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 26 May 2026.

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

 6 months to
26 May 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 173 134 111
Rank change year-on-year -39 -23 +11
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 755 616 849
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.15% 1.99%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.68% 2.33% 2.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 500 389 587
10th Percentile £153 £153 £140
25th Percentile £184 £190 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £213 £235 £210
Median % change year-on-year -9.57% +11.90% -16.00%
75th Percentile £388 £380 £328
90th Percentile £488 £488 £450
UK excluding London median daily rate £203 £220 £200
% change year-on-year -7.95% +10.00% -5.88%
Number of hourly rates quoted 72 52 52
10th Percentile £18.07 £18.11 £16.25
25th Percentile £20.09 £20.11 £18.00
Median hourly rate £24.49 £24.83 £22.15
Median % change year-on-year -1.38% +12.10% +4.80%
75th Percentile £36.00 £38.88 £43.75
90th Percentile £38.63 £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 44,822 26,395 39,583
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.33% 92.28% 92.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,378 17,183 25,758
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% -2.78%
75th Percentile £619 £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 2,956 1,008 2,746
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.00 £12.81
25th Percentile £20.49 £18.12 £16.30
Median hourly rate £42.50 £27.52 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +54.46% -24.62% -18.89%
75th Percentile £67.06 £60.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £78.75 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.69 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +73.72% -37.13% -5.88%

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 26 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 26 May 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 26 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 -51 662 £210 -10.64% 269
UK excluding London -38 513 £203 -7.95% 262
London -53 209 £275 - 48
South East -30 145 £210 -16.00% 77
Midlands -34 89 £209 -20.57% 42
North of England -72 89 £190 -11.63% 62
Work from Home -62 87 £216 -27.92% 63
South West -37 75 £210 -10.64% 24
East of England -13 57 £200 -6.98% 36
North West -40 54 £190 -11.63% 31
West Midlands -56 53 £250 -9.09% 25
Scotland +34 51 £394 +96.75% 17
East Midlands -1 37 £200 -5.88% 17
Yorkshire -43 33 £190 -19.15% 22
Wales -17 9 £250 +25.00% 5
Northern Ireland -4 4 £175 +17.45% 2
North East -35 2 £290 +48.72% 11
Channel Islands - 1 £550 -

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

For the 6 months to 26 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.

