Support Engineer Contract Job Trends

Support Engineer
UK

The median Support Engineer daily rate in the UK is £225, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 5 July 2026.

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

6 months to
5 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 171 137 108
Rank change year-on-year -34 -29 0
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 806 658 882
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.07% 2.03%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.69% 2.25% 2.19%
Number of daily rates quoted 522 422 598
10th Percentile £155 £160 £140
25th Percentile £185 £200 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £225 £238 £220
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +7.95% -12.00%
75th Percentile £387 £375 £340
90th Percentile £490 £500 £500
UK excluding London median daily rate £208 £225 £205
% change year-on-year -7.78% +9.76% -6.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 54 58
10th Percentile £17.39 £18.10 £16.25
25th Percentile £18.50 £20.73 £18.13
Median hourly rate £24.50 £25.15 £22.40
Median % change year-on-year -2.58% +12.28% +12.00%
75th Percentile £36.00 £43.75 £37.34
90th Percentile £48.35 £68.00 £54.35
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £25.15 £24.18
% change year-on-year -10.54% +4.01% +30.70%

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 47,830 29,215 40,312
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.43% 92.02% 93.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 28,937 18,656 25,939
10th Percentile £325 £287 £285
25th Percentile £417 £400 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -2.33%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £494
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.85% -1.20%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,242 1,317 2,814
10th Percentile £15.72 £13.75 £12.86
25th Percentile £21.14 £17.44 £16.65
Median hourly rate £43.00 £26.45 £38.50
Median % change year-on-year +62.57% -31.30% -10.47%
75th Percentile £67.50 £55.25 £63.31
90th Percentile £80.00 £72.95 £74.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +78.93% -37.13% +1.14%

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 5 July 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 5 July 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 5 July 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 -47 691 £213 -10.53% 274
UK excluding London -39 540 £208 -7.78% 295
London -53 236 £261 -4.13% 52
South East -30 154 £238 -5.00% 75
North of England -62 96 £190 -6.17% 50
Work from Home -79 85 £229 -23.75% 75
Midlands -45 75 £210 -17.65% 45
Scotland +42 69 £437 +40.97% 37
East of England -5 65 £195 -13.33% 24
South West -42 65 £210 -10.64% 54
North West -37 58 £190 -5.00% 26
West Midlands -66 46 £250 -9.09% 21
Yorkshire -34 37 £190 -19.15% 18
East Midlands +2 28 £200 +16.96% 24
Wales -24 11 £195 -2.50% 5
Northern Ireland -1 5 £175 - 12
North East -53 1 £290 +48.72% 8
Channel Islands - 1 £550 -

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

For the 6 months to 5 July 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.

1 413 (51.24%) Windows
2 324 (40.20%) Active Directory
3 306 (37.97%) Microsoft
4 276 (34.24%) Microsoft 365
5 179 (22.21%) Problem-Solving
6 172 (21.34%) Windows 10
7 159 (19.73%) Security Cleared
8 156 (19.35%) Customer Service
9 145 (17.99%) ITIL
10 140 (17.37%) Azure
11 118 (14.64%) Microsoft Intune
12 106 (13.15%) ServiceNow
13 105 (13.03%) SC Cleared
14 95 (11.79%) Entra ID
15 81 (10.05%) DNS
16 78 (9.68%) SharePoint
17 77 (9.55%) ITSM
18 76 (9.43%) PowerShell
19 66 (8.19%) SQL
20 62 (7.69%) JIRA
21 61 (7.57%) Linux
22 57 (7.07%) Migration
22 57 (7.07%) VPN
23 56 (6.95%) Continuous Improvement
24 53 (6.58%) Mac OS
25 52 (6.45%) DHCP
25 52 (6.45%) Service Delivery
26 51 (6.33%) Windows Server
27 49 (6.08%) Degree
27 49 (6.08%) Wi-Fi

