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 16 July 2026.

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

6 months to
16 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 169 130 108
Rank change year-on-year -39 -22 -5
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 820 680 882
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.09% 2.07%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.68% 2.28% 2.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 535 433 600
10th Percentile £159 £160 £140
25th Percentile £185 £200 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £225 £238 £223
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +6.74% -11.00%
75th Percentile £390 £375 £340
90th Percentile £490 £504 £502
UK excluding London median daily rate £210 £230 £205
% change year-on-year -8.70% +12.20% -8.07%
Number of hourly rates quoted 59 61 61
10th Percentile £16.88 £16.67 £16.25
25th Percentile £18.50 £20.64 £18.03
Median hourly rate £25.77 £25.15 £22.15
Median % change year-on-year +2.47% +13.54% +10.75%
75th Percentile £36.00 £43.75 £28.75
90th Percentile £53.00 £68.00 £53.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £25.15 £22.25
% change year-on-year -12.52% +13.03% +22.86%

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 48,701 29,792 39,645
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.54% 91.70% 93.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,482 18,952 25,549
10th Percentile £325 £287 £288
25th Percentile £419 £400 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -2.33%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +5.26% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,274 1,409 2,702
10th Percentile £15.93 £13.75 £13.00
25th Percentile £21.27 £17.30 £17.00
Median hourly rate £45.00 £26.21 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +71.69% -34.48% -5.88%
75th Percentile £67.84 £55.49 £63.75
90th Percentile £80.04 £74.00 £73.98
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.56 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +81.13% -37.13% +6.67%

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 16 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 16 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 16 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 -49 696 £220 -7.37% 258
UK excluding London -37 553 £210 -8.70% 265
London -46 237 £240 -9.86% 45
South East -29 162 £238 -5.00% 81
North of England -70 100 £190 -13.64% 43
Work from Home -103 81 £250 -23.08% 66
Scotland +53 80 £437 +20.55% 28
Midlands -55 69 £250 -1.96% 35
East of England +1 64 £200 -11.11% 31
South West -46 63 £210 -10.64% 44
North West -47 61 £190 -13.64% 20
West Midlands -63 43 £250 -9.09% 17
Yorkshire -31 38 £200 -14.89% 18
East Midlands 0 25 £220 +22.22% 18
Wales -21 10 £195 -2.50% 3
Northern Ireland -2 5 £175 - 6
North East -54 1 £290 +48.72% 7
Channel Islands - 1 £550 -

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

For the 6 months to 16 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.

1 427 (52.07%) Windows
2 344 (41.95%) Active Directory
3 331 (40.37%) Microsoft
4 292 (35.61%) Microsoft 365
5 188 (22.93%) Problem-Solving
6 176 (21.46%) Windows 10
7 164 (20.00%) Customer Service
8 159 (19.39%) Security Cleared
9 155 (18.90%) ITIL
10 142 (17.32%) Azure
11 126 (15.37%) Microsoft Intune
12 114 (13.90%) Entra ID
13 113 (13.78%) ServiceNow
14 103 (12.56%) SC Cleared
15 92 (11.22%) SharePoint
16 90 (10.98%) DNS
17 87 (10.61%) ITSM
18 82 (10.00%) PowerShell
19 65 (7.93%) SQL
20 63 (7.68%) JIRA
21 62 (7.56%) Linux
22 61 (7.44%) VPN
23 59 (7.20%) Continuous Improvement
23 59 (7.20%) DHCP
24 57 (6.95%) Microsoft Exchange
24 57 (6.95%) Service Delivery
25 53 (6.46%) Mac OS
25 53 (6.46%) Migration
26 52 (6.34%) Degree
26 52 (6.34%) TCP/IP

