Support Engineer Contract Job Trends

Support Engineer
UK

The median Support Engineer daily rate in the UK is £213, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 1 March 2026.

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

6 months to
1 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 145 129 97
Rank change year-on-year -16 -32 +38
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 808 613 984
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.95% 2.01% 2.20%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.12% 2.17% 2.37%
Number of daily rates quoted 539 411 699
10th Percentile £152 £153 £139
25th Percentile £185 £182 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £213 £226 £215
Median % change year-on-year -5.97% +5.12% -10.45%
75th Percentile £338 £375 £307
90th Percentile £500 £500 £450
UK excluding London median daily rate £205 £220 £200
% change year-on-year -6.82% +10.00% -2.52%
Number of hourly rates quoted 118 44 61
10th Percentile £18.07 £17.11 £16.25
25th Percentile £21.25 £20.43 £17.72
Median hourly rate £24.00 £23.00 £20.00
Median % change year-on-year +4.35% +15.00% +3.63%
75th Percentile £29.72 £25.50 £30.00
90th Percentile £42.13 £41.50 £46.39
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.58 £23.00 £20.00
% change year-on-year +2.50% +15.00% +14.38%

All Contract IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. 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 UK with a recognized job title 38,119 28,262 41,512
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.82% 92.85% 92.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,936 17,829 27,270
10th Percentile £310 £290 £275
25th Percentile £409 £406 £408
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £721 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +1.32% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,335 854 2,415
10th Percentile £14.71 £16.25 £13.05
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.46 £16.30
Median hourly rate £33.50 £34.06 £34.53
Median % change year-on-year -1.63% -1.38% -13.68%
75th Percentile £63.88 £64.73 £60.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.18 £72.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.50 £32.50 £35.00
% change year-on-year - -7.14% -6.67%

Support Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Support Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Support Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Support Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Support Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Support Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Support Engineer over the 6 months to 1 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Support Engineer in the UK

Support Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Support Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Support Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Support Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Support Engineer over the 6 months to 1 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Support Engineer in the UK

Support Engineer
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Support Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 1 March 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
England -3 732 £213 -7.61% 360
UK excluding London -2 563 £205 -6.82% 354
London -29 210 £263 -12.50% 71
South East -1 154 £213 +1.80% 128
North of England -32 109 £190 -13.64% 86
South West +3 106 £250 +11.11% 36
Midlands -4 98 £200 -18.37% 38
Work from Home -42 90 £275 -15.38% 75
West Midlands -25 61 £220 -15.38% 21
East of England -5 57 £200 -6.98% 33
North West -29 57 £152 -29.53% 48
Yorkshire -42 43 £205 -11.83% 31
East Midlands +5 39 £200 +5.26% 17
Scotland +11 37 £200 +19.76% 30
North East -11 9 £106 -48.29% 11
Wales -15 8 £185 -7.50% 5
Northern Ireland -9 2 £175 +18.24% 6

Support Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 1 March 2026, Support 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 featuring Support Engineer in the job title.

1 397 (49.13%) Windows
2 289 (35.77%) Microsoft
3 255 (31.56%) Microsoft 365
4 234 (28.96%) Security Cleared
5 229 (28.34%) Active Directory
6 186 (23.02%) SC Cleared
7 177 (21.91%) Windows 10
8 163 (20.17%) Customer Service
9 147 (18.19%) Problem-Solving
10 106 (13.12%) Azure
11 101 (12.50%) ServiceNow
12 91 (11.26%) Microsoft Intune
13 90 (11.14%) ITIL
14 79 (9.78%) Migration
15 77 (9.53%) Linux
16 73 (9.03%) PowerShell
17 67 (8.29%) ITSM
18 66 (8.17%) SCCM
19 60 (7.43%) DNS
20 57 (7.05%) Microsoft Office
20 57 (7.05%) SharePoint
21 56 (6.93%) DHCP
21 56 (6.93%) Wi-Fi
22 53 (6.56%) Asset Management
22 53 (6.56%) Entra ID
23 52 (6.44%) TCP/IP
24 49 (6.06%) Android
24 49 (6.06%) DV Cleared
24 49 (6.06%) Mac OS
25 48 (5.94%) Service Management