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 78 (9.68%) SharePoint
2 48 (5.96%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.49%) NetWeaver
4 8 (0.99%) HCL Notes
5 5 (0.62%) Confluence
6 3 (0.37%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.25%) IIS
7 2 (0.25%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.25%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.12%) Tuxedo
8 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 41 (5.09%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.61%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.50%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.12%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 11 (1.36%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (0.74%) Teamcenter
3 4 (0.50%) SAP EHS
4 3 (0.37%) Remedy ITSM
5 2 (0.25%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.12%) Alphatax
6 1 (0.12%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.12%) Dynamics GP
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.12%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 276 (34.24%) Microsoft 365
2 140 (17.37%) Azure
3 95 (11.79%) Entra ID
4 32 (3.97%) AWS
5 31 (3.85%) OneDrive
6 21 (2.61%) Azure DevOps
7 19 (2.36%) SaaS
8 14 (1.74%) GCP
9 11 (1.36%) Power Platform
10 9 (1.12%) PaaS
11 6 (0.74%) Google Workspace
11 6 (0.74%) IaaS
12 5 (0.62%) Amazon S3
12 5 (0.62%) Azure Data Factory
13 4 (0.50%) Dynamics 365
13 4 (0.50%) Mimecast
14 3 (0.37%) Amazon EC2
14 3 (0.37%) OpenShift
14 3 (0.37%) PowerApps
14 3 (0.37%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 81 (10.05%) DNS
2 57 (7.07%) VPN
3 52 (6.45%) DHCP
4 49 (6.08%) Wi-Fi
5 47 (5.83%) TCP/IP
6 42 (5.21%) LAN
7 26 (3.23%) WAN
8 24 (2.98%) SAN
9 19 (2.36%) Firewall
10 17 (2.11%) Internet
11 14 (1.74%) VLAN
12 11 (1.36%) WLAN
13 9 (1.12%) Wireless
14 7 (0.87%) HTTP
14 7 (0.87%) Skype
15 6 (0.74%) VoIP
16 4 (0.50%) Network Security
16 4 (0.50%) Remote Desktop
17 3 (0.37%) Unified Communications
17 3 (0.37%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (4.22%) SQL Server
2 18 (2.23%) MySQL
3 12 (1.49%) SAP HANA
4 11 (1.36%) Amazon Redshift
4 11 (1.36%) Sybase ASE
5 10 (1.24%) MaxDB
6 9 (1.12%) Power BI
6 9 (1.12%) Relational Database
7 7 (0.87%) Pentaho
7 7 (0.87%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 6 (0.74%) PostgreSQL
9 5 (0.62%) Amazon RDS
10 4 (0.50%) Oracle Database
10 4 (0.50%) Oracle Database 12c
11 3 (0.37%) Big Data
11 3 (0.37%) Elasticsearch
11 3 (0.37%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.25%) Data Warehouse
12 2 (0.25%) MariaDB
12 2 (0.25%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 62 (7.69%) JIRA
2 18 (2.23%) Git
3 9 (1.12%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.37%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.37%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.37%) Xcode
5 2 (0.25%) Firebug
5 2 (0.25%) Jenkins
6 1 (0.12%) Artifactory
6 1 (0.12%) Atlassian Bamboo
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%) RStudio
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
1 319 (39.58%) Social Skills
2 96 (11.91%) Analytical Skills
3 65 (8.06%) Finance
4 45 (5.58%) Manufacturing
5 37 (4.59%) Banking
6 22 (2.73%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 20 (2.48%) Investment Banking
7 20 (2.48%) Organisational Skills
8 15 (1.86%) Aerospace
8 15 (1.86%) Retail
9 14 (1.74%) Aviation
9 14 (1.74%) Documentation Skills
10 13 (1.61%) Law
11 10 (1.24%) Front Office
12 8 (0.99%) Financial Institution
12 8 (0.99%) Legal
13 7 (0.87%) Marketing
13 7 (0.87%) Public Sector
13 7 (0.87%) Spanish Language
13 7 (0.87%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (1.36%) SAP Basis
2 10 (1.24%) Oracle GoldenGate
2 10 (1.24%) REST
3 8 (0.99%) .NET
4 7 (0.87%) JDO
4 7 (0.87%) Software Packaging
5 6 (0.74%) SAP Fiori
5 6 (0.74%) SAPUI5
6 5 (0.62%) CSS
6 5 (0.62%) LDAP
6 5 (0.62%) SAML
7 4 (0.50%) Middleware
7 4 (0.50%) OAuth
7 4 (0.50%) XML
8 3 (0.37%) AngularJS
8 3 (0.37%) GraphQL
8 3 (0.37%) PySpark
8 3 (0.37%) React
8 3 (0.37%) RESTful
8 3 (0.37%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 83 (10.30%) Onboarding
2 35 (4.34%) Data Centre
3 23 (2.85%) Self-Motivation
4 21 (2.61%) Analytical Mindset
5 20 (2.48%) Video Conferencing
6 19 (2.36%) Virtual Team
7 15 (1.86%) Data Protection Act
7 15 (1.86%) Enterprise Software
7 15 (1.86%) PKI
8 14 (1.74%) iPhone
9 12 (1.49%) Legacy Systems
