2nd Line Engineer Contract Job Trends
Second Line Engineer
UK
The median Second Line Engineer daily rate in the UK is £240, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 28 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 28 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 609 | 482 | 453 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -127 | -29 | -60 |
| Contract 2nd Line Engineer jobs | 96 | 100 | 112 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.18% | 0.29% | 0.31% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.19% | 0.32% | 0.33% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 63 | 80 | 83 |
| 10th Percentile | £185 | £160 | £147 |
| 25th Percentile | £210 | £187 | £180 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £240 | £206 | £225 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +16.36% | -8.33% | +12.50% |
| 75th Percentile | £288 | £288 | £267 |
| 90th Percentile | £338 | £301 | £338 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £240 | £213 | £219 |
| % change year-on-year | +12.94% | -2.97% | +9.50% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 10th Percentile | - | £18.87 | £19.32 |
| 25th Percentile | £12.71 | £20.06 | £21.05 |
| Median hourly rate | £15.24 | £21.25 | £24.18 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -28.28% | -12.12% | +15.14% |
| 75th Percentile | £23.75 | £26.00 | - |
| 90th Percentile | £55.00 | £96.80 | £29.34 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £15.24 | £21.25 | £24.18 |
| % change year-on-year | -28.28% | -12.12% | +17.95% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 28 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 50,268 | 30,832 | 34,004 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.70% | 90.90% | 92.92% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,614 | 19,499 | 20,503 |
| 10th Percentile | £325 | £280 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £402 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £620 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.06% | -2.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,176 | 1,712 | 1,309 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.22 | £13.84 | £15.06 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.75 | £17.30 | £20.30 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.00 | £25.15 | £39.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.02% | -36.33% | -12.22% |
| 75th Percentile | £68.00 | £50.00 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £81.25 | £69.43 | £73.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.00 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +60.00% | -37.50% | -10.11% |
2nd Line Engineer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract 2nd Line Engineer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
2nd Line Engineer Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for 2nd Line Engineer job vacancies in the UK.
2nd Line Engineer Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for 2nd Line Engineer jobs over the 6 months to 28 October 2026.
2nd Line Engineer Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for 2nd Line Engineer job vacancies in the UK.
2nd Line Engineer Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution for 2nd Line Engineer jobs over the 6 months to 28 October 2026.
2nd Line Engineer Top 17 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in 2nd Line Engineer jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 28 October 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -144 | 90 | £240 | +15.66% | 41 |
| UK excluding London | -92 | 70 | £240 | +12.94% | 37 |
| North of England | -56 | 32 | £240 | +17.07% | 7 |
| London | -88 | 26 | £240 | +20.00% | 5 |
| North West | -36 | 13 | £294 | +46.88% | 6 |
| East of England | -10 | 10 | £240 | +20.00% | 12 |
| Yorkshire | -33 | 10 | £190 | -7.32% | |
| North East | -31 | 9 | £250 | +28.21% | 1 |
| Midlands | -52 | 9 | £210 | -23.64% | 5 |
| South West | -38 | 7 | £270 | +47.54% | 6 |
| West Midlands | -47 | 7 | £210 | -23.64% | 4 |
| Work from Home | -69 | 6 | £240 | -4.00% | 11 |
| South East | -70 | 6 | £255 | +18.60% | 7 |
| East Midlands | -17 | 2 | £238 | +18.75% | 1 |
| Scotland | -23 | 2 | £150 | -33.33% | 1 |
| Wales | - | 2 | - | - | |
| Northern Ireland | - | 2 | - | - |
2nd Line Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 28 October 2026, 2nd 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 2nd Line Engineer job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Windows | 83.3% | 80 |
| 2 | Microsoft 365 | 70.8% | 68 |
| 3 | Active Directory | 62.5% | 60 |
| 4 | Microsoft | 47.9% | 46 |
| 5 | Windows 10 | 34.4% | 33 |
| 6 | User Experience | 19.8% | 19 |
| 7 | DNS | 18.8% | 18 |
| 7 | Entra ID | 18.8% | 18 |
| 9 | Customer Service | 17.7% | 17 |
| 9 | Problem-Solving | 17.7% | 17 |
| 11 | Microsoft Exchange | 15.6% | 15 |
| 11 | Microsoft Intune | 15.6% | 15 |
| 13 | DHCP | 13.5% | 13 |
| 13 | ITIL | 13.5% | 13 |
| 13 | ITSM | 13.5% | 13 |
| 16 | SCCM | 12.5% | 12 |
| 16 | Service Management | 12.5% | 12 |
| 16 | SharePoint | 12.5% | 12 |
| 16 | TCP/IP | 12.5% | 12 |
| 20 | Continuous Improvement | 11.5% | 11 |
| 20 | macOS | 11.5% | 11 |
| 20 | VPN | 11.5% | 11 |
| 23 | Azure | 9.4% | 9 |
| 23 | Degree | 9.4% | 9 |
| 23 | Microsoft Office | 9.4% | 9 |
| 23 | Security Cleared | 9.4% | 9 |
| 23 | ServiceNow | 9.4% | 9 |
| 28 | Apple iOS | 8.3% | 8 |
| 28 | Migration | 8.3% | 8 |
| 28 | Windows Server | 8.3% | 8 |
2nd Line Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 | 2nd Line Support Engineer | 85.4% | 82 |
| 2 | Desktop Engineer | 34.4% | 33 |
| 3 | IT Support Engineer | 33.3% | 32 |
| 4 | 1st/2nd Line Support Engineer | 31.3% | 30 |
| 5 | Desktop Support | 24.0% | 23 |
| 6 | 2nd Line Desktop Support Engineer | 22.9% | 22 |
| 7 | Windows Engineer | 17.7% | 17 |
| 8 | Hardware Engineer | 10.4% | 10 |
| 9 | Windows Support Engineer | 8.3% | 8 |
| 10 | Mobile Engineer | 5.2% | 5 |
| 11 | Linux Support Engineer | 4.2% | 4 |
| 11 | Microsoft 365 Engineer | 4.2% | 4 |
| 13 | 1st Line Support Engineer | 3.1% | 3 |
| 13 | 1st/2nd Line Desktop Support | 3.1% | 3 |
| 13 | Mac Engineer | 3.1% | 3 |
| 13 | SC Cleared Desktop Support | 3.1% | 3 |
| 17 | Microsoft Engineer | 2.1% | 2 |
| 17 | Remote Support Engineer | 2.1% | 2 |
| 19 | 2nd/3rd Line Support Engineer | 1.0% | 1 |
| 19 | Applications Support Engineer | 1.0% | 1 |