Support Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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:

Application Platforms
1 57 (7.05%) SharePoint
2 45 (5.57%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (1.73%) Skype for Business
4 4 (0.50%) Apache
4 4 (0.50%) Confluence
5 3 (0.37%) NetWeaver
6 2 (0.25%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.25%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.25%) IIS
6 2 (0.25%) Jupyter
6 2 (0.25%) Palantir Foundry
6 2 (0.25%) Smallworld
6 2 (0.25%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.12%) SharePoint Server
7 1 (0.12%) Tuxedo
7 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 57 (7.05%) Microsoft Office
2 21 (2.60%) Microsoft Excel
3 1 (0.12%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 9 (1.11%) SAP EHS
2 7 (0.87%) Shopify
3 6 (0.74%) Remedy ITSM
3 6 (0.74%) Teamcenter
4 5 (0.62%) Primavera
5 3 (0.37%) SAP S/4HANA
6 1 (0.12%) Aladdin
6 1 (0.12%) assyst
6 1 (0.12%) Bloomberg TOMS
6 1 (0.12%) Eikon
6 1 (0.12%) Fidessa
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle Receivables
6 1 (0.12%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 255 (31.56%) Microsoft 365
2 106 (13.12%) Azure
3 53 (6.56%) Entra ID
4 35 (4.33%) OneDrive
5 25 (3.09%) AWS
6 23 (2.85%) SaaS
7 19 (2.35%) Google Workspace
8 14 (1.73%) Azure DevOps
9 13 (1.61%) Sauce Labs
10 10 (1.24%) Dynamics 365
10 10 (1.24%) Power Platform
11 7 (0.87%) npm
12 5 (0.62%) Amazon S3
12 5 (0.62%) Azure Data Factory
13 4 (0.50%) OpenShift
13 4 (0.50%) PaaS
14 3 (0.37%) GitHub
14 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Purview
14 3 (0.37%) PowerApps
14 3 (0.37%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 60 (7.43%) DNS
2 56 (6.93%) DHCP
2 56 (6.93%) Wi-Fi
3 52 (6.44%) TCP/IP
4 46 (5.69%) VPN
5 34 (4.21%) LAN
6 30 (3.71%) Firewall
7 28 (3.47%) Wireless
8 25 (3.09%) WAN
9 15 (1.86%) Skype
9 15 (1.86%) VLAN
10 13 (1.61%) Network Security
10 13 (1.61%) PABX
11 11 (1.36%) Junos
12 10 (1.24%) Cisco Firepower
12 10 (1.24%) Cisco IOS
12 10 (1.24%) Cisco ISE
12 10 (1.24%) VoIP
13 9 (1.11%) Internet
14 8 (0.99%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (2.35%) Relational Database
2 18 (2.23%) SQL Server
3 16 (1.98%) MySQL
4 7 (0.87%) Power BI
4 7 (0.87%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 6 (0.74%) Amazon Redshift
6 5 (0.62%) Oracle Database
7 4 (0.50%) Amazon Athena
7 4 (0.50%) RDBMS
8 3 (0.37%) InfluxDB
8 3 (0.37%) SAP HANA
8 3 (0.37%) Sybase ASE
9 2 (0.25%) GIS
9 2 (0.25%) MaxDB
9 2 (0.25%) Oracle Database 12c
9 2 (0.25%) Tableau
10 1 (0.12%) Apache Cassandra
10 1 (0.12%) Azure SQL Database
10 1 (0.12%) MongoDB
10 1 (0.12%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 37 (4.58%) JIRA
2 17 (2.10%) Browser DevTools
3 13 (1.61%) Android Studio
3 13 (1.61%) Eclipse
3 13 (1.61%) Xcode
4 9 (1.11%) Git
5 7 (0.87%) Maven
6 4 (0.50%) Firebug
7 3 (0.37%) MSI