10 11 (1.36%) Driving Licence
11 10 (1.24%) SCADA
12 9 (1.12%) Hedge funds
12 9 (1.12%) Smartphone
13 8 (0.99%) Blackberry
14 7 (0.87%) iPad
14 7 (0.87%) Management Information System
15 6 (0.74%) BYOD
16 5 (0.62%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 413 (51.24%) Windows
2 172 (21.34%) Windows 10
3 61 (7.57%) Linux
4 53 (6.58%) Mac OS
5 51 (6.33%) Windows Server
6 43 (5.33%) Unix
7 27 (3.35%) Apple iOS
8 23 (2.85%) Android
9 15 (1.86%) Windows 7
10 8 (0.99%) Windows Server 2016
11 7 (0.87%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 7 (0.87%) Ubuntu
12 6 (0.74%) Windows Server 2019
13 4 (0.50%) Solaris
13 4 (0.50%) Windows XP
14 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2012
15 2 (0.25%) Mac OS X
15 2 (0.25%) OpenVMS
15 2 (0.25%) VMS
16 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 179 (22.21%) Problem-Solving
2 156 (19.35%) Customer Service
3 145 (17.99%) ITIL
4 77 (9.55%) ITSM
5 57 (7.07%) Migration
6 56 (6.95%) Continuous Improvement
7 52 (6.45%) Service Delivery
8 45 (5.58%) Change Management
9 43 (5.33%) Asset Management
10 40 (4.96%) Problem Management
11 38 (4.71%) User Experience
12 37 (4.59%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 37 (4.59%) Service Management
13 36 (4.47%) Incident Management
14 35 (4.34%) DevOps
14 35 (4.34%) Root Cause Analysis
15 28 (3.47%) Data Protection
15 28 (3.47%) High Availability
16 25 (3.10%) Break/Fix
16 25 (3.10%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 76 (9.43%) PowerShell
2 66 (8.19%) SQL
3 34 (4.22%) Python
4 22 (2.73%) C#
5 21 (2.61%) Java
6 17 (2.11%) JavaScript
6 17 (2.11%) Shell Script
7 16 (1.99%) Bash
8 10 (1.24%) Korn
9 7 (0.87%) C++
9 7 (0.87%) Perl
10 4 (0.50%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.25%) DCL
11 2 (0.25%) Go
11 2 (0.25%) VBScript
12 1 (0.12%) C
12 1 (0.12%) R
12 1 (0.12%) VB.NET
12 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 159 (19.73%) Security Cleared
2 105 (13.03%) SC Cleared
3 49 (6.08%) Degree
4 38 (4.71%) DV Cleared
5 28 (3.47%) Microsoft Certification
6 25 (3.10%) A+ Certification
7 21 (2.61%) CCNA
7 21 (2.61%) Cisco Certification
7 21 (2.61%) Network+ Certification
8 16 (1.99%) MCSE
9 14 (1.74%) BPSS Clearance
10 9 (1.12%) DBS Check
11 8 (0.99%) Azure Certification
11 8 (0.99%) Computer Science Degree
12 7 (0.87%) Microsoft Certified Professional
13 6 (0.74%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.50%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 4 (0.50%) NVQ Level 4
15 1 (0.12%) AWS Certification
15 1 (0.12%) MCSA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (4.96%) SLA
2 4 (0.50%) Data Quality
2 4 (0.50%) GDPR
2 4 (0.50%) QA
3 3 (0.37%) Cyber Essentials
3 3 (0.37%) Sarbanes-Oxley
4 2 (0.25%) GLP
4 2 (0.25%) GMP
4 2 (0.25%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 1 (0.12%) Actionable Recommendations
5 1 (0.12%) Disclosure Scotland
5 1 (0.12%) GRC
5 1 (0.12%) GxP
5 1 (0.12%) ITGC
System Software
1 324 (40.20%) Active Directory
2 38 (4.71%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (2.61%) VMware ESXi
4 19 (2.36%) Hyper-V
5 17 (2.11%) VMware NSX
6 12 (1.49%) vCloud
6 12 (1.49%) Virtual Desktop
7 10 (1.24%) Oracle RAC
8 8 (0.99%) vSphere
9 5 (0.62%) Docker
9 5 (0.62%) NFS
10 4 (0.50%) BitLocker
11 3 (0.37%) Firmware
11 3 (0.37%) Microsoft App-V
11 3 (0.37%) Terminal Services
12 2 (0.25%) Virtual Servers
13 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 1 (0.12%) XenDesktop
13 1 (0.12%) zsh
Systems Management
1 118 (14.64%) Microsoft Intune
2 45 (5.58%) SCCM
3 21 (2.61%) vCenter Server
4 20 (2.48%) Jamf Pro
5 18 (2.23%) Single Sign-On
6 15 (1.86%) SCOM
7 12 (1.49%) Grafana
8 10 (1.24%) Ansible
8 10 (1.24%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 10 (1.24%) Oracle RMAN
9 6 (0.74%) Kubernetes
9 6 (0.74%) Terraform
10 5 (0.62%) Red Hat Satellite
11 3 (0.37%) AirWatch
11 3 (0.37%) Nagios
11 3 (0.37%) Puppet
11 3 (0.37%) vMotion
11 3 (0.37%) vRealize
12 2 (0.25%) WMI
12 2 (0.25%) WSUS
Vendors
1 306 (37.97%) Microsoft
2 106 (13.15%) ServiceNow
3 47 (5.83%) VMware
4 32 (3.97%) Apple
5 31 (3.85%) Oracle
6 22 (2.73%) Okta
7 21 (2.61%) Dell
7 21 (2.61%) SAP
8 19 (2.36%) Citrix
9 16 (1.99%) Google
10 15 (1.86%) HP
11 14 (1.74%) Cisco
12 12 (1.49%) BeyondTrust
13 11 (1.36%) Sybase
14 9 (1.12%) McAfee
15 8 (0.99%) Lotus
15 8 (0.99%) Meraki
15 8 (0.99%) Red Hat
15 8 (0.99%) Splunk
15 8 (0.99%) Talend