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 20 May 2026.

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

 6 months to
20 May 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 167 127 116
Rank change year-on-year -40 -11 +2
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 751 634 837
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.17% 1.97%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.69% 2.35% 2.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 499 399 576
10th Percentile £153 £153 £140
25th Percentile £183 £190 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £210 £235 £210
Median % change year-on-year -10.64% +11.90% -16.00%
75th Percentile £369 £382 £319
90th Percentile £470 £490 £447
UK excluding London median daily rate £203 £225 £200
% change year-on-year -10.00% +12.50% -5.88%
Number of hourly rates quoted 76 52 54
10th Percentile £17.59 £18.13 £16.25
25th Percentile £21.25 £20.64 £17.72
Median hourly rate £25.15 £24.66 £21.41
Median % change year-on-year +1.99% +15.19% +5.46%
75th Percentile £36.00 £37.38 £29.84
90th Percentile £38.13 £68.00 £46.39
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £24.66 £18.20
% change year-on-year -8.76% +35.49% -9.00%

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 44,449 26,943 39,487
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.32% 92.37% 92.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,215 17,536 25,722
10th Percentile £325 £293 £280
25th Percentile £413 £406 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £510 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.49% -2.86% -3.23%
75th Percentile £615 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,895 1,057 2,674
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.00 £12.83
25th Percentile £20.31 £18.13 £16.30
Median hourly rate £42.69 £28.00 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +52.45% -23.29% -18.89%
75th Percentile £66.13 £61.25 £61.30
90th Percentile £77.80 £75.00 £72.90
UK excluding London median hourly rate £44.00 £27.00 £40.00
% change year-on-year +62.96% -32.50% -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 20 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 20 May 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 20 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 -50 660 £210 -11.58% 286
UK excluding London -32 510 £203 -10.00% 277
London -39 206 £278 +0.91% 51
South East -30 142 £210 -16.00% 96
North of England -66 89 £190 -11.63% 62
Midlands -35 88 £204 -25.73% 36
Work from Home -62 84 £210 -30.00% 66
South West -42 75 £210 -10.64% 26
East of England -6 61 £200 -10.11% 39
North West -43 55 £183 -15.12% 30
West Midlands -49 53 £250 -9.09% 21
Scotland +20 48 £313 +108.33% 19
East Midlands -1 36 £200 -5.88% 15
Yorkshire -46 32 £190 -19.15% 24
Wales -17 9 £250 +25.00% 3
Northern Ireland -8 4 £175 +17.45% 1
North East -36 2 £290 +48.72% 10

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

For the 6 months to 20 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.

1 334 (44.47%) Windows
2 257 (34.22%) Microsoft
3 251 (33.42%) Active Directory
4 227 (30.23%) Microsoft 365
5 155 (20.64%) Windows 10
6 148 (19.71%) Security Cleared
7 145 (19.31%) Customer Service
8 140 (18.64%) Problem-Solving
9 133 (17.71%) Azure
10 111 (14.78%) SC Cleared
11 107 (14.25%) ITIL
12 95 (12.65%) Microsoft Intune
13 86 (11.45%) ServiceNow
14 73 (9.72%) Entra ID
15 60 (7.99%) ITSM
16 57 (7.59%) PowerShell
17 56 (7.46%) Migration
18 55 (7.32%) SQL
19 54 (7.19%) SharePoint
20 53 (7.06%) DNS
21 51 (6.79%) JIRA
22 46 (6.13%) SCCM
23 45 (5.99%) Linux
24 43 (5.73%) Wi-Fi
25 41 (5.46%) Degree
26 40 (5.33%) Continuous Improvement
26 40 (5.33%) DHCP
27 39 (5.19%) Unix
28 38 (5.06%) Mac OS
28 38 (5.06%) Windows Server

