Job Vacancy Trend Daily Rate Trend Daily Rate Histogram Hourly Rate Trend Hourly Rate Histogram Job Locations Skill Sets
Period
to 24 May 2018

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for MCSA qualifications. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months to 24 May 2018 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

Note that daily and hourly rates are treated separately in these statistics. When calculating contractor rate percentiles, daily rates are never derived from quoted hourly rates or vice versa.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) formerly Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
UK
6 months to
24 May 2018		 Same period 2017 Same period 2016
Rank 623 667 545
Rank change year-on-year +44 -122 +28
Contract jobs citing MCSA 266 179 359
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 0.26% 0.20% 0.34%
As % of the Qualifications category 1.39% 0.98% 1.58%
Number of daily rates quoted 157 112 203
UK median daily rate £322 £330 £335
Median daily rate % change year-on-year -2.58% -1.49% +8.94%
10th Percentile £166 £163 £180
90th Percentile £513 £500 £450
UK excluding London median daily rate £346 £325 £350
% change year-on-year +6.46% -7.14% +13.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 15 20 38
UK median hourly rate £19.00 £17.25 £36.75
Median hourly rate % change year-on-year +10.14% -53.06% +104.17%
10th Percentile £14.35 £13.13 £12.75
90th Percentile £39.86 £29.92 £60.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.66 £20.26 £38.75
% change year-on-year +1.95% -47.72% +115.28%

MCSA is in the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies with a requirement for academic qualifications or professional certifications.

All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK
Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 19,205 18,312 22,734
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 19.06% 20.27% 21.53%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,521 11,459 14,134
UK median daily rate £450 £425 £405
Median daily rate % change year-on-year +5.88% +4.94% +1.25%
10th Percentile £238 £250 £249
90th Percentile £625 £600 £595
UK excluding London median daily rate £413 £400 £380
% change year-on-year +3.13% +5.19% +1.40%
Number of hourly rates quoted 856 921 854
UK median hourly rate £24.91 £30.00 £32.50
Median hourly rate % change year-on-year -16.98% -7.69% +47.13%
10th Percentile £12.47 £12.00 £12.02
90th Percentile £50.00 £52.50 £53.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.00 £30.00 £35.00
% change year-on-year -16.67% -14.29% +55.56%

MCSA
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing MCSA as a percentage of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for MCSA in the UK

MCSA
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

This chart provides the 3-month moving average for daily rates quoted in contract jobs citing MCSA.

Contractor daily rate trend for MCSA in the UK

MCSA
Contractor Daily Rate Histogram

The daily rate distribution of IT jobs citing MCSA over the 6 months to 24 May 2018.

Contractor daily rate histogram for MCSA in the UK

MCSA
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

This chart provides the 3-month moving average for contractor hourly rates quoted in IT jobs citing MCSA.

Contractor hourly rate trend for MCSA in the UK

MCSA
Contractor Hourly Rate Histogram

The hourly rate distribution of IT jobs citing MCSA over the 6 months to 24 May 2018.

Contractor hourly rate histogram for MCSA in the UK

MCSA
Top 15 Contract Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing MCSA within the UK over the 6 months to 24 May 2018. 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
Job
Vacancies
England +25 241 £342 +3.56% 128
UK excluding London +54 191 £346 +6.46% 100
South East -2 85 £350 +6.87% 23
London -35 72 £275 -21.43% 37
South West +34 29 £338 +25.46% 9
East of England +14 27 £300 -25.00% 12
North of England -11 16 £428 +6.88% 33
Midlands -4 12 £290 +28.89% 14
Scotland -31 12 £265 -9.01% 4
North West -13 11 £440 +10.00% 16
Wales - 9 £350 - 4
East Midlands +6 8 £183 -18.89% 9
Yorkshire -8 5 £300 -25.00% 13
West Midlands -16 4 £290 +5.45% 5
Northern Ireland - 1 - -

For the 6 months to 24 May 2018, IT contractor jobs citing MCSA also mentioned the following skills in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads with a requirement for MCSA.

