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 25 February 2026.

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

6 months to
25 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 140 136 100
Rank change year-on-year -4 -36 +35
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 820 602 977
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.99% 1.98% 2.22%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.16% 2.13% 2.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 554 399 698
10th Percentile £153 £152 £140
25th Percentile £185 £181 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £213 £225 £215
Median % change year-on-year -5.56% +4.65% -10.42%
75th Percentile £336 £375 £311
90th Percentile £500 £516 £450
UK excluding London median daily rate £205 £220 £200
% change year-on-year -6.82% +10.00% -2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 118 44 59
10th Percentile £17.79 £16.67 £16.20
25th Percentile £21.06 £18.58 £17.72
Median hourly rate £23.79 £23.00 £20.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.42% +15.00% +3.19%
75th Percentile £28.50 £24.30 £30.00
90th Percentile £36.83 £41.50 £46.39
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.58 £22.75 £20.00
% change year-on-year +3.63% +13.75% +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 37,909 28,295 41,010
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.78% 92.89% 92.99%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,822 17,724 26,992
10th Percentile £306 £293 £275
25th Percentile £408 £406 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £720 £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 2,307 828 2,328
10th Percentile £14.61 £16.43 £13.15
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.50 £16.30
Median hourly rate £32.50 £35.00 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -7.14% - -10.88%
75th Percentile £63.75 £64.50 £60.00
90th Percentile £74.26 £75.00 £71.93
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.11 £32.50 £35.00
% change year-on-year -7.37% -7.14% -2.78%

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 25 February 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 25 February 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 25 February 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 +9 744 £213 -7.61% 369
UK excluding London 0 573 £205 -6.82% 363
London -31 213 £260 -10.34% 70
South East +4 164 £225 +9.76% 131
South West +7 107 £250 +11.11% 37
North of England -33 104 £190 -13.64% 87
Midlands -12 99 £200 -20.00% 41
Work from Home -32 95 £259 -20.46% 77
West Midlands -31 62 £215 -17.31% 23
East of England +3 60 £203 -7.95% 38
North West -25 56 £152 -27.86% 47
East Midlands +2 39 £200 +5.26% 18
Yorkshire -40 39 £205 -11.83% 33
Scotland +7 38 £200 +26.18% 27
North East -13 9 £106 -61.80% 11
Wales -10 7 £185 -7.50% 5
Northern Ireland -7 3 £163 +9.80% 4

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

For the 6 months to 25 February 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.

1 407 (49.63%) Windows
2 298 (36.34%) Microsoft
3 256 (31.22%) Microsoft 365
4 239 (29.15%) Security Cleared
5 234 (28.54%) Active Directory
6 190 (23.17%) SC Cleared
7 179 (21.83%) Windows 10
8 165 (20.12%) Customer Service
9 159 (19.39%) Problem-Solving
10 113 (13.78%) Azure
11 100 (12.20%) ITIL
11 100 (12.20%) ServiceNow
12 93 (11.34%) Microsoft Intune
13 87 (10.61%) Linux
14 79 (9.63%) Migration
15 72 (8.78%) PowerShell
16 70 (8.54%) ITSM
17 66 (8.05%) DNS
17 66 (8.05%) SCCM
18 62 (7.56%) DHCP
19 60 (7.32%) Microsoft Office
19 60 (7.32%) SharePoint
20 58 (7.07%) Service Management
20 58 (7.07%) TCP/IP
21 56 (6.83%) Wi-Fi
22 55 (6.71%) Asset Management
23 53 (6.46%) Entra ID
24 51 (6.22%) Android
25 50 (6.10%) DV Cleared
26 49 (5.98%) Mac OS