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 92 (11.22%) SharePoint
2 57 (6.95%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.46%) NetWeaver
4 9 (1.10%) HCL Notes
5 5 (0.61%) Confluence
6 3 (0.37%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.24%) IIS
7 2 (0.24%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.24%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.12%) Tuxedo
8 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 42 (5.12%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.59%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) Acrobat
4 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.12%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 11 (1.34%) SAP S/4HANA
2 5 (0.61%) Remedy ITSM
2 5 (0.61%) Teamcenter
3 4 (0.49%) SAP EHS
4 2 (0.24%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.12%) Alphatax
5 1 (0.12%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.12%) Dynamics GP
5 1 (0.12%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 292 (35.61%) Microsoft 365
2 142 (17.32%) Azure
3 114 (13.90%) Entra ID
4 38 (4.63%) OneDrive
5 32 (3.90%) AWS
6 21 (2.56%) Azure DevOps
7 19 (2.32%) SaaS
8 16 (1.95%) GCP
9 11 (1.34%) Power Platform
10 9 (1.10%) PaaS
11 6 (0.73%) Google Workspace
11 6 (0.73%) IaaS
11 6 (0.73%) Mimecast
12 4 (0.49%) Amazon S3
12 4 (0.49%) Azure Data Factory
13 3 (0.37%) Amazon EC2
13 3 (0.37%) OpenShift
13 3 (0.37%) PowerApps
13 3 (0.37%) Sauce Labs
14 2 (0.24%) Matillion
Communications & Networking
1 90 (10.98%) DNS
2 61 (7.44%) VPN
3 59 (7.20%) DHCP
4 52 (6.34%) TCP/IP
5 50 (6.10%) Wi-Fi
6 40 (4.88%) LAN
7 26 (3.17%) WAN
8 24 (2.93%) SAN
9 20 (2.44%) Firewall
10 18 (2.20%) Internet
11 15 (1.83%) VLAN
12 9 (1.10%) WLAN
13 8 (0.98%) Wireless
14 7 (0.85%) HTTP
14 7 (0.85%) Skype
15 6 (0.73%) VoIP
16 5 (0.61%) Network Security
17 4 (0.49%) Remote Desktop
17 4 (0.49%) Unified Communications
18 3 (0.37%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (4.51%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.07%) MySQL
3 12 (1.46%) SAP HANA
4 11 (1.34%) Sybase ASE
5 10 (1.22%) MaxDB
6 9 (1.10%) Amazon Redshift
6 9 (1.10%) Power BI
6 9 (1.10%) Relational Database
7 7 (0.85%) Pentaho
8 6 (0.73%) PostgreSQL
8 6 (0.73%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.61%) Amazon RDS
10 4 (0.49%) Oracle Database
10 4 (0.49%) Oracle Database 12c
11 3 (0.37%) Big Data
11 3 (0.37%) Elasticsearch
11 3 (0.37%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.24%) Data Warehouse
12 2 (0.24%) MariaDB
12 2 (0.24%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 63 (7.68%) JIRA
2 19 (2.32%) Git
3 9 (1.10%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.37%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.37%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.37%) Xcode
5 2 (0.24%) Firebug
5 2 (0.24%) 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
1 332 (40.49%) Social Skills
2 97 (11.83%) Analytical Skills
3 62 (7.56%) Finance
4 48 (5.85%) Manufacturing
5 37 (4.51%) Banking
6 22 (2.68%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 22 (2.68%) Organisational Skills
7 20 (2.44%) Investment Banking
8 15 (1.83%) Documentation Skills
8 15 (1.83%) Retail
9 14 (1.71%) Aerospace
10 13 (1.59%) Aviation
10 13 (1.59%) Law
11 10 (1.22%) Front Office
12 9 (1.10%) Financial Institution
12 9 (1.10%) Legal
13 8 (0.98%) Spanish Language
13 8 (0.98%) Telecoms
14 7 (0.85%) Marketing
15 6 (0.73%) Public Sector
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 12 (1.46%) .NET
2 11 (1.34%) SAP Basis
3 10 (1.22%) Oracle GoldenGate
3 10 (1.22%) REST
4 9 (1.10%) LDAP
5 7 (0.85%) JDO
5 7 (0.85%) XML
6 6 (0.73%) SAP Fiori
6 6 (0.73%) SAPUI5
6 6 (0.73%) Software Packaging
7 5 (0.61%) CSS
7 5 (0.61%) SAML
8 4 (0.49%) .NET Framework
8 4 (0.49%) Middleware
8 4 (0.49%) OAuth
9 3 (0.37%) Ajax
9 3 (0.37%) HTML
9 3 (0.37%) JSP
9 3 (0.37%) RESTful
9 3 (0.37%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 95 (11.59%) Onboarding
2 35 (4.27%) Data Centre
3 23 (2.80%) Self-Motivation
4 21 (2.56%) Analytical Mindset
5 20 (2.44%) Video Conferencing
6 16 (1.95%) iPhone
6 16 (1.95%) PKI
7 15 (1.83%) Virtual Team
8 14 (1.71%) Data Protection Act
