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 24 May 2026.

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

6 months to
24 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 173 129 112
Rank change year-on-year -44 -17 +8
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 756 620 847
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.15% 1.99%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.68% 2.33% 2.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 498 390 586
10th Percentile £153 £153 £140
25th Percentile £183 £191 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £213 £235 £211
Median % change year-on-year -9.57% +11.24% -15.50%
75th Percentile £386 £383 £329
90th Percentile £473 £489 £450
UK excluding London median daily rate £203 £225 £200
% change year-on-year -10.00% +12.50% -5.88%
Number of hourly rates quoted 75 51 52
10th Percentile £18.07 £18.10 £16.25
25th Percentile £20.88 £19.58 £18.00
Median hourly rate £23.83 £24.66 £22.15
Median % change year-on-year -3.39% +11.33% +7.52%
75th Percentile £36.00 £41.75 £43.75
90th Percentile £38.25 £68.00 £49.64
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £24.66 £22.00
% change year-on-year -8.76% +12.09% +10.00%

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 44,870 26,596 39,472
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.31% 92.30% 92.82%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,419 17,312 25,704
10th Percentile £325 £289 £280
25th Percentile £413 £405 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £508 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.99% -3.33% -3.31%
75th Percentile £618 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +5.26% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,946 1,014 2,724
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.00 £12.83
25th Percentile £20.35 £18.13 £16.30
Median hourly rate £42.50 £28.00 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +51.81% -23.30% -18.89%
75th Percentile £66.44 £60.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £78.75 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.69 £26.50 £40.00
% change year-on-year +64.87% -33.75% -5.11%

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 24 May 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 24 May 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 24 May 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 -49 662 £210 -10.64% 283
UK excluding London -40 513 £203 -10.00% 283
London -39 208 £275 - 48
South East -28 146 £210 -16.00% 81
Midlands -44 89 £209 -24.18% 47
Work from Home -60 89 £220 -26.67% 67
North of England -74 89 £190 -11.63% 64
South West -35 74 £210 -10.64% 26
East of England -13 57 £200 -6.98% 35
North West -44 54 £190 -11.63% 34
West Midlands -60 53 £250 -9.09% 27
Scotland +35 51 £394 +96.75% 20
East Midlands 0 37 £200 -5.88% 20
Yorkshire -45 33 £190 -19.15% 21
Wales -16 9 £250 +25.00% 4
Northern Ireland -5 4 £175 +17.45% 9
North East -40 2 £290 +48.72% 11

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

For the 6 months to 24 May 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.

1 336 (44.44%) Windows
2 260 (34.39%) Microsoft
3 252 (33.33%) Active Directory
4 227 (30.03%) Microsoft 365
5 156 (20.63%) Windows 10
6 154 (20.37%) Security Cleared
7 145 (19.18%) Customer Service
8 141 (18.65%) Problem-Solving
9 134 (17.72%) Azure
10 112 (14.81%) SC Cleared
11 110 (14.55%) ITIL
12 96 (12.70%) Microsoft Intune
13 88 (11.64%) ServiceNow
14 74 (9.79%) Entra ID
15 63 (8.33%) ITSM
16 60 (7.94%) PowerShell
17 57 (7.54%) Migration
17 57 (7.54%) SQL
18 55 (7.28%) SharePoint
19 54 (7.14%) DNS
20 51 (6.75%) JIRA
21 49 (6.48%) Linux
22 44 (5.82%) SCCM
22 44 (5.82%) Wi-Fi
23 41 (5.42%) Unix
24 40 (5.29%) Windows Server
25 39 (5.16%) Continuous Improvement
25 39 (5.16%) Degree
25 39 (5.16%) DHCP
25 39 (5.16%) VPN