1 266 (100.00%) Microsoft Certification
2 204 (76.69%) Windows
3 183 (68.80%) Active Directory
4 177 (66.54%) Microsoft
5 174 (65.41%) MCSE
6 133 (50.00%) Windows Server
7 119 (44.74%) VMware
8 97 (36.47%) ITIL
9 92 (34.59%) Windows Server 2012
10 75 (28.20%) MCP
11 68 (25.56%) MCITP
12 65 (24.44%) SCCM
13 64 (24.06%) Office 365
14 58 (21.80%) Windows 7
15 56 (21.05%) VMware Infrastructure
16 54 (20.30%) Windows Server 2008
16 54 (20.30%) DNS
16 54 (20.30%) Windows Server 2003
17 52 (19.55%) Citrix
17 52 (19.55%) SQL
17 52 (19.55%) Microsoft Azure
18 51 (19.17%) PowerShell
19 48 (18.05%) Hyper-V
19 48 (18.05%) Microsoft Office
20 45 (16.92%) DHCP
21 44 (16.54%) MS Exchange
21 44 (16.54%) Firewall
22 42 (15.79%) SolarWinds
22 42 (15.79%) Problem-Solving
23 41 (15.41%) Cisco

MCSA
Co-occurring IT Skills by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same job type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 44 (16.54%) MS Exchange
2 26 (9.77%) SharePoint
3 24 (9.02%) Skype for Business
4 18 (6.77%) IIS
5 10 (3.76%) Exchange Server 2010
6 8 (3.01%) Exchange Server 2013
7 2 (0.75%) Exchange Server 2007
8 1 (0.38%) Apache
8 1 (0.38%) Exchange Server 2003
8 1 (0.38%) IBM Domino
8 1 (0.38%) JBoss
8 1 (0.38%) nginx
8 1 (0.38%) OpenStack
8 1 (0.38%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 48 (18.05%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (1.50%) MS Visio
3 2 (0.75%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.75%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.38%) InfoPath
Business Applications
1 3 (1.13%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.75%) Elite 3E
2 2 (0.75%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.75%) Workfront
3 1 (0.38%) Cognos Business Intelligence
3 1 (0.38%) Dynamics AX
3 1 (0.38%) Eikon
3 1 (0.38%) Oracle Financials
3 1 (0.38%) PeopleSoft HRMS
Cloud Services
1 64 (24.06%) Office 365
2 52 (19.55%) Microsoft Azure
3 11 (4.14%) Azure Active Directory
4 7 (2.63%) Amazon AWS
5 2 (0.75%) Dynamics 365
5 2 (0.75%) IaaS
5 2 (0.75%) OneDrive
5 2 (0.75%) Yammer
6 1 (0.38%) Datadog
6 1 (0.38%) G Suite
6 1 (0.38%) Google Cloud Platform
6 1 (0.38%) PaaS
6 1 (0.38%) SaaS
6 1 (0.38%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 54 (20.30%) DNS
2 45 (16.92%) DHCP
3 44 (16.54%) Firewall
4 40 (15.04%) TCP/IP
5 26 (9.77%) LAN
6 25 (9.40%) SAN
7 24 (9.02%) Internet
8 20 (7.52%) WAN
9 18 (6.77%) Skype
10 13 (4.89%) VPN
11 10 (3.76%) NAS
12 9 (3.38%) iSCSI
12 9 (3.38%) Remote Desktop
13 8 (3.01%) Cisco ASA
13 8 (3.01%) VoIP
14 7 (2.63%) Fibre Channel
15 6 (2.26%) DMZ
15 6 (2.26%) IP Telephony
15 6 (2.26%) Wireless
16 4 (1.50%) Intranet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (12.78%) SQL Server
2 11 (4.14%) Data Warehouse
3 9 (3.38%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 8 (3.01%) SQL Server 2016
5 5 (1.88%) SQL Server Analysis Services
6 4 (1.50%) MySQL
6 4 (1.50%) SQL Server 2008
6 4 (1.50%) SQL Server 2012
6 4 (1.50%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 3 (1.13%) Amazon RDS
