South East
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 8 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title | 6,317 | 3,477 | 3,831 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.13% | 89.54% | 92.51% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 3,431 | 2,243 | 2,304 |
| 10th Percentile | £281 | £205 | £245 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £378 | £400 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £508 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -1.48% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £626 | £600 | £625 |
| 90th Percentile | £725 | £663 | £684 |
| England median daily rate | £525 | £510 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | +2.94% | -2.86% | -2.33% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 968 | 348 | 217 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.00 | £13.43 | £16.19 |
| 25th Percentile | £20.50 | £15.91 | £26.25 |
| Median hourly rate | £47.50 | £20.79 | £57.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +128.48% | -63.84% | +12.22% |
| 75th Percentile | £73.25 | £50.00 | £71.25 |
| 90th Percentile | £88.00 | £72.30 | £75.16 |
| England median hourly rate | £41.06 | £25.15 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +63.26% | -37.13% | -11.52% |
3rd Line Engineer Job Vacancy Trend in the South East
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract 3rd Line Engineer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.
3rd Line Engineer Daily Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for 3rd Line Engineer job vacancies in the South East.
3rd Line Engineer Daily Rate Histogram in the South East
Daily rate distribution for 3rd Line Engineer jobs in the South East over the 6 months to 8 November 2026.
3rd Line Engineer Hourly Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for 3rd Line Engineer job vacancies in the South East.
3rd Line Engineer Contract Job Locations in the South East
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in 3rd Line Engineer jobs within the South East region over the 6 months to 8 November 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire | -26 | 27 | £475 | -5.00% | 4 |
| Thames Valley | -33 | 7 | £250 | -44.44% | 3 |
| Oxfordshire | -15 | 5 | £250 | - | 3 |
| Surrey | - | 5 | £500 | - | 2 |
| Buckinghamshire | -30 | 2 | - | - | |
| Kent | -10 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| 3rd Line Engineer England |
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3rd Line Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East
For the 6 months to 8 November 2026, 3rd Line Engineer contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract 3rd Line Engineer job ads across the South East region.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Windows | 87.5% | 35 |
| 2 | Windows Server | 80.0% | 32 |
| 3 | VMware | 72.5% | 29 |
| 4 | VMware Infrastructure | 70.0% | 28 |
| 5 | Security Cleared | 67.5% | 27 |
| 6 | Active Directory | 60.0% | 24 |
| 7 | DV Cleared | 52.5% | 21 |
| 8 | Microsoft | 50.0% | 20 |
| 9 | Problem-Solving | 35.0% | 14 |
| 10 | DNS | 32.5% | 13 |
| 10 | ITSM | 32.5% | 13 |
| 10 | vCenter Server | 32.5% | 13 |
| 13 | Change Management | 30.0% | 12 |
| 13 | Dell | 30.0% | 12 |
| 13 | SCOM | 30.0% | 12 |
| 16 | Avamar | 27.5% | 11 |
| 16 | Thales | 27.5% | 11 |
| 18 | Azure | 22.5% | 9 |
| 18 | Hyper-V | 22.5% | 9 |
| 18 | Infrastructure Engineering | 22.5% | 9 |
| 21 | Juniper | 20.0% | 8 |
| 21 | PowerShell | 20.0% | 8 |
| 21 | Windows Server 2019 | 20.0% | 8 |
| 24 | Coaching | 17.5% | 7 |
| 24 | Continuous Improvement | 17.5% | 7 |
| 26 | SC Cleared | 15.0% | 6 |
| 26 | vSphere | 15.0% | 6 |
| 28 | DHCP | 12.5% | 5 |
| 28 | Entra ID | 12.5% | 5 |
| 28 | Microsoft Exchange | 12.5% | 5 |
3rd Line Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3rd Line Support Engineer | 37.5% | 15 |
| 2 | Storage Engineer | 27.5% | 11 |
| 3 | 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer | 22.5% | 9 |
| 4 | Team Leader | 20.0% | 8 |
| 5 | 3rd Line Infrastructure Support | 17.5% | 7 |
| 5 | Infrastructure Support Engineer | 17.5% | 7 |
| 7 | 2nd/3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 7 | 2nd/3rd Line Support Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 7 | Infrastructure Security Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 7 | IT Infrastructure Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 7 | IT Security Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 7 | IT Support Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 7 | Security Support Engineer | 12.5% | 5 |
| 14 | Citrix Engineer | 10.0% | 4 |
| 15 | 3rd Line Server Engineer | 5.0% | 2 |
| 15 | 3rd Line Server Support | 5.0% | 2 |
| 15 | Active Directory Support Engineer | 5.0% | 2 |
| 15 | Applications Support Engineer | 5.0% | 2 |
| 15 | Integration Engineer | 5.0% | 2 |
| 15 | Server Support Engineer | 5.0% | 2 |