Support Engineer Contract Job Trends

Support Engineer
UK

The median Support Engineer daily rate in the UK is £235, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 6 August 2026.

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

6 months to
6 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 170 127 115
Rank change year-on-year -43 -12 -23
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 861 712 790
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.62% 2.16% 2.02%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.74% 2.36% 2.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 573 463 546
10th Percentile £163 £160 £140
25th Percentile £188 £198 £178
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £235 £235 £230
Median % change year-on-year - +2.17% -8.00%
75th Percentile £400 £375 £349
90th Percentile £499 £538 £525
UK excluding London median daily rate £225 £228 £215
% change year-on-year -1.10% +5.81% -3.37%
Number of hourly rates quoted 51 68 47
10th Percentile £17.10 £16.67 £16.70
25th Percentile £18.38 £21.10 £18.08
Median hourly rate £25.00 £25.20 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year -0.79% +14.55% +15.79%
75th Percentile £36.00 £43.75 £24.59
90th Percentile £53.00 £68.00 £54.80
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £25.15 £22.00
% change year-on-year -12.52% +14.32% +21.48%

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 49,373 30,106 36,347
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.62% 91.47% 92.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,709 19,120 23,460
10th Percentile £328 £281 £300
25th Percentile £425 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -2.33%
75th Percentile £625 £623 £638
90th Percentile £725 £725 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,448 1,496 2,067
10th Percentile £15.13 £13.60 £14.16
25th Percentile £21.00 £17.30 £20.12
Median hourly rate £42.50 £25.15 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year +68.99% -41.51% +1.18%
75th Percentile £67.89 £53.99 £65.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £73.25 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.56 £25.15 £43.90
% change year-on-year +73.20% -42.71% +17.07%

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 6 August 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 6 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Support Engineer in the UK

Support Engineer
Top 18 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 6 August 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 -44 728 £225 -4.26% 283
UK excluding London -37 574 £225 -1.10% 263
London -42 249 £261 +4.50% 46
South East -29 168 £250 - 92
North of England -37 122 £200 -9.09% 58
Scotland +62 83 £437 +48.14% 12
Work from Home -90 83 £300 -7.69% 72
North West -26 81 £200 -12.09% 35
East of England -1 64 £200 - 44
Midlands -64 62 £250 -9.09% 37
South West -64 61 £210 -10.64% 29
Yorkshire -27 40 £210 -4.55% 20
West Midlands -74 39 £250 -9.09% 16
East Midlands -2 22 £260 +42.08% 21
Wales -26 10 £195 -8.24%
Northern Ireland -1 4 £175 -30.00% 4
North East -51 2 £233 +19.23% 5
Channel Islands - 1 £550 -

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

For the 6 months to 6 August 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.

1 463 (53.77%) Windows
2 374 (43.44%) Active Directory
3 368 (42.74%) Microsoft
4 316 (36.70%) Microsoft 365
5 200 (23.23%) Problem-Solving
6 192 (22.30%) Customer Service
7 188 (21.84%) Windows 10
8 170 (19.74%) Security Cleared
9 164 (19.05%) ITIL
10 149 (17.31%) Azure
11 130 (15.10%) Entra ID
12 129 (14.98%) Microsoft Intune
13 122 (14.17%) ServiceNow
14 109 (12.66%) SharePoint
15 107 (12.43%) SC Cleared
16 102 (11.85%) ITSM
17 96 (11.15%) DNS
18 86 (9.99%) PowerShell
19 71 (8.25%) Continuous Improvement
20 66 (7.67%) VPN
21 65 (7.55%) Asset Management
21 65 (7.55%) Linux
21 65 (7.55%) SQL
22 64 (7.43%) Microsoft Exchange
23 63 (7.32%) Windows Server
24 62 (7.20%) Service Delivery
25 61 (7.08%) Migration
26 60 (6.97%) JIRA
26 60 (6.97%) VMware
27 58 (6.74%) Degree