7 3 (1.13%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (1.13%) Microsoft Analysis Services
7 3 (1.13%) OLAP
7 3 (1.13%) Power BI
7 3 (1.13%) Relational Database
8 2 (0.75%) SQL Server 2014
9 1 (0.38%) Cognos Framework Manager
9 1 (0.38%) Data Mart
9 1 (0.38%) Oracle Database
9 1 (0.38%) SQL Server 2005
Development Applications
1 7 (2.63%) HP UFT
1 7 (2.63%) TestDirector
1 7 (2.63%) WinRunner
2 4 (1.50%) GCC
3 2 (0.75%) Cucumber
3 2 (0.75%) JIRA
3 2 (0.75%) Team Foundation Server
3 2 (0.75%) TeamCity
4 1 (0.38%) CruiseControl
4 1 (0.38%) MSI
4 1 (0.38%) Visual Studio
4 1 (0.38%) Visual Studio Team System
General
1 24 (9.02%) Finance
2 14 (5.26%) Retail
3 11 (4.14%) Marketing
4 10 (3.76%) Telecoms
5 5 (1.88%) Advertising
5 5 (1.88%) Manufacturing
6 4 (1.50%) Banking
7 3 (1.13%) Automotive
8 2 (0.75%) Billing
8 2 (0.75%) Law
8 2 (0.75%) Legal
9 1 (0.38%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 48 (18.05%) Analyst
2 42 (15.79%) Windows Engineer
3 24 (9.02%) Support Engineer
4 23 (8.65%) Desktop Support
5 21 (7.89%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 16 (6.02%) Consultant
7 15 (5.64%) 3rd Line Support
8 13 (4.89%) Service Analyst
8 13 (4.89%) Service Desk Analyst
8 13 (4.89%) Support Analyst
9 12 (4.51%) 3rd Line Engineer
10 11 (4.14%) Architect
10 11 (4.14%) Systems Engineer
11 10 (3.76%) Developer
11 10 (3.76%) Server Engineer
12 9 (3.38%) 3rd Line Support Engineer
12 9 (3.38%) Windows Systems Engineer
13 8 (3.01%) Desktop Engineer
13 8 (3.01%) Desktop Support Analyst
13 8 (3.01%) Wintel Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (1.88%) Software Packaging
2 3 (1.13%) .NET
2 3 (1.13%) Apache Axis
2 3 (1.13%) ASP.NET
3 1 (0.38%) .NET Framework
3 1 (0.38%) ASP.NET Web Forms
3 1 (0.38%) WCF
3 1 (0.38%) WF
3 1 (0.38%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 36 (13.53%) Data Centre
2 31 (11.65%) Analytical Skills
3 16 (6.02%) Clustering
4 12 (4.51%) PKI
5 9 (3.38%) Client/Server
5 9 (3.38%) NHS
5 9 (3.38%) Self-Motivation
6 8 (3.01%) Management Information System
6 8 (3.01%) Replication
7 6 (2.26%) Video Conferencing
8 5 (1.88%) Computer Science
8 5 (1.88%) PDA
9 4 (1.50%) Mobile App
10 3 (1.13%) CESG
10 3 (1.13%) Greenfield Project
10 3 (1.13%) Wiki
11 2 (0.75%) Analytical Mindset
11 2 (0.75%) Blackberry
11 2 (0.75%) Cloud Native
11 2 (0.75%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 204 (76.69%) Windows
2 133 (50.00%) Windows Server
3 92 (34.59%) Windows Server 2012
4 58 (21.80%) Windows 7
5 54 (20.30%) Windows Server 2003
5 54 (20.30%) Windows Server 2008
6 38 (14.29%) Windows 10
7 16 (6.02%) Linux
8 15 (5.64%) Windows XP
9 10 (3.76%) AIX
10 8 (3.01%) Unix
11 5 (1.88%) Windows 8
12 4 (1.50%) Mac OS X
12 4 (1.50%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
13 3 (1.13%) CentOS
13 3 (1.13%) Solaris
14 2 (0.75%) Android
14 2 (0.75%) Apple iOS
14 2 (0.75%) Windows 2000
14 2 (0.75%) Windows Vista
Processes & Methodologies
1 97 (36.47%) ITIL
2 42 (15.79%) Problem-Solving
3 36 (13.53%) Migration
4 25 (9.40%) Change Management
5 23 (8.65%) ITIL V3
6 17 (6.39%) Validation
7 12 (4.51%) Business Intelligence