8 2 (0.25%) Fiddler
8 2 (0.25%) Jenkins
9 1 (0.12%) Atlassian Bamboo
9 1 (0.12%) ClearCase
9 1 (0.12%) Hudson
9 1 (0.12%) RStudio
General
1 346 (42.82%) Social Skills
2 66 (8.17%) Finance
3 56 (6.93%) Analytical Skills
4 51 (6.31%) Manufacturing
5 44 (5.45%) Banking
5 44 (5.45%) Public Sector
6 29 (3.59%) Organisational Skills
7 26 (3.22%) Aerospace
7 26 (3.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 19 (2.35%) Telecoms
9 17 (2.10%) Investment Banking
10 15 (1.86%) Aviation
11 13 (1.61%) Electronics
11 13 (1.61%) Marketing
12 11 (1.36%) Law
13 9 (1.11%) Documentation Skills
13 9 (1.11%) Front Office
14 7 (0.87%) Legal
15 5 (0.62%) Automotive
16 4 (0.50%) French Language
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (2.85%) Middleware
2 17 (2.10%) CSS
3 13 (1.61%) Ajax
3 13 (1.61%) AngularJS
3 13 (1.61%) GraphQL
3 13 (1.61%) React
4 6 (0.74%) PySpark
4 6 (0.74%) REST
5 5 (0.62%) SOAP
5 5 (0.62%) YAML
6 4 (0.50%) HTML
6 4 (0.50%) JDO
6 4 (0.50%) Microsoft Graph
6 4 (0.50%) Oracle GoldenGate
6 4 (0.50%) XML
7 3 (0.37%) SAP Basis
8 2 (0.25%) OAuth
8 2 (0.25%) OpenTelemetry
8 2 (0.25%) Spring
8 2 (0.25%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 49 (6.06%) Onboarding
2 37 (4.58%) Self-Motivation
3 30 (3.71%) Driving Licence
4 27 (3.34%) Data Centre
5 23 (2.85%) Smartphone
6 18 (2.23%) PKI
7 16 (1.98%) Analytical Mindset
8 15 (1.86%) Data Protection Act
9 13 (1.61%) Mobile App
10 12 (1.49%) Virtual Team
11 11 (1.36%) Enterprise Software
12 9 (1.11%) Management Information System
12 9 (1.11%) Video Conferencing
13 8 (0.99%) Hybrid Cloud
13 8 (0.99%) iPhone
14 7 (0.87%) Legacy Systems
14 7 (0.87%) SCADA
15 4 (0.50%) Hedge funds
16 3 (0.37%) iPad
16 3 (0.37%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 397 (49.13%) Windows
2 177 (21.91%) Windows 10
3 77 (9.53%) Linux
4 49 (6.06%) Android
4 49 (6.06%) Mac OS
5 43 (5.32%) Windows Server
6 37 (4.58%) Apple iOS
7 33 (4.08%) Unix
8 12 (1.49%) Ubuntu
9 9 (1.11%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 8 (0.99%) Windows 7
11 6 (0.74%) Windows Server 2016
12 4 (0.50%) CentOS
13 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2019
14 2 (0.25%) Windows Server 2012
15 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
15 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2008
15 1 (0.12%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 163 (20.17%) Customer Service
2 147 (18.19%) Problem-Solving
3 90 (11.14%) ITIL
4 79 (9.78%) Migration
5 67 (8.29%) ITSM
6 53 (6.56%) Asset Management
7 48 (5.94%) Service Management
7 48 (5.94%) Workflow
8 38 (4.70%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 38 (4.70%) Workflow Management
9 36 (4.46%) User Experience
10 29 (3.59%) Root Cause Analysis
11 28 (3.47%) Service Delivery
11 28 (3.47%) Stakeholder Management
12 27 (3.34%) Logistics
13 26 (3.22%) Continuous Improvement
13 26 (3.22%) Cybersecurity
14 24 (2.97%) Break/Fix