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 54 (7.19%) SharePoint
2 25 (3.33%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (1.20%) NetWeaver
4 5 (0.67%) HCL Notes
5 4 (0.53%) Confluence
5 4 (0.53%) IIS
6 3 (0.40%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.27%) Apache
7 2 (0.27%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.27%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.13%) Tuxedo
8 1 (0.13%) WebSphere
Applications
1 34 (4.53%) Microsoft Office
2 12 (1.60%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 10 (1.33%) SAP EHS
2 8 (1.07%) SAP S/4HANA
3 7 (0.93%) Shopify
4 6 (0.80%) Teamcenter
5 5 (0.67%) Remedy ITSM
6 2 (0.27%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.13%) Alphatax
7 1 (0.13%) Bloomberg TOMS
7 1 (0.13%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.13%) Dynamics GP
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.13%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 227 (30.23%) Microsoft 365
2 133 (17.71%) Azure
3 73 (9.72%) Entra ID
4 27 (3.60%) AWS
5 22 (2.93%) Azure DevOps
5 22 (2.93%) SaaS
6 21 (2.80%) OneDrive
7 11 (1.46%) Dynamics 365
7 11 (1.46%) Power Platform
8 10 (1.33%) GCP
9 6 (0.80%) Amazon S3
9 6 (0.80%) Azure Data Factory
9 6 (0.80%) PaaS
9 6 (0.80%) Sauce Labs
10 5 (0.67%) Google Workspace
11 4 (0.53%) Datadog
11 4 (0.53%) Mimecast
11 4 (0.53%) Snowflake
12 3 (0.40%) GitHub
12 3 (0.40%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 53 (7.06%) DNS
2 43 (5.73%) Wi-Fi
3 40 (5.33%) DHCP
4 37 (4.93%) LAN
4 37 (4.93%) VPN
5 31 (4.13%) TCP/IP
6 22 (2.93%) WAN
7 21 (2.80%) SAN
8 13 (1.73%) Firewall
9 12 (1.60%) Internet
9 12 (1.60%) VLAN
10 9 (1.20%) WLAN
11 8 (1.07%) Wireless
12 7 (0.93%) HTTP
13 6 (0.80%) VoIP
14 5 (0.67%) Skype
15 4 (0.53%) Unified Communications
16 3 (0.40%) Network Security
16 3 (0.40%) Remote Desktop
16 3 (0.40%) Softphone
Database & Business Intelligence
1 28 (3.73%) SQL Server
2 20 (2.66%) MySQL
3 14 (1.86%) Relational Database
4 13 (1.73%) Amazon Redshift
5 9 (1.20%) Power BI
5 9 (1.20%) SAP HANA
5 9 (1.20%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 8 (1.07%) Sybase ASE
7 7 (0.93%) MaxDB
7 7 (0.93%) Pentaho
8 5 (0.67%) Oracle Database
8 5 (0.67%) PostgreSQL
9 4 (0.53%) Amazon Athena
9 4 (0.53%) Oracle Database 12c
10 3 (0.40%) MariaDB
11 2 (0.27%) Azure SQL Database
11 2 (0.27%) Data Warehouse
11 2 (0.27%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 1 (0.13%) Crystal Reports
12 1 (0.13%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 51 (6.79%) JIRA
2 19 (2.53%) Git
3 13 (1.73%) Browser DevTools
4 6 (0.80%) Android Studio
4 6 (0.80%) Eclipse
4 6 (0.80%) Xcode
5 3 (0.40%) Firebug
6 2 (0.27%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.27%) 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
1 289 (38.48%) Social Skills
2 80 (10.65%) Analytical Skills
3 50 (6.66%) Manufacturing
4 48 (6.39%) Finance
5 34 (4.53%) Banking
6 22 (2.93%) Aerospace
7 21 (2.80%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 18 (2.40%) Investment Banking
9 17 (2.26%) Aviation
9 17 (2.26%) Law
10 12 (1.60%) Organisational Skills
11 11 (1.46%) Public Sector
12 10 (1.33%) Documentation Skills
13 9 (1.20%) Front Office
13 9 (1.20%) Legal
14 8 (1.07%) Telecoms
15 7 (0.93%) Retail
16 6 (0.80%) French Language
16 6 (0.80%) Marketing
17 5 (0.67%) Pharmaceutical
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (1.33%) Oracle GoldenGate
2 9 (1.20%) CSS
2 9 (1.20%) REST
3 8 (1.07%) SAP Basis
4 7 (0.93%) JDO
5 6 (0.80%) .NET
5 6 (0.80%) Ajax
5 6 (0.80%) AngularJS
5 6 (0.80%) GraphQL
5 6 (0.80%) React
6 5 (0.67%) Middleware
6 5 (0.67%) PySpark
6 5 (0.67%) SAML
6 5 (0.67%) YAML
7 4 (0.53%) HTML
7 4 (0.53%) OAuth
8 3 (0.40%) RESTful
8 3 (0.40%) SAP Fiori
8 3 (0.40%) SAPUI5
8 3 (0.40%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 54 (7.19%) Onboarding
2 30 (3.99%) Data Centre