7 12 (4.51%) Incident Management
7 12 (4.51%) Software Deployment
8 11 (4.14%) Problem Management
8 11 (4.14%) Service Management
9 9 (3.38%) Disaster Recovery
9 9 (3.38%) High Availability
9 9 (3.38%) Performance Management
9 9 (3.38%) Server Patching
10 8 (3.01%) Load Balancing
11 7 (2.63%) Configuration Management
11 7 (2.63%) Software Testing
11 7 (2.63%) Test Automation
11 7 (2.63%) Time Management
Programming Languages
1 52 (19.55%) SQL
2 51 (19.17%) PowerShell
3 18 (6.77%) Shell Script
4 11 (4.14%) T-SQL
5 7 (2.63%) VBScript
6 3 (1.13%) C#
6 3 (1.13%) Python
7 1 (0.38%) C
7 1 (0.38%) Data Analysis Expressions (DAX)
7 1 (0.38%) Java
7 1 (0.38%) JavaScript
7 1 (0.38%) Ruby
7 1 (0.38%) VB
7 1 (0.38%) VB.NET
7 1 (0.38%) VBA
Qualifications
1 266 (100.00%) Microsoft Certification
2 174 (65.41%) MCSE
3 75 (28.20%) MCP
4 68 (25.56%) MCITP
5 35 (13.16%) Cisco Certification
6 33 (12.41%) CCNA
6 33 (12.41%) Security Cleared
7 28 (10.53%) SC Cleared
8 24 (9.02%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
9 16 (6.02%) MCTS
10 15 (5.64%) Degree
11 12 (4.51%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 11 (4.14%) A+ Certification
12 11 (4.14%) CCNP
13 9 (3.38%) DV Cleared
14 7 (2.63%) MOS
15 6 (2.26%) MCDST
15 6 (2.26%) MCSD
15 6 (2.26%) VERITAS Certified Professional (VCP)
16 5 (1.88%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (9.40%) SLA
2 5 (1.88%) QA
3 3 (1.13%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 3 (1.13%) PCI DSS
3 3 (1.13%) PMO
4 1 (0.38%) Data Quality
4 1 (0.38%) Disclosure Scotland
4 1 (0.38%) GDPR
System Software
1 183 (68.80%) Active Directory
2 56 (21.05%) VMware Infrastructure
3 48 (18.05%) Hyper-V
4 21 (7.89%) VMware ESXi
4 21 (7.89%) vSphere
5 9 (3.38%) XenApp
6 6 (2.26%) Terminal Services
6 6 (2.26%) Virtual Machines
7 5 (1.88%) XenDesktop
8 4 (1.50%) BitLocker
8 4 (1.50%) Virtual Desktop
8 4 (1.50%) VMware Workstation
9 3 (1.13%) Forefront TMG
9 3 (1.13%) ISA Server
9 3 (1.13%) Microsoft App-V
9 3 (1.13%) UAG
10 2 (0.75%) DFS Replication
11 1 (0.38%) Docker
11 1 (0.38%) KVM
11 1 (0.38%) XenServer
Systems Management
1 65 (24.44%) SCCM
2 28 (10.53%) Nessus
3 15 (5.64%) Backup Exec
3 15 (5.64%) Microsoft Clustering
3 15 (5.64%) SCOM
4 13 (4.89%) WSUS
5 11 (4.14%) McAfee ePO
6 9 (3.38%) HP Data Protector
6 9 (3.38%) NetBackup
6 9 (3.38%) Norton AntiVirus
7 8 (3.01%) Microsoft Intune
8 7 (2.63%) HP Quality Center
8 7 (2.63%) Netcool
9 6 (2.26%) EMC NetWorker
9 6 (2.26%) FortiGate
10 3 (1.13%) SCSM
10 3 (1.13%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
11 2 (0.75%) Cisco Prime
11 2 (0.75%) DameWare
11 2 (0.75%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 177 (66.54%) Microsoft
2 119 (44.74%) VMware
3 52 (19.55%) Citrix
4 42 (15.79%) SolarWinds
5 41 (15.41%) Cisco
6 37 (13.91%) Ivanti
6 37 (13.91%) Shavlik
7 29 (10.90%) HP
8 20 (7.52%) McAfee
9 17 (6.39%) Dell
10 16 (6.02%) Veritas
11 13 (4.89%) NetApp
12 12 (4.51%) IBM
12 12 (4.51%) Symantec
13 11 (4.14%) Remedy
14 10 (3.76%) Avaya
14 10 (3.76%) Veeam
15 9 (3.38%) Apple
16 8 (3.01%) EMC
17 7 (2.63%) CommVault