9 13 (1.59%) Enterprise Software
10 12 (1.46%) Driving Licence
10 12 (1.46%) Legacy Systems
11 11 (1.34%) SCADA
12 9 (1.10%) Blackberry
12 9 (1.10%) Hedge funds
12 9 (1.10%) iPad
13 8 (0.98%) Smartphone
14 7 (0.85%) Management Information System
15 6 (0.73%) BYOD
16 5 (0.61%) CCTV
Operating Systems
1 427 (52.07%) Windows
2 176 (21.46%) Windows 10
3 62 (7.56%) Linux
4 53 (6.46%) Mac OS
5 52 (6.34%) Windows Server
6 43 (5.24%) Unix
7 27 (3.29%) Apple iOS
8 24 (2.93%) Android
9 15 (1.83%) Windows 7
10 8 (0.98%) Ubuntu
10 8 (0.98%) Windows Server 2016
11 7 (0.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 7 (0.85%) Windows Server 2019
12 4 (0.49%) Solaris
13 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2012
13 3 (0.37%) Windows XP
14 2 (0.24%) Mac OS X
14 2 (0.24%) OpenVMS
14 2 (0.24%) VMS
14 2 (0.24%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 188 (22.93%) Problem-Solving
2 164 (20.00%) Customer Service
3 155 (18.90%) ITIL
4 87 (10.61%) ITSM
5 59 (7.20%) Continuous Improvement
6 57 (6.95%) Service Delivery
7 53 (6.46%) Migration
8 50 (6.10%) Asset Management
9 44 (5.37%) Change Management
10 42 (5.12%) Service Management
11 41 (5.00%) Problem Management
11 41 (5.00%) User Experience
12 40 (4.88%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 37 (4.51%) Incident Management
14 35 (4.27%) Root Cause Analysis
15 33 (4.02%) DevOps
15 33 (4.02%) Identity Access Management
16 28 (3.41%) High Availability
17 27 (3.29%) Data Protection
18 26 (3.17%) Break/Fix
Programming Languages
1 82 (10.00%) PowerShell
2 65 (7.93%) SQL
3 33 (4.02%) Python
4 26 (3.17%) C#
5 21 (2.56%) Java
6 17 (2.07%) JavaScript
6 17 (2.07%) Shell Script
7 16 (1.95%) Bash
8 10 (1.22%) Korn
9 7 (0.85%) C++
9 7 (0.85%) Perl
10 4 (0.49%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.24%) DCL
11 2 (0.24%) Go
11 2 (0.24%) 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 (19.39%) Security Cleared
2 103 (12.56%) SC Cleared
3 52 (6.34%) Degree
4 40 (4.88%) DV Cleared
5 31 (3.78%) Microsoft Certification
6 28 (3.41%) A+ Certification
7 23 (2.80%) Network+ Certification
8 21 (2.56%) CCNA
8 21 (2.56%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.95%) MCSE
10 15 (1.83%) BPSS Clearance
11 9 (1.10%) Computer Science Degree
11 9 (1.10%) DBS Check
12 8 (0.98%) Azure Certification
13 7 (0.85%) Microsoft Certified Professional
14 6 (0.73%) ITIL Certification
14 6 (0.73%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 4 (0.49%) NVQ Level 4
16 1 (0.12%) CISA
16 1 (0.12%) CTC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (5.24%) SLA
2 4 (0.49%) Data Quality
2 4 (0.49%) GDPR
2 4 (0.49%) QA
3 3 (0.37%) Cyber Essentials
3 3 (0.37%) Sarbanes-Oxley
4 2 (0.24%) GLP
4 2 (0.24%) GMP
4 2 (0.24%) 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
1 344 (41.95%) Active Directory
2 38 (4.63%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (2.68%) VMware ESXi
4 20 (2.44%) Hyper-V
5 17 (2.07%) VMware NSX
6 12 (1.46%) vCloud
6 12 (1.46%) Virtual Desktop
7 10 (1.22%) Oracle RAC
8 8 (0.98%) vSphere
9 5 (0.61%) Docker
9 5 (0.61%) NFS
10 4 (0.49%) BitLocker
11 3 (0.37%) Microsoft App-V
11 3 (0.37%) Terminal Services
12 2 (0.24%) Firmware
12 2 (0.24%) Virtual Servers
13 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 1 (0.12%) XenDesktop
13 1 (0.12%) zsh
Systems Management
1 126 (15.37%) Microsoft Intune
2 47 (5.73%) SCCM
3 22 (2.68%) vCenter Server
4 20 (2.44%) Single Sign-On
5 18 (2.20%) Jamf Pro
6 16 (1.95%) SCOM
7 11 (1.34%) Grafana
8 10 (1.22%) Ansible
8 10 (1.22%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 10 (1.22%) Oracle RMAN
9 7 (0.85%) Kubernetes
9 7 (0.85%) Terraform
10 5 (0.61%) 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 (0.24%) PaperCut
12 2 (0.24%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 331 (40.37%) Microsoft
2 113 (13.78%) ServiceNow
3 49 (5.98%) VMware
4 33 (4.02%) Apple
5 30 (3.66%) Oracle
6 27 (3.29%) Okta
7 21 (2.56%) Dell
7 21 (2.56%) SAP
8 19 (2.32%) Citrix
9 18 (2.20%) Google
10 17 (2.07%) BeyondTrust
10 17 (2.07%) Cisco
11 15 (1.83%) HP
12 11 (1.34%) Sybase
13 10 (1.22%) Meraki
14 9 (1.10%) Lotus
14 9 (1.10%) McAfee
15 8 (0.98%) Red Hat
15 8 (0.98%) Remedy
15 8 (0.98%) Splunk