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 60 (7.32%) SharePoint
2 46 (5.61%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (1.83%) Skype for Business
4 4 (0.49%) Apache
4 4 (0.49%) Confluence
5 2 (0.24%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.24%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.24%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.24%) IIS
5 2 (0.24%) Jupyter
5 2 (0.24%) NetWeaver
5 2 (0.24%) Palantir Foundry
5 2 (0.24%) Smallworld
6 1 (0.12%) SharePoint Server
6 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
Applications
1 60 (7.32%) Microsoft Office
2 23 (2.80%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.37%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) DaVinci Resolve
4 1 (0.12%) Pro Tools
4 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 9 (1.10%) SAP EHS
2 7 (0.85%) Remedy ITSM
2 7 (0.85%) Shopify
3 6 (0.73%) Teamcenter
4 5 (0.61%) Primavera
5 2 (0.24%) 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%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle Receivables
6 1 (0.12%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 256 (31.22%) Microsoft 365
2 113 (13.78%) Azure
3 53 (6.46%) Entra ID
4 36 (4.39%) OneDrive
5 32 (3.90%) AWS
6 24 (2.93%) SaaS
7 18 (2.20%) Google Workspace
8 14 (1.71%) Sauce Labs
9 12 (1.46%) Azure DevOps
10 10 (1.22%) Dynamics 365
10 10 (1.22%) Power Platform
11 7 (0.85%) npm
12 5 (0.61%) Amazon S3
12 5 (0.61%) Azure Data Factory
13 4 (0.49%) OpenShift
13 4 (0.49%) PaaS
14 3 (0.37%) GitHub
14 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Purview
14 3 (0.37%) PowerApps
15 2 (0.24%) Amazon OpenSearch
Communications & Networking
1 66 (8.05%) DNS
2 62 (7.56%) DHCP
3 58 (7.07%) TCP/IP
4 56 (6.83%) Wi-Fi
5 49 (5.98%) VPN
6 34 (4.15%) LAN
7 30 (3.66%) Firewall
8 29 (3.54%) Wireless
9 28 (3.41%) WAN
10 21 (2.56%) VLAN
11 16 (1.95%) Skype
12 13 (1.59%) Network Security
12 13 (1.59%) PABX
13 12 (1.46%) Junos
14 11 (1.34%) Cisco Firepower
14 11 (1.34%) Cisco IOS
14 11 (1.34%) Cisco ISE
15 10 (1.22%) MPLS
15 10 (1.22%) VoIP
16 9 (1.10%) BGP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (2.44%) Relational Database
2 17 (2.07%) MySQL
3 16 (1.95%) SQL Server
4 7 (0.85%) Power BI
5 6 (0.73%) Amazon Redshift
5 6 (0.73%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 5 (0.61%) Oracle Database
7 4 (0.49%) Amazon Athena
7 4 (0.49%) RDBMS
8 3 (0.37%) InfluxDB
9 2 (0.24%) GIS
9 2 (0.24%) Oracle Database 12c
9 2 (0.24%) SAP HANA
9 2 (0.24%) Sybase ASE
9 2 (0.24%) Tableau
10 1 (0.12%) Apache Cassandra
10 1 (0.12%) MariaDB
10 1 (0.12%) MongoDB
10 1 (0.12%) Oracle ODI
10 1 (0.12%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 33 (4.02%) JIRA
2 18 (2.20%) Browser DevTools
3 14 (1.71%) Android Studio
3 14 (1.71%) Eclipse
3 14 (1.71%) Xcode
4 10 (1.22%) Git
5 7 (0.85%) Maven
6 4 (0.49%) Firebug
7 2 (0.24%) Fiddler
7 2 (0.24%) Jenkins
7 2 (0.24%) MSI
8 1 (0.12%) Atlassian Bamboo
8 1 (0.12%) ClearCase
8 1 (0.12%) Hudson
8 1 (0.12%) RStudio
General
1 353 (43.05%) Social Skills
2 66 (8.05%) Finance
3 61 (7.44%) Analytical Skills
4 51 (6.22%) Manufacturing
5 45 (5.49%) Public Sector
6 42 (5.12%) Banking
7 28 (3.41%) Organisational Skills
8 26 (3.17%) Aerospace
8 26 (3.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 20 (2.44%) Telecoms
10 16 (1.95%) Investment Banking
11 15 (1.83%) Aviation
12 14 (1.71%) Law
13 13 (1.59%) Electronics
13 13 (1.59%) Marketing
14 9 (1.10%) Documentation Skills
14 9 (1.10%) Front Office
15 7 (0.85%) Legal
16 5 (0.61%) Automotive
17 4 (0.49%) Pharmaceutical
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (2.68%) Middleware
2 18 (2.20%) CSS
3 14 (1.71%) Ajax
3 14 (1.71%) AngularJS
3 14 (1.71%) GraphQL
3 14 (1.71%) React
4 6 (0.73%) PySpark
4 6 (0.73%) REST
4 6 (0.73%) SOAP
5 5 (0.61%) YAML
6 4 (0.49%) HTML
6 4 (0.49%) JDO
6 4 (0.49%) Microsoft Graph
6 4 (0.49%) XML
7 3 (0.37%) Oracle GoldenGate
8 2 (0.24%) OAuth
8 2 (0.24%) OpenTelemetry
8 2 (0.24%) SAP Basis
8 2 (0.24%) Spring
8 2 (0.24%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 51 (6.22%) Onboarding
2 36 (4.39%) Self-Motivation
3 30 (3.66%) Driving Licence
4 24 (2.93%) Data Centre
5 23 (2.80%) Smartphone
6 20 (2.44%) PKI
7 19 (2.32%) Analytical Mindset
8 15 (1.83%) Data Protection Act
9 14 (1.71%) Mobile App
10 12 (1.46%) Virtual Team
