Support Engineer Contract Job Trends

Support Engineer
UK

The median Support Engineer daily rate in the UK is £210, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 22 February 2026.

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

6 months to
22 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 145 138 97
Rank change year-on-year -7 -41 +36
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 808 601 992
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.98% 1.95% 2.22%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.16% 2.10% 2.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 544 400 708
10th Percentile £151 £152 £140
25th Percentile £185 £181 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £210 £225 £215
Median % change year-on-year -6.67% +4.65% -12.27%
75th Percentile £330 £368 £315
90th Percentile £500 £515 £453
UK excluding London median daily rate £205 £220 £200
% change year-on-year -6.82% +10.00% -2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 116 43 59
10th Percentile £17.61 £16.67 £16.25
25th Percentile £20.85 £18.45 £17.72
Median hourly rate £23.75 £23.00 £20.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.26% +15.00% +2.75%
75th Percentile £27.38 £24.18 £30.00
90th Percentile £36.00 £40.80 £46.39
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.29 £22.50 £20.00
% change year-on-year +3.50% +12.50% +14.29%

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 37,410 28,560 41,523
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.75% 92.90% 93.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,490 17,819 27,326
10th Percentile £306 £290 £275
25th Percentile £406 £406 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £719 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £480 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +1.05% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,280 830 2,340
10th Percentile £14.63 £16.25 £13.16
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.50 £16.45
Median hourly rate £31.76 £35.00 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -9.27% - -10.26%
75th Percentile £63.75 £64.31 £60.06
90th Percentile £74.26 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.00 £32.50 £35.95
% change year-on-year -7.69% -9.60% +0.84%

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 22 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 22 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 22 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 +5 733 £213 -7.61% 398
UK excluding London -2 565 £205 -6.82% 379
London -17 209 £260 -7.96% 85
South East +12 161 £225 +9.76% 135
South West +8 106 £250 +11.11% 40
North of England -35 104 £183 -15.12% 88
Midlands -7 98 £200 -21.57% 45
Work from Home -35 95 £259 -20.46% 89
West Midlands -38 62 £215 -18.10% 27
East of England -2 58 £203 -7.95% 47
North West -17 56 £152 -24.25% 52
Yorkshire -41 39 £205 -11.83% 29
East Midlands +1 38 £200 +5.26% 18
Scotland -4 37 £200 +26.18% 24
North East -18 9 £106 -61.80% 11
Wales -11 7 £185 -38.33% 5
Northern Ireland -6 3 £163 +9.80% 4

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

For the 6 months to 22 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.

1 401 (49.63%) Windows
2 292 (36.14%) Microsoft
3 253 (31.31%) Microsoft 365
4 236 (29.21%) Security Cleared
5 228 (28.22%) Active Directory
6 188 (23.27%) SC Cleared
7 180 (22.28%) Windows 10
8 164 (20.30%) Customer Service
9 158 (19.55%) Problem-Solving
10 106 (13.12%) Azure
11 98 (12.13%) ITIL
11 98 (12.13%) ServiceNow
12 90 (11.14%) Microsoft Intune
13 85 (10.52%) Linux
14 77 (9.53%) Migration
15 69 (8.54%) ITSM
16 67 (8.29%) DNS
16 67 (8.29%) PowerShell
17 66 (8.17%) SCCM
18 63 (7.80%) DHCP
19 60 (7.43%) Microsoft Office
20 59 (7.30%) SharePoint
21 58 (7.18%) Service Management
21 58 (7.18%) TCP/IP
22 55 (6.81%) Wi-Fi
23 53 (6.56%) Asset Management
24 51 (6.31%) Android
25 49 (6.06%) Mac OS
25 49 (6.06%) Workflow
26 48 (5.94%) DV Cleared