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
1 109 (12.66%) SharePoint
2 64 (7.43%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.39%) NetWeaver
4 11 (1.28%) HCL Notes
5 4 (0.46%) Confluence
6 3 (0.35%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.23%) Exchange Server 2013
7 2 (0.23%) IIS
7 2 (0.23%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.23%) WebLogic
7 2 (0.23%) WebSphere
8 1 (0.12%) Tuxedo
Applications
1 42 (4.88%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.51%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.46%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) Acrobat
4 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.12%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 11 (1.28%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (0.81%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.46%) SAP EHS
4 3 (0.35%) SAP Retail
5 2 (0.23%) NetSuite
5 2 (0.23%) Teamcenter
6 1 (0.12%) Alphatax
6 1 (0.12%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.12%) Dynamics GP
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle BRM
6 1 (0.12%) SAP BRIM
6 1 (0.12%) SAP FI
6 1 (0.12%) SAP FI-CA
6 1 (0.12%) SAP FS
6 1 (0.12%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 316 (36.70%) Microsoft 365
2 149 (17.31%) Azure
3 130 (15.10%) Entra ID
4 42 (4.88%) OneDrive
5 32 (3.72%) AWS
6 19 (2.21%) SaaS
7 18 (2.09%) Azure DevOps
7 18 (2.09%) GCP
8 11 (1.28%) Power Platform
9 8 (0.93%) Google Workspace
10 7 (0.81%) PaaS
11 6 (0.70%) IaaS
12 5 (0.58%) Mimecast
13 3 (0.35%) Azure Data Factory
13 3 (0.35%) Cloud Functions
13 3 (0.35%) Google App Engine
13 3 (0.35%) Google Compute Engine
13 3 (0.35%) Google Kubernetes Engine
13 3 (0.35%) OpenShift
13 3 (0.35%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 96 (11.15%) DNS
2 66 (7.67%) VPN
3 58 (6.74%) DHCP
3 58 (6.74%) TCP/IP
4 41 (4.76%) Wi-Fi
5 34 (3.95%) LAN
6 25 (2.90%) WAN
7 23 (2.67%) Firewall
7 23 (2.67%) SAN
8 20 (2.32%) Internet
9 16 (1.86%) VLAN
10 9 (1.05%) Wireless
11 7 (0.81%) Skype
11 7 (0.81%) WLAN
12 6 (0.70%) HTTP
13 5 (0.58%) Network Security
13 5 (0.58%) SMTP
13 5 (0.58%) WebEx
14 4 (0.46%) Remote Desktop
14 4 (0.46%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (4.53%) SQL Server
2 16 (1.86%) MySQL
3 12 (1.39%) SAP HANA
4 11 (1.28%) Sybase ASE
5 10 (1.16%) MaxDB
6 9 (1.05%) Power BI
7 8 (0.93%) Relational Database
8 7 (0.81%) Amazon Redshift
8 7 (0.81%) Pentaho
9 6 (0.70%) PostgreSQL
10 5 (0.58%) Amazon RDS
10 5 (0.58%) Oracle Database
10 5 (0.58%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 4 (0.46%) Oracle Database 12c
12 3 (0.35%) Big Data
12 3 (0.35%) Data Warehouse
12 3 (0.35%) Elasticsearch
12 3 (0.35%) SQL Server Reporting Services
13 2 (0.23%) MariaDB
13 2 (0.23%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 60 (6.97%) JIRA
2 20 (2.32%) Git
3 9 (1.05%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.35%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.35%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.35%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.35%) Xcode
