MCTS Contract Job Trends

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for MCTS qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 14 September 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank - 550 549
Rank change year-on-year - -1 +106
Contract jobs citing MCTS 0 3 14
As % of all contract jobs in the UK - 0.009% 0.036%
As % of the Qualifications category - 0.029% 0.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 0 2 12
10th Percentile - £229 £303
25th Percentile - £253 £364
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) - £313 £400
Median % change year-on-year - -21.88% -42.86%
75th Percentile - £378 -
90th Percentile - £406 £410
UK excluding London median daily rate - £225 £400
% change year-on-year - -43.75% -42.86%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK

MCTS falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 17,050 10,245 11,275
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 31.50% 31.34% 29.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,384 6,379 6,977
10th Percentile £350 £300 £313
25th Percentile £440 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year - - -4.55%
75th Percentile £630 £623 £638
90th Percentile £713 £700 £732
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,315 820 666
10th Percentile £17.17 £17.98 £17.00
25th Percentile £25.75 £18.87 £24.18
Median hourly rate £47.50 £25.15 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year +88.87% -49.70% -9.09%
75th Percentile £71.47 £45.00 £68.00
90th Percentile £86.70 £71.00 £75.83
UK excluding London median hourly rate £47.50 £25.15 £53.00
% change year-on-year +88.87% -52.55% +0.95%

MCTS
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing MCTS relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

MCTS job vacancy trend in the UK

MCTS
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing MCTS.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing MCTS

MCTS
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing MCTS.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing MCTS