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 55 (7.28%) SharePoint
2 26 (3.44%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (1.32%) NetWeaver
4 6 (0.79%) HCL Notes
5 4 (0.53%) Confluence
5 4 (0.53%) IIS
6 3 (0.40%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.26%) Apache
7 2 (0.26%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.26%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.13%) Tuxedo
8 1 (0.13%) WebSphere
Applications
1 35 (4.63%) Microsoft Office
2 12 (1.59%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 9 (1.19%) SAP S/4HANA
2 8 (1.06%) SAP EHS
3 7 (0.93%) Shopify
4 6 (0.79%) Teamcenter
5 5 (0.66%) Remedy ITSM
6 2 (0.26%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.13%) Alphatax
7 1 (0.13%) Bloomberg TOMS
7 1 (0.13%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.13%) Dynamics GP
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.13%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 227 (30.03%) Microsoft 365
2 134 (17.72%) Azure
3 74 (9.79%) Entra ID
4 27 (3.57%) AWS
5 22 (2.91%) Azure DevOps
5 22 (2.91%) SaaS
6 21 (2.78%) OneDrive
7 11 (1.46%) Dynamics 365
7 11 (1.46%) Power Platform
8 10 (1.32%) GCP
9 6 (0.79%) Amazon S3
9 6 (0.79%) Azure Data Factory
9 6 (0.79%) PaaS
9 6 (0.79%) Sauce Labs
10 5 (0.66%) Google Workspace
11 4 (0.53%) Datadog
11 4 (0.53%) Mimecast
11 4 (0.53%) Snowflake
12 3 (0.40%) GitHub
12 3 (0.40%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 54 (7.14%) DNS
2 44 (5.82%) Wi-Fi
3 39 (5.16%) DHCP
3 39 (5.16%) VPN
4 38 (5.03%) LAN
5 31 (4.10%) TCP/IP
6 23 (3.04%) WAN
7 22 (2.91%) SAN
8 14 (1.85%) VLAN
9 13 (1.72%) Firewall
9 13 (1.72%) Internet
10 10 (1.32%) WLAN
11 9 (1.19%) Wireless
12 7 (0.93%) HTTP
13 6 (0.79%) VoIP
14 5 (0.66%) Skype
15 4 (0.53%) Unified Communications
16 3 (0.40%) Network Security
16 3 (0.40%) Remote Desktop
16 3 (0.40%) SNMP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 29 (3.84%) SQL Server
2 20 (2.65%) MySQL
3 14 (1.85%) Relational Database
4 13 (1.72%) Amazon Redshift
5 10 (1.32%) SAP HANA
6 9 (1.19%) Power BI
6 9 (1.19%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 9 (1.19%) Sybase ASE
7 8 (1.06%) MaxDB
8 7 (0.93%) Pentaho
9 5 (0.66%) Oracle Database
9 5 (0.66%) PostgreSQL
10 4 (0.53%) Amazon Athena
10 4 (0.53%) Oracle Database 12c
11 3 (0.40%) MariaDB
12 2 (0.26%) Azure SQL Database
12 2 (0.26%) Data Warehouse
12 2 (0.26%) SQL Server Reporting Services
13 1 (0.13%) Crystal Reports
13 1 (0.13%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 51 (6.75%) JIRA
2 19 (2.51%) Git
3 13 (1.72%) Browser DevTools
4 6 (0.79%) Android Studio
4 6 (0.79%) Eclipse
4 6 (0.79%) Xcode
5 3 (0.40%) Firebug
6 2 (0.26%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.26%) Maven
7 1 (0.13%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 1 (0.13%) Claude Code