5 2 (0.23%) Artifactory
5 2 (0.23%) Firebug
6 1 (0.12%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.12%) Claude Code
6 1 (0.12%) Gemini Tracker
6 1 (0.12%) GitLab
6 1 (0.12%) MSI
6 1 (0.12%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.12%) Subversion
6 1 (0.12%) TeamCity
6 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 353 (41.00%) Social Skills
2 105 (12.20%) Analytical Skills
3 72 (8.36%) Finance
4 43 (4.99%) Manufacturing
5 36 (4.18%) Banking
6 24 (2.79%) Organisational Skills
7 21 (2.44%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 18 (2.09%) Investment Banking
8 18 (2.09%) Retail
9 16 (1.86%) Documentation Skills
10 13 (1.51%) Law
11 12 (1.39%) Financial Institution
12 11 (1.28%) Front Office
12 11 (1.28%) Legal
12 11 (1.28%) Telecoms
13 10 (1.16%) Aerospace
13 10 (1.16%) Spanish Language
14 9 (1.05%) Aviation
14 9 (1.05%) Public Sector
15 7 (0.81%) Marketing
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (1.74%) .NET
2 11 (1.28%) LDAP
2 11 (1.28%) SAP Basis
3 10 (1.16%) Oracle GoldenGate
4 9 (1.05%) XML
5 8 (0.93%) REST
6 7 (0.81%) JDO
7 6 (0.70%) .NET Framework
7 6 (0.70%) SAP Fiori
7 6 (0.70%) SAPUI5
7 6 (0.70%) Software Packaging
8 5 (0.58%) CSS
8 5 (0.58%) SAML
9 4 (0.46%) OAuth
10 3 (0.35%) Ajax
10 3 (0.35%) JSP
10 3 (0.35%) Middleware
10 3 (0.35%) React
10 3 (0.35%) RESTful
10 3 (0.35%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 116 (13.47%) Onboarding
2 35 (4.07%) Data Centre
3 24 (2.79%) Analytical Mindset
3 24 (2.79%) Video Conferencing
4 21 (2.44%) Self-Motivation
5 19 (2.21%) PKI
6 15 (1.74%) Data Protection Act
6 15 (1.74%) Hedge funds
6 15 (1.74%) iPhone
7 14 (1.63%) Enterprise Software
8 13 (1.51%) Driving Licence
9 12 (1.39%) Legacy Systems
9 12 (1.39%) Virtual Team
10 11 (1.28%) Blackberry
10 11 (1.28%) Smartphone
11 10 (1.16%) iPad
11 10 (1.16%) SCADA
12 7 (0.81%) CMDB
12 7 (0.81%) Management Information System
13 6 (0.70%) BYOD
Operating Systems
1 463 (53.77%) Windows
2 188 (21.84%) Windows 10
3 65 (7.55%) Linux
4 63 (7.32%) Windows Server
5 54 (6.27%) Mac OS
6 41 (4.76%) Unix
7 33 (3.83%) Apple iOS
8 30 (3.48%) Android
9 20 (2.32%) Windows 7
10 9 (1.05%) Windows Server 2019
11 8 (0.93%) Ubuntu
12 7 (0.81%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
13 5 (0.58%) Windows Server 2008
13 5 (0.58%) Windows Server 2016
14 4 (0.46%) OpenVMS
14 4 (0.46%) Solaris
14 4 (0.46%) VMS
14 4 (0.46%) Windows Server 2012
15 3 (0.35%) Windows XP
16 2 (0.23%) Mac OS X
Processes & Methodologies
1 200 (23.23%) Problem-Solving
2 192 (22.30%) Customer Service
3 164 (19.05%) ITIL
4 102 (11.85%) ITSM
5 71 (8.25%) Continuous Improvement
6 65 (7.55%) Asset Management
7 62 (7.20%) Service Delivery
8 61 (7.08%) Migration
9 53 (6.16%) Service Management
10 51 (5.92%) Problem Management
11 47 (5.46%) User Experience
12 46 (5.34%) Change Management
13 44 (5.11%) Incident Management
14 43 (4.99%) Identity Access Management
15 40 (4.65%) Infrastructure Engineering