11 11 (1.34%) Enterprise Software
11 11 (1.34%) Video Conferencing
12 10 (1.22%) Management Information System
13 8 (0.98%) Hybrid Cloud
13 8 (0.98%) iPhone
14 7 (0.85%) Legacy Systems
15 6 (0.73%) SCADA
16 4 (0.49%) CCTV
16 4 (0.49%) Hedge funds
17 3 (0.37%) iPad
Operating Systems
1 407 (49.63%) Windows
2 179 (21.83%) Windows 10
3 87 (10.61%) Linux
4 51 (6.22%) Android
5 49 (5.98%) Mac OS
6 44 (5.37%) Windows Server
7 39 (4.76%) Apple iOS
8 32 (3.90%) Unix
9 12 (1.46%) Ubuntu
10 11 (1.34%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 8 (0.98%) Windows 7
12 6 (0.73%) Windows Server 2016
13 4 (0.49%) CentOS
14 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2019
15 2 (0.24%) Windows Server 2012
16 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
16 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2008
16 1 (0.12%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 165 (20.12%) Customer Service
2 159 (19.39%) Problem-Solving
3 100 (12.20%) ITIL
4 79 (9.63%) Migration
5 70 (8.54%) ITSM
6 58 (7.07%) Service Management
7 55 (6.71%) Asset Management
8 49 (5.98%) Workflow
9 47 (5.73%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 38 (4.63%) Workflow Management
11 37 (4.51%) User Experience
12 29 (3.54%) Root Cause Analysis
13 28 (3.41%) Service Delivery
13 28 (3.41%) Stakeholder Management
14 27 (3.29%) Continuous Improvement
14 27 (3.29%) Logistics
15 26 (3.17%) Cybersecurity
16 24 (2.93%) Incident Management
16 24 (2.93%) OO
17 22 (2.68%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 72 (8.78%) PowerShell
2 36 (4.39%) Java
2 36 (4.39%) SQL
3 35 (4.27%) Python
4 33 (4.02%) JavaScript
5 21 (2.56%) Shell Script
6 16 (1.95%) Perl
7 13 (1.59%) C
7 13 (1.59%) C++
8 12 (1.46%) Ada
8 12 (1.46%) Bash
9 10 (1.22%) C#
10 3 (0.37%) Korn
11 2 (0.24%) AWK
11 2 (0.24%) Magik
11 2 (0.24%) TypeScript
11 2 (0.24%) VB.NET
11 2 (0.24%) VBScript
12 1 (0.12%) Tcl
12 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 239 (29.15%) Security Cleared
2 190 (23.17%) SC Cleared
3 50 (6.10%) DV Cleared
4 33 (4.02%) Degree
5 32 (3.90%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (2.20%) Azure Certification
7 16 (1.95%) Network+ Certification
8 13 (1.59%) A+ Certification
9 12 (1.46%) BPSS Clearance
10 11 (1.34%) Server+ Certification
11 8 (0.98%) DBS Check
12 6 (0.73%) CCNA
12 6 (0.73%) Cisco Certification
12 6 (0.73%) MCSE
13 5 (0.61%) Computer Science Degree
14 4 (0.49%) ITIL Certification
15 3 (0.37%) Master's Degree
15 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Certified Professional
16 1 (0.12%) City & Guilds
16 1 (0.12%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (4.02%) SLA
2 9 (1.10%) GDPR
3 5 (0.61%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 3 (0.37%) QA
5 2 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials
6 1 (0.12%) Accessibility
6 1 (0.12%) Data Quality
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
1 234 (28.54%) Active Directory
2 31 (3.78%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (2.56%) Hyper-V
4 13 (1.59%) Virtual Desktop
4 13 (1.59%) VMware NSX
5 8 (0.98%) Firmware
6 7 (0.85%) Docker
7 4 (0.49%) vSphere
8 3 (0.37%) Oracle RAC
8 3 (0.37%) Virtual Servers
9 2 (0.24%) NFS
10 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.12%) VMware ESXi
10 1 (0.12%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 93 (11.34%) Microsoft Intune
2 66 (8.05%) SCCM
3 28 (3.41%) Jamf Pro
4 19 (2.32%) Ansible
5 14 (1.71%) vCenter Server
6 13 (1.59%) Terraform
7 12 (1.46%) Grafana
8 6 (0.73%) Kubernetes
8 6 (0.73%) Red Hat Satellite
9 5 (0.61%) Single Sign-On
10 4 (0.49%) Kibana
11 3 (0.37%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 3 (0.37%) ITRS Geneos
11 3 (0.37%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
11 3 (0.37%) Oracle RMAN
12 2 (0.24%) Prometheus
12 2 (0.24%) SCOM
12 2 (0.24%) WSUS
13 1 (0.12%) McAfee ePO
13 1 (0.12%) Nagios
Vendors
1 298 (36.34%) Microsoft
2 100 (12.20%) ServiceNow
3 43 (5.24%) VMware
4 36 (4.39%) Oracle
5 34 (4.15%) Apple
5 34 (4.15%) Cisco
6 30 (3.66%) SAP
7 24 (2.93%) Dell
8 21 (2.56%) HP
9 20 (2.44%) Google
9 20 (2.44%) Juniper
9 20 (2.44%) Red Hat
10 17 (2.07%) Splunk
11 15 (1.83%) SolarWinds
12 12 (1.46%) Citrix
12 12 (1.46%) Twitter
13 10 (1.22%) Remedy
14 8 (0.98%) Bloomberg
15 6 (0.73%) New Relic
15 6 (0.73%) Siemens