7 1 (0.13%) Gemini Tracker
7 1 (0.13%) MSI
7 1 (0.13%) RStudio
7 1 (0.13%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 1 (0.13%) Subversion
7 1 (0.13%) TeamCity
7 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 293 (38.76%) Social Skills
2 82 (10.85%) Analytical Skills
3 50 (6.61%) Finance
4 48 (6.35%) Manufacturing
5 35 (4.63%) Banking
6 21 (2.78%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 20 (2.65%) Aerospace
8 19 (2.51%) Investment Banking
9 18 (2.38%) Law
10 16 (2.12%) Aviation
11 13 (1.72%) Organisational Skills
12 11 (1.46%) Documentation Skills
13 9 (1.19%) Front Office
13 9 (1.19%) Legal
13 9 (1.19%) Public Sector
14 8 (1.06%) Retail
15 6 (0.79%) French Language
15 6 (0.79%) Marketing
15 6 (0.79%) Telecoms
16 5 (0.66%) Pharmaceutical
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (1.32%) Oracle GoldenGate
2 9 (1.19%) CSS
2 9 (1.19%) REST
2 9 (1.19%) SAP Basis
3 7 (0.93%) JDO
4 6 (0.79%) .NET
4 6 (0.79%) Ajax
4 6 (0.79%) AngularJS
4 6 (0.79%) GraphQL
4 6 (0.79%) React
5 5 (0.66%) Middleware
5 5 (0.66%) PySpark
5 5 (0.66%) SAML
5 5 (0.66%) YAML
6 4 (0.53%) HTML
6 4 (0.53%) OAuth
6 4 (0.53%) SAP Fiori
6 4 (0.53%) SAPUI5
7 3 (0.40%) JSP
7 3 (0.40%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 55 (7.28%) Onboarding
2 31 (4.10%) Data Centre
3 25 (3.31%) Self-Motivation
4 23 (3.04%) Analytical Mindset
5 14 (1.85%) Enterprise Software
5 14 (1.85%) Smartphone
5 14 (1.85%) Virtual Team
6 13 (1.72%) Data Protection Act
6 13 (1.72%) Driving Licence
7 12 (1.59%) PKI
8 11 (1.46%) iPhone
9 10 (1.32%) Legacy Systems
9 10 (1.32%) SCADA
10 8 (1.06%) Hybrid Cloud
11 7 (0.93%) Video Conferencing
12 6 (0.79%) Blackberry
12 6 (0.79%) Mobile App
13 5 (0.66%) CCTV
14 4 (0.53%) iPad
14 4 (0.53%) Management Information System
Operating Systems
1 336 (44.44%) Windows
2 156 (20.63%) Windows 10
3 49 (6.48%) Linux
4 41 (5.42%) Unix
5 40 (5.29%) Windows Server
6 37 (4.89%) Mac OS
7 22 (2.91%) Android
8 20 (2.65%) Apple iOS
9 14 (1.85%) Windows 7
10 6 (0.79%) Windows Server 2016
11 5 (0.66%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 4 (0.53%) Windows Server 2019
13 3 (0.40%) Solaris
13 3 (0.40%) Windows Server 2012
14 2 (0.26%) Mac OS X
14 2 (0.26%) Ubuntu
15 1 (0.13%) CentOS
15 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
15 1 (0.13%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 145 (19.18%) Customer Service
2 141 (18.65%) Problem-Solving
3 110 (14.55%) ITIL
4 63 (8.33%) ITSM
5 57 (7.54%) Migration
6 39 (5.16%) Continuous Improvement
7 37 (4.89%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 36 (4.76%) Change Management
8 36 (4.76%) Root Cause Analysis
9 33 (4.37%) Asset Management
9 33 (4.37%) DevOps
9 33 (4.37%) User Experience
10 32 (4.23%) Incident Management
10 32 (4.23%) Service Delivery
11 31 (4.10%) Service Management
12 27 (3.57%) Problem Management