16 39 (4.53%) Root Cause Analysis
17 31 (3.60%) Break/Fix
17 31 (3.60%) Runbook
18 30 (3.48%) Data Protection
19 29 (3.37%) High Availability
Programming Languages
1 86 (9.99%) PowerShell
2 65 (7.55%) SQL
3 32 (3.72%) Python
4 25 (2.90%) C#
5 21 (2.44%) Java
6 17 (1.97%) Bash
6 17 (1.97%) Shell Script
7 16 (1.86%) JavaScript
8 10 (1.16%) Korn
9 7 (0.81%) C++
10 6 (0.70%) Perl
11 4 (0.46%) T-SQL
12 2 (0.23%) DCL
12 2 (0.23%) Go
12 2 (0.23%) VBScript
13 1 (0.12%) C
13 1 (0.12%) Search Processing Language
13 1 (0.12%) VB.NET
13 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 170 (19.74%) Security Cleared
2 107 (12.43%) SC Cleared
3 58 (6.74%) Degree
4 47 (5.46%) DV Cleared
5 32 (3.72%) Microsoft Certification
6 31 (3.60%) A+ Certification
7 24 (2.79%) Network+ Certification
8 23 (2.67%) Cisco Certification
9 22 (2.56%) CCNA
10 17 (1.97%) MCSE
11 16 (1.86%) BPSS Clearance
12 10 (1.16%) Computer Science Degree
13 9 (1.05%) DBS Check
13 9 (1.05%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 7 (0.81%) Microsoft Certified Professional
15 6 (0.70%) Azure Certification
16 5 (0.58%) ITIL Certification
17 4 (0.46%) NVQ Level 4
18 2 (0.23%) CCNP
19 1 (0.12%) MCSA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 55 (6.39%) SLA
2 6 (0.70%) QA
3 5 (0.58%) Data Quality
4 4 (0.46%) Cyber Essentials
5 3 (0.35%) GDPR
5 3 (0.35%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 2 (0.23%) GLP
6 2 (0.23%) GMP
6 2 (0.23%) GxP
6 2 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 1 (0.12%) Actionable Recommendations
7 1 (0.12%) Disclosure Scotland
7 1 (0.12%) GRC
7 1 (0.12%) ITGC
7 1 (0.12%) NCSC
System Software
1 374 (43.44%) Active Directory
2 46 (5.34%) VMware Infrastructure
3 24 (2.79%) VMware ESXi
4 23 (2.67%) Hyper-V
5 17 (1.97%) VMware NSX
6 16 (1.86%) Virtual Desktop
7 12 (1.39%) vCloud
8 10 (1.16%) Oracle RAC
9 7 (0.81%) vSphere
10 5 (0.58%) BitLocker
10 5 (0.58%) Docker
10 5 (0.58%) Firmware
10 5 (0.58%) NFS
11 3 (0.35%) Microsoft App-V
11 3 (0.35%) Terminal Services
12 2 (0.23%) zsh
13 1 (0.12%) Virtual Servers
13 1 (0.12%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 129 (14.98%) Microsoft Intune
2 49 (5.69%) SCCM
3 24 (2.79%) vCenter Server
4 21 (2.44%) Single Sign-On
5 18 (2.09%) SCOM
6 16 (1.86%) Jamf Pro
7 12 (1.39%) Grafana
8 10 (1.16%) Kubernetes
8 10 (1.16%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 10 (1.16%) Oracle RMAN
9 9 (1.05%) Ansible
10 8 (0.93%) Terraform
11 5 (0.58%) Red Hat Satellite
11 5 (0.58%) WSUS
12 3 (0.35%) AirWatch
12 3 (0.35%) ITRS Geneos
12 3 (0.35%) Nagios
12 3 (0.35%) NetBackup
12 3 (0.35%) Puppet
12 3 (0.35%) vMotion
Vendors
1 368 (42.74%) Microsoft
2 122 (14.17%) ServiceNow
3 60 (6.97%) VMware
4 36 (4.18%) Apple
5 34 (3.95%) Oracle
6 31 (3.60%) Okta
7 25 (2.90%) Google
8 24 (2.79%) Cisco
8 24 (2.79%) SAP
9 23 (2.67%) Citrix
9 23 (2.67%) Dell
10 20 (2.32%) BeyondTrust
11 14 (1.63%) HP
12 13 (1.51%) Meraki
13 11 (1.28%) Lotus
13 11 (1.28%) Splunk
13 11 (1.28%) Sybase
14 10 (1.16%) iManage
15 9 (1.05%) McAfee
15 9 (1.05%) Remedy