15 23 (2.85%) DevOps
15 23 (2.85%) Incident Management
Programming Languages
1 73 (9.03%) PowerShell
2 41 (5.07%) SQL
3 35 (4.33%) Java
4 34 (4.21%) Python
5 32 (3.96%) JavaScript
6 22 (2.72%) Shell Script
7 15 (1.86%) Perl
8 13 (1.61%) C
8 13 (1.61%) C#
8 13 (1.61%) C++
9 12 (1.49%) Ada
10 11 (1.36%) Bash
11 4 (0.50%) Korn
12 2 (0.25%) AWK
12 2 (0.25%) Magik
12 2 (0.25%) TypeScript
12 2 (0.25%) VB.NET
12 2 (0.25%) VBScript
13 1 (0.12%) PL/SQL
13 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 234 (28.96%) Security Cleared
2 186 (23.02%) SC Cleared
3 49 (6.06%) DV Cleared
4 33 (4.08%) Degree
5 29 (3.59%) Microsoft Certification
6 15 (1.86%) A+ Certification
7 13 (1.61%) Network+ Certification
8 12 (1.49%) Azure Certification
8 12 (1.49%) BPSS Clearance
9 9 (1.11%) CCNA
9 9 (1.11%) Cisco Certification
9 9 (1.11%) MCSE
10 8 (0.99%) DBS Check
11 5 (0.62%) Computer Science Degree
11 5 (0.62%) Server+ Certification
12 4 (0.50%) ITIL Certification
13 3 (0.37%) Master's Degree
13 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Certified Professional
14 1 (0.12%) City & Guilds
14 1 (0.12%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (4.08%) SLA
2 9 (1.11%) GDPR
3 4 (0.50%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 3 (0.37%) QA
5 2 (0.25%) Cyber Essentials
5 2 (0.25%) Data Quality
6 1 (0.12%) Accessibility
6 1 (0.12%) GAAP
6 1 (0.12%) GLP
6 1 (0.12%) GMP
6 1 (0.12%) IFRS
6 1 (0.12%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 1 (0.12%) SOC 2
System Software
1 229 (28.34%) Active Directory
2 25 (3.09%) VMware Infrastructure
3 14 (1.73%) Hyper-V
4 12 (1.49%) Virtual Desktop
4 12 (1.49%) VMware NSX
5 8 (0.99%) Firmware
6 7 (0.87%) Docker
7 4 (0.50%) Oracle RAC
7 4 (0.50%) vSphere
8 3 (0.37%) Virtual Servers
9 2 (0.25%) NFS
10 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.12%) VMware ESXi
10 1 (0.12%) VMware Workstation
10 1 (0.12%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 91 (11.26%) Microsoft Intune
2 66 (8.17%) SCCM
3 28 (3.47%) Jamf Pro
4 17 (2.10%) Ansible
5 13 (1.61%) vCenter Server
6 12 (1.49%) Grafana
6 12 (1.49%) Terraform
7 5 (0.62%) Kubernetes
7 5 (0.62%) Single Sign-On
8 4 (0.50%) Kibana
8 4 (0.50%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 4 (0.50%) Oracle RMAN
8 4 (0.50%) Red Hat Satellite
9 3 (0.37%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 3 (0.37%) ITRS Geneos
10 2 (0.25%) Prometheus
10 2 (0.25%) SCOM
10 2 (0.25%) WSUS
11 1 (0.12%) Autotask
11 1 (0.12%) McAfee ePO
Vendors
1 289 (35.77%) Microsoft
2 101 (12.50%) ServiceNow
3 37 (4.58%) Oracle
4 34 (4.21%) Apple
4 34 (4.21%) VMware
5 33 (4.08%) Cisco
6 31 (3.84%) SAP
7 27 (3.34%) Dell
8 21 (2.60%) Google
9 20 (2.48%) HP
10 18 (2.23%) Juniper
11 17 (2.10%) Red Hat
12 16 (1.98%) Splunk
13 14 (1.73%) SolarWinds
14 12 (1.49%) Twitter
15 11 (1.36%) Citrix
16 9 (1.11%) Bloomberg
16 9 (1.11%) Remedy
17 6 (0.74%) New Relic
17 6 (0.74%) Siemens