13 25 (3.31%) Data Protection
14 23 (3.04%) Break/Fix
15 22 (2.91%) Workflow
16 21 (2.78%) CI/CD
Programming Languages
1 60 (7.94%) PowerShell
2 57 (7.54%) SQL
3 30 (3.97%) Python
4 21 (2.78%) Java
5 20 (2.65%) C#
6 19 (2.51%) JavaScript
7 15 (1.98%) Shell Script
8 10 (1.32%) Bash
8 10 (1.32%) Korn
8 10 (1.32%) Perl
9 5 (0.66%) C++
10 1 (0.13%) C
10 1 (0.13%) R
10 1 (0.13%) T-SQL
10 1 (0.13%) VB.NET
10 1 (0.13%) VBA
10 1 (0.13%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 154 (20.37%) Security Cleared
2 112 (14.81%) SC Cleared
3 39 (5.16%) Degree
4 33 (4.37%) DV Cleared
5 24 (3.17%) Microsoft Certification
6 22 (2.91%) A+ Certification
7 20 (2.65%) CCNA
7 20 (2.65%) Cisco Certification
8 17 (2.25%) Network+ Certification
9 16 (2.12%) MCSE
10 15 (1.98%) BPSS Clearance
11 10 (1.32%) Computer Science Degree
12 9 (1.19%) Azure Certification
13 6 (0.79%) DBS Check
13 6 (0.79%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.53%) NVQ Level 4
15 2 (0.26%) Microsoft Certified Professional
16 1 (0.13%) CompTIA Security+
16 1 (0.13%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
16 1 (0.13%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (4.10%) SLA
2 5 (0.66%) Cyber Essentials
3 4 (0.53%) GDPR
4 3 (0.40%) Data Quality
4 3 (0.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 2 (0.26%) GLP
5 2 (0.26%) GMP
6 1 (0.13%) Actionable Recommendations
6 1 (0.13%) GRC
6 1 (0.13%) GxP
6 1 (0.13%) ITGC
6 1 (0.13%) QA
6 1 (0.13%) SOC 2
System Software
1 252 (33.33%) Active Directory
2 26 (3.44%) VMware Infrastructure
3 12 (1.59%) Hyper-V
3 12 (1.59%) VMware NSX
4 11 (1.46%) VMware ESXi
5 10 (1.32%) Oracle RAC
6 8 (1.06%) Virtual Desktop
7 7 (0.93%) vCloud
8 5 (0.66%) vSphere
9 3 (0.40%) Firmware
9 3 (0.40%) NFS
10 2 (0.26%) Virtual Servers
11 1 (0.13%) BitLocker
11 1 (0.13%) Docker
11 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.13%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 96 (12.70%) Microsoft Intune
2 44 (5.82%) SCCM
3 17 (2.25%) Jamf Pro
3 17 (2.25%) Single Sign-On
4 15 (1.98%) Grafana
5 11 (1.46%) vCenter Server
6 10 (1.32%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
6 10 (1.32%) Oracle RMAN
7 8 (1.06%) SCOM
7 8 (1.06%) Terraform
8 7 (0.93%) Ansible
9 4 (0.53%) Kubernetes
10 3 (0.40%) Kibana
10 3 (0.40%) Red Hat Satellite
10 3 (0.40%) vRealize
11 2 (0.26%) AirWatch
11 2 (0.26%) McAfee ePO
11 2 (0.26%) PaperCut
11 2 (0.26%) Prometheus
11 2 (0.26%) WMI
Vendors
1 260 (34.39%) Microsoft
2 88 (11.64%) ServiceNow
3 35 (4.63%) Oracle
4 30 (3.97%) VMware
5 26 (3.44%) Dell
6 24 (3.17%) SAP
7 21 (2.78%) Apple
8 16 (2.12%) HP
9 15 (1.98%) Cisco
10 12 (1.59%) Okta
11 11 (1.46%) Google
12 10 (1.32%) McAfee
13 9 (1.19%) Sybase
14 8 (1.06%) Citrix
14 8 (1.06%) Denodo
14 8 (1.06%) Splunk
14 8 (1.06%) Starlink
14 8 (1.06%) Talend
15 7 (0.93%) Bloomberg
15 7 (0.93%) Databricks