Hardware Engineer Contract Job Trends in the Thames Valley

Hardware Engineer
South East > Thames Valley

The median Hardware Engineer daily rate in the Thames Valley is £210, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 15 January 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 120 109 109
Rank change year-on-year -11 0 -
Contract jobs requiring a Hardware Engineer 7 11 31
As % of all contract jobs in the Thames Valley 0.33% 0.62% 1.30%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.37% 0.67% 1.37%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 9 31
10th Percentile - £303 -
25th Percentile - £331 £205
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £210 £353 £210
Median % change year-on-year -40.43% +67.86% -
75th Percentile - £388 £215
90th Percentile - £398 £300
South East median daily rate £210 £353 £210
% change year-on-year -40.43% +67.86% -58.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1 0 0
Median hourly rate £18.87 - -
South East median hourly rate £20.00 - £48.00
% change year-on-year - - +13.88%

All Contract IT Job Roles
Thames Valley

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the Thames Valley. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the Thames Valley with a recognized job title 1,903 1,630 2,263
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.49% 91.52% 94.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,288 964 1,462
10th Percentile £269 £250 £210
25th Percentile £400 £400 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £512 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.31% +2.37% -
75th Percentile £588 £630 £600
90th Percentile £650 £663 £687
South East median daily rate £500 £500 £500
Number of hourly rates quoted 105 46 112
10th Percentile £15.51 £18.60 £17.42
25th Percentile £18.87 £33.50 £24.32
Median hourly rate £25.15 £56.75 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -55.68% +13.49% +100.00%
75th Percentile £80.00 £64.29 £63.29
90th Percentile £95.00 £71.18 £72.30
South East median hourly rate £25.15 £42.50 £54.39
% change year-on-year -40.82% -21.85% +25.02%

Hardware Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the Thames Valley

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Hardware Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley.

Hardware Engineer job vacancy trend in the Thames Valley

Hardware Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Hardware Engineer job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Hardware Engineer job vacancies in the Thames Valley

Hardware Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Hardware Engineer job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Hardware Engineer job vacancies in the Thames Valley

Hardware Engineer
Contract Job Locations in the Thames Valley

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Hardware Engineer within the Thames Valley region over the 6 months to 15 January 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
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Oxfordshire - 6 £210 -
Berkshire -7 1 - - 3
Hardware Engineer
South East

Hardware Engineer Skill Set
Top 9 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley

For the 6 months to 15 January 2026, Hardware Engineer contract job roles required 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 job ads across the Thames Valley region featuring Hardware Engineer in the job title.

1 4 (57.14%) Break/Fix
2 3 (42.86%) Customer Service
2 3 (42.86%) HP
2 3 (42.86%) Time Management
3 2 (28.57%) Service Management
4 1 (14.29%) Asset Management
4 1 (14.29%) SC Cleared
4 1 (14.29%) Security Cleared
4 1 (14.29%) Ticket Management

Hardware Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

General
1 3 (42.86%) Organisational Skills
2 1 (14.29%) Public Sector
Processes & Methodologies
1 4 (57.14%) Break/Fix
2 3 (42.86%) Customer Service
2 3 (42.86%) Time Management
3 2 (28.57%) Service Management
4 1 (14.29%) Asset Management
4 1 (14.29%) Ticket Management
Qualifications
1 1 (14.29%) SC Cleared
1 1 (14.29%) Security Cleared
Vendors
1 3 (42.86%) HP