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 59 (7.30%) 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 2 (0.25%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.25%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.25%) IIS
5 2 (0.25%) Jupyter
5 2 (0.25%) Palantir Foundry
5 2 (0.25%) Smallworld
6 1 (0.12%) SharePoint Server
6 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
Applications
1 60 (7.43%) Microsoft Office
2 23 (2.85%) 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 (1.11%) SAP EHS
2 7 (0.87%) Remedy ITSM
2 7 (0.87%) Shopify
3 6 (0.74%) Teamcenter
4 5 (0.62%) Primavera
5 1 (0.12%) Aladdin
5 1 (0.12%) assyst
5 1 (0.12%) Bloomberg TOMS
5 1 (0.12%) Eikon
5 1 (0.12%) Fidessa
5 1 (0.12%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.12%) Oracle Receivables
5 1 (0.12%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 253 (31.31%) Microsoft 365
2 106 (13.12%) Azure
3 48 (5.94%) Entra ID
4 35 (4.33%) OneDrive
5 32 (3.96%) AWS
6 24 (2.97%) SaaS
7 18 (2.23%) Google Workspace
8 14 (1.73%) Sauce Labs
9 10 (1.24%) Azure DevOps
9 10 (1.24%) Dynamics 365
9 10 (1.24%) Power Platform
10 7 (0.87%) npm
11 5 (0.62%) Amazon S3
11 5 (0.62%) Azure Data Factory
12 4 (0.50%) OpenShift
13 3 (0.37%) GitHub
13 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Purview
13 3 (0.37%) PaaS
13 3 (0.37%) PowerApps
14 2 (0.25%) Amazon EKS
Communications & Networking
1 67 (8.29%) DNS
2 63 (7.80%) DHCP
3 58 (7.18%) TCP/IP
4 55 (6.81%) Wi-Fi
5 48 (5.94%) VPN
6 34 (4.21%) LAN
7 30 (3.71%) Wireless
8 29 (3.59%) Firewall
9 28 (3.47%) WAN
10 22 (2.72%) VLAN
11 15 (1.86%) Skype
12 13 (1.61%) Network Security
12 13 (1.61%) PABX
13 12 (1.49%) Junos
14 11 (1.36%) Cisco Firepower
14 11 (1.36%) Cisco IOS
14 11 (1.36%) Cisco ISE
14 11 (1.36%) MPLS
15 10 (1.24%) VoIP
16 9 (1.11%) BGP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (2.48%) Relational Database
2 17 (2.10%) MySQL
3 15 (1.86%) SQL Server
4 7 (0.87%) Power BI
5 6 (0.74%) Amazon Redshift
5 6 (0.74%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 5 (0.62%) Oracle Database
7 4 (0.50%) Amazon Athena
7 4 (0.50%) RDBMS
8 3 (0.37%) InfluxDB
9 2 (0.25%) GIS
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%) Electronic Patient Records
10 1 (0.12%) MariaDB
10 1 (0.12%) MongoDB
10 1 (0.12%) Oracle ODI
10 1 (0.12%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 31 (3.84%) JIRA
2 18 (2.23%) Browser DevTools
3 14 (1.73%) Android Studio
3 14 (1.73%) Eclipse
3 14 (1.73%) Xcode
4 9 (1.11%) Git
5 7 (0.87%) Maven
6 4 (0.50%) Firebug
7 2 (0.25%) Fiddler
7 2 (0.25%) Jenkins
7 2 (0.25%) MSI
8 1 (0.12%) Atlassian Bamboo
8 1 (0.12%) ClearCase
8 1 (0.12%) Hudson
8 1 (0.12%) RStudio
General
1 352 (43.56%) Social Skills
2 64 (7.92%) Finance
3 60 (7.43%) Analytical Skills
4 51 (6.31%) Manufacturing
5 45 (5.57%) Public Sector
6 40 (4.95%) Banking
7 28 (3.47%) Organisational Skills
8 26 (3.22%) Aerospace
8 26 (3.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 20 (2.48%) Telecoms
10 16 (1.98%) Aviation
11 15 (1.86%) Investment Banking
12 14 (1.73%) Law
13 13 (1.61%) Electronics
13 13 (1.61%) Marketing
14 9 (1.11%) Documentation Skills
14 9 (1.11%) Front Office
15 7 (0.87%) Legal
16 5 (0.62%) Automotive
17 4 (0.50%) Pharmaceutical
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (2.72%) Middleware
2 18 (2.23%) CSS
3 14 (1.73%) Ajax
3 14 (1.73%) AngularJS
3 14 (1.73%) GraphQL
3 14 (1.73%) React
4 6 (0.74%) PySpark
4 6 (0.74%) REST
4 6 (0.74%) 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%) XML
7 3 (0.37%) Oracle GoldenGate
8 2 (0.25%) .NET
8 2 (0.25%) ADO
8 2 (0.25%) EDI
8 2 (0.25%) OpenTelemetry
8 2 (0.25%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 48 (5.94%) Onboarding
2 36 (4.46%) Self-Motivation
3 30 (3.71%) Driving Licence
4 24 (2.97%) Data Centre
5 23 (2.85%) Smartphone
6 20 (2.48%) PKI
7 18 (2.23%) Analytical Mindset
8 15 (1.86%) Data Protection Act
9 14 (1.73%) Mobile App
10 12 (1.49%) Virtual Team
11 11 (1.36%) Enterprise Software