1 337 (44.64%) Windows
2 262 (34.70%) Microsoft
3 255 (33.77%) Active Directory
4 229 (30.33%) Microsoft 365
5 158 (20.93%) Windows 10
6 151 (20.00%) Security Cleared
7 144 (19.07%) Customer Service
8 141 (18.68%) Problem-Solving
9 135 (17.88%) Azure
10 111 (14.70%) ITIL
11 109 (14.44%) SC Cleared
12 98 (12.98%) Microsoft Intune
13 89 (11.79%) ServiceNow
14 76 (10.07%) Entra ID
15 64 (8.48%) ITSM
16 60 (7.95%) PowerShell
17 57 (7.55%) SharePoint
17 57 (7.55%) SQL
18 55 (7.28%) DNS
19 54 (7.15%) Migration
20 51 (6.75%) JIRA
21 48 (6.36%) Linux
22 44 (5.83%) Wi-Fi
23 43 (5.70%) SCCM
24 42 (5.56%) Unix
25 41 (5.43%) Windows Server
26 40 (5.30%) DHCP
26 40 (5.30%) VPN
27 39 (5.17%) Continuous Improvement
27 39 (5.17%) 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 57 (7.55%) SharePoint
2 27 (3.58%) 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 (4.64%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.72%) 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%) Remedy ITSM
4 6 (0.79%) Teamcenter
5 2 (0.26%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.13%) Alphatax
6 1 (0.13%) Bloomberg TOMS
6 1 (0.13%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.13%) Dynamics GP
6 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.13%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 229 (30.33%) Microsoft 365
2 135 (17.88%) Azure
3 76 (10.07%) Entra ID
4 27 (3.58%) 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 4 (0.53%) Datadog
10 4 (0.53%) Google Workspace
10 4 (0.53%) Mimecast
10 4 (0.53%) Snowflake
11 3 (0.40%) GitHub
11 3 (0.40%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 55 (7.28%) DNS
2 44 (5.83%) Wi-Fi
3 40 (5.30%) DHCP
3 40 (5.30%) VPN
4 38 (5.03%) LAN
5 32 (4.24%) TCP/IP
6 23 (3.05%) 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%) Remote Desktop
16 3 (0.40%) SNMP
17 2 (0.26%) FTP
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%) Amazon RDS
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%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 51 (6.75%) JIRA
2 19 (2.52%) 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
1 291 (38.54%) Social Skills
2 83 (10.99%) Analytical Skills
3 51 (6.75%) Finance
4 48 (6.36%) Manufacturing
5 36 (4.77%) Banking
6 22 (2.91%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 20 (2.65%) Aerospace
7 20 (2.65%) Investment Banking
8 18 (2.38%) Law
9 16 (2.12%) Aviation
10 13 (1.72%) Organisational Skills
11 11 (1.46%) Documentation Skills
12 10 (1.32%) 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%) RESTful
7 3 (0.40%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 57 (7.55%) Onboarding
2 31 (4.11%) Data Centre
3 25 (3.31%) Self-Motivation
4 23 (3.05%) Analytical Mindset
5 15 (1.99%) Enterprise Software
5 15 (1.99%) Virtual Team
6 14 (1.85%) Smartphone
7 13 (1.72%) Driving Licence
8 12 (1.59%) Data Protection Act
8 12 (1.59%) PKI
9 11 (1.46%) iPhone
9 11 (1.46%) Legacy Systems
10 10 (1.32%) SCADA
11 8 (1.06%) Hybrid Cloud
12 7 (0.93%) Video Conferencing
13 6 (0.79%) Blackberry
13 6 (0.79%) Mobile App
14 5 (0.66%) CCTV
15 4 (0.53%) Hedge funds
15 4 (0.53%) iPad
Operating Systems
1 337 (44.64%) Windows
2 158 (20.93%) Windows 10
3 48 (6.36%) Linux
4 42 (5.56%) Unix
5 41 (5.43%) Windows Server
6 38 (5.03%) 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%) Solaris
12 4 (0.53%) Windows Server 2019
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
1 144 (19.07%) Customer Service
2 141 (18.68%) Problem-Solving
3 111 (14.70%) ITIL
4 64 (8.48%) ITSM
5 54 (7.15%) Migration
6 39 (5.17%) Continuous Improvement
7 38 (5.03%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 36 (4.77%) Change Management
9 35 (4.64%) Root Cause Analysis
10 33 (4.37%) Asset Management
10 33 (4.37%) DevOps
10 33 (4.37%) User Experience
11 32 (4.24%) Incident Management
11 32 (4.24%) Service Delivery
12 31 (4.11%) Service Management
13 27 (3.58%) Problem Management
14 24 (3.18%) Data Protection
15 23 (3.05%) Break/Fix
16 21 (2.78%) CI/CD
17 20 (2.65%) Agile
Programming Languages
1 60 (7.95%) PowerShell
2 57 (7.55%) SQL
3 29 (3.84%) Python
4 21 (2.78%) Java
5 20 (2.65%) C#
6 19 (2.52%) JavaScript
7 15 (1.99%) Shell Script
8 10 (1.32%) Korn
8 10 (1.32%) Perl
9 9 (1.19%) Bash
10 6 (0.79%) C++
11 1 (0.13%) C
11 1 (0.13%) R
11 1 (0.13%) T-SQL
11 1 (0.13%) VB.NET
11 1 (0.13%) VBA
11 1 (0.13%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 151 (20.00%) Security Cleared
2 109 (14.44%) SC Cleared
3 39 (5.17%) Degree
4 33 (4.37%) DV Cleared
5 24 (3.18%) 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 (1.99%) BPSS Clearance
11 10 (1.32%) Computer Science Degree
12 9 (1.19%) Azure Certification
13 7 (0.93%) DBS Check
14 6 (0.79%) ITIL Certification
15 4 (0.53%) NVQ Level 4
16 2 (0.26%) Microsoft Certified Professional
17 1 (0.13%) CCNP
17 1 (0.13%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
17 1 (0.13%) MCSA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (4.24%) 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
1 255 (33.77%) Active Directory
2 26 (3.44%) VMware Infrastructure
3 13 (1.72%) Hyper-V
4 12 (1.59%) VMware NSX
5 11 (1.46%) VMware ESXi
6 10 (1.32%) Oracle RAC
7 9 (1.19%) Virtual Desktop
8 7 (0.93%) vCloud
9 5 (0.66%) vSphere
10 3 (0.40%) Firmware
10 3 (0.40%) NFS
11 2 (0.26%) Virtual Servers
12 1 (0.13%) BitLocker
12 1 (0.13%) Docker
12 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Virtual Server
12 1 (0.13%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 98 (12.98%) Microsoft Intune
2 43 (5.70%) SCCM
3 17 (2.25%) Jamf Pro
3 17 (2.25%) Single Sign-On
4 14 (1.85%) 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%) Red Hat Satellite
10 3 (0.40%) vRealize
11 2 (0.26%) AirWatch
11 2 (0.26%) Kibana
11 2 (0.26%) McAfee ePO
11 2 (0.26%) PaperCut
11 2 (0.26%) WMI
12 1 (0.13%) WSUS
Vendors
1 262 (34.70%) Microsoft
2 89 (11.79%) ServiceNow
3 35 (4.64%) Oracle
4 30 (3.97%) VMware
5 26 (3.44%) Dell
6 24 (3.18%) SAP
7 21 (2.78%) Apple
8 16 (2.12%) Cisco
8 16 (2.12%) HP
9 12 (1.59%) Okta
10 10 (1.32%) Google
10 10 (1.32%) McAfee
11 9 (1.19%) Sybase
12 8 (1.06%) Citrix
12 8 (1.06%) Denodo
12 8 (1.06%) Remedy
12 8 (1.06%) Splunk
12 8 (1.06%) Starlink
12 8 (1.06%) Talend
13 7 (0.93%) Databricks
302 Support Engineer jobs Nationwide