12 10 (1.24%) Management Information System
12 10 (1.24%) Video Conferencing
13 8 (0.99%) Hybrid Cloud
13 8 (0.99%) iPhone
14 7 (0.87%) Legacy Systems
15 5 (0.62%) SCADA
16 4 (0.50%) CCTV
16 4 (0.50%) Hedge funds
17 3 (0.37%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 401 (49.63%) Windows
2 180 (22.28%) Windows 10
3 85 (10.52%) Linux
4 51 (6.31%) Android
5 49 (6.06%) Mac OS
6 44 (5.45%) Windows Server
7 39 (4.83%) Apple iOS
8 30 (3.71%) Unix
9 12 (1.49%) Ubuntu
10 11 (1.36%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 8 (0.99%) Windows 7
12 5 (0.62%) Windows Server 2016
13 4 (0.50%) CentOS
14 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2012
14 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2019
15 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
15 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2008
15 1 (0.12%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 164 (20.30%) Customer Service
2 158 (19.55%) Problem-Solving
3 98 (12.13%) ITIL
4 77 (9.53%) Migration
5 69 (8.54%) ITSM
6 58 (7.18%) Service Management
7 53 (6.56%) Asset Management
8 49 (6.06%) Workflow
9 46 (5.69%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 38 (4.70%) Workflow Management
11 36 (4.46%) User Experience
12 29 (3.59%) Stakeholder Management
13 28 (3.47%) Root Cause Analysis
13 28 (3.47%) Service Delivery
14 27 (3.34%) Continuous Improvement
14 27 (3.34%) Logistics
15 26 (3.22%) Cybersecurity
16 24 (2.97%) OO
17 22 (2.72%) Incident Management
18 21 (2.60%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 67 (8.29%) PowerShell
2 36 (4.46%) Java
3 34 (4.21%) SQL
4 33 (4.08%) JavaScript
4 33 (4.08%) Python
5 21 (2.60%) Shell Script
6 16 (1.98%) Perl
7 13 (1.61%) C
7 13 (1.61%) C++
8 12 (1.49%) Ada
8 12 (1.49%) Bash
9 8 (0.99%) C#
10 3 (0.37%) Korn
11 2 (0.25%) AWK
11 2 (0.25%) Magik
11 2 (0.25%) TypeScript
11 2 (0.25%) VB.NET
11 2 (0.25%) VBScript
12 1 (0.12%) Tcl
12 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 236 (29.21%) Security Cleared
2 188 (23.27%) SC Cleared
3 48 (5.94%) DV Cleared
4 32 (3.96%) Degree
5 31 (3.84%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (2.23%) Azure Certification
7 16 (1.98%) Network+ Certification
8 13 (1.61%) A+ Certification
9 12 (1.49%) BPSS Clearance
10 11 (1.36%) Server+ Certification
11 8 (0.99%) DBS Check
12 6 (0.74%) CCNA
12 6 (0.74%) Cisco Certification
12 6 (0.74%) MCSE
13 4 (0.50%) Computer Science Degree
13 4 (0.50%) ITIL Certification
14 3 (0.37%) Master's Degree
14 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Certified Professional
15 1 (0.12%) HND
15 1 (0.12%) MCITP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (3.84%) SLA
2 8 (0.99%) GDPR
3 5 (0.62%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 4 (0.50%) QA
5 2 (0.25%) 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
1 228 (28.22%) Active Directory
2 30 (3.71%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (2.48%) Hyper-V
4 13 (1.61%) Virtual Desktop
5 12 (1.49%) VMware NSX
6 7 (0.87%) Docker
6 7 (0.87%) Firmware
7 4 (0.50%) vSphere
8 3 (0.37%) Oracle RAC
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
Systems Management
1 90 (11.14%) Microsoft Intune
2 66 (8.17%) SCCM
3 28 (3.47%) Jamf Pro
4 19 (2.35%) Ansible
5 14 (1.73%) vCenter Server
6 13 (1.61%) Terraform
7 11 (1.36%) Grafana
8 6 (0.74%) Kubernetes
8 6 (0.74%) Red Hat Satellite
9 5 (0.62%) Single Sign-On
10 4 (0.50%) 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 (0.25%) Prometheus
12 2 (0.25%) SCOM
12 2 (0.25%) WSUS
13 1 (0.12%) Autotask
13 1 (0.12%) Nagios
Vendors
1 292 (36.14%) Microsoft
2 98 (12.13%) ServiceNow
3 42 (5.20%) VMware
4 35 (4.33%) Oracle
5 34 (4.21%) Apple
5 34 (4.21%) Cisco
6 28 (3.47%) SAP
7 24 (2.97%) Dell
8 21 (2.60%) HP
9 20 (2.48%) Google
9 20 (2.48%) Juniper
9 20 (2.48%) Red Hat
10 17 (2.10%) Splunk
11 15 (1.86%) SolarWinds
12 12 (1.49%) Citrix
12 12 (1.49%) Twitter
13 10 (1.24%) Remedy
14 8 (0.99%) Bloomberg
15 6 (0.74%) New Relic
15 6 (0.74%) Siemens