3 24 (3.20%) Self-Motivation
4 23 (3.06%) Analytical Mindset
5 15 (2.00%) Driving Licence
6 14 (1.86%) Smartphone
6 14 (1.86%) Virtual Team
7 13 (1.73%) Data Protection Act
7 13 (1.73%) Enterprise Software
8 11 (1.46%) iPhone
8 11 (1.46%) PKI
9 10 (1.33%) SCADA
10 9 (1.20%) Legacy Systems
11 8 (1.07%) Hybrid Cloud
12 7 (0.93%) Video Conferencing
13 6 (0.80%) Mobile App
14 5 (0.67%) Blackberry
15 4 (0.53%) CCTV
15 4 (0.53%) Hedge funds
15 4 (0.53%) iPad
Operating Systems
1 334 (44.47%) Windows
2 155 (20.64%) Windows 10
3 45 (5.99%) Linux
4 39 (5.19%) Unix
5 38 (5.06%) Mac OS
5 38 (5.06%) Windows Server
6 21 (2.80%) Android
6 21 (2.80%) Apple iOS
7 14 (1.86%) Windows 7
8 6 (0.80%) Windows Server 2016
9 4 (0.53%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (0.53%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.40%) Mac OS X
10 3 (0.40%) Windows Server 2012
11 2 (0.27%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.13%) CentOS
12 1 (0.13%) Solaris
12 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
12 1 (0.13%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 145 (19.31%) Customer Service
2 140 (18.64%) Problem-Solving
3 107 (14.25%) ITIL
4 60 (7.99%) ITSM
5 56 (7.46%) Migration
6 40 (5.33%) Continuous Improvement
7 36 (4.79%) Root Cause Analysis
8 35 (4.66%) Change Management
8 35 (4.66%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 34 (4.53%) Asset Management
9 34 (4.53%) User Experience
10 33 (4.39%) DevOps
11 31 (4.13%) Service Management
12 30 (3.99%) Incident Management
13 29 (3.86%) Service Delivery
14 26 (3.46%) Problem Management
15 25 (3.33%) Data Protection
16 23 (3.06%) Break/Fix
17 22 (2.93%) Workflow
18 21 (2.80%) CI/CD
Programming Languages
1 57 (7.59%) PowerShell
2 55 (7.32%) SQL
3 29 (3.86%) Python
4 21 (2.80%) Java
5 20 (2.66%) C#
6 19 (2.53%) JavaScript
7 15 (2.00%) Shell Script
8 10 (1.33%) Korn
8 10 (1.33%) Perl
9 9 (1.20%) Bash
10 3 (0.40%) 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
1 148 (19.71%) Security Cleared
2 111 (14.78%) SC Cleared
3 41 (5.46%) Degree
4 28 (3.73%) DV Cleared
5 24 (3.20%) Microsoft Certification
6 22 (2.93%) A+ Certification
7 20 (2.66%) CCNA
7 20 (2.66%) Cisco Certification
8 16 (2.13%) BPSS Clearance
8 16 (2.13%) MCSE
8 16 (2.13%) Network+ Certification
9 10 (1.33%) Computer Science Degree
10 9 (1.20%) Azure Certification
11 7 (0.93%) DBS Check
12 6 (0.80%) ITIL Certification
13 4 (0.53%) NVQ Level 4
14 2 (0.27%) Master's Degree
15 1 (0.13%) AWS Certification
15 1 (0.13%) CompTIA Security+
15 1 (0.13%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 29 (3.86%) SLA
2 5 (0.67%) Cyber Essentials
3 4 (0.53%) GDPR
4 3 (0.40%) Data Quality
4 3 (0.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 2 (0.27%) GLP
5 2 (0.27%) 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
1 251 (33.42%) Active Directory
2 25 (3.33%) VMware Infrastructure
3 12 (1.60%) Hyper-V
4 10 (1.33%) Oracle RAC
4 10 (1.33%) VMware NSX
5 9 (1.20%) VMware ESXi
6 8 (1.07%) Virtual Desktop
7 5 (0.67%) vCloud
7 5 (0.67%) vSphere
8 4 (0.53%) Firmware
9 2 (0.27%) NFS
9 2 (0.27%) Virtual Servers
10 1 (0.13%) BitLocker
10 1 (0.13%) Docker
10 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.13%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 95 (12.65%) Microsoft Intune
2 46 (6.13%) SCCM
3 17 (2.26%) Jamf Pro
4 16 (2.13%) Single Sign-On
5 15 (2.00%) Grafana
6 10 (1.33%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
6 10 (1.33%) Oracle RMAN
7 9 (1.20%) vCenter Server
8 8 (1.07%) Terraform
9 7 (0.93%) Ansible
10 6 (0.80%) SCOM
11 4 (0.53%) Kubernetes
12 3 (0.40%) Kibana
12 3 (0.40%) vRealize
13 2 (0.27%) AirWatch
13 2 (0.27%) McAfee ePO
13 2 (0.27%) PaperCut
13 2 (0.27%) Prometheus
13 2 (0.27%) Red Hat Satellite
13 2 (0.27%) WMI
Vendors
1 257 (34.22%) Microsoft
2 86 (11.45%) ServiceNow
3 34 (4.53%) Oracle
4 28 (3.73%) VMware
5 26 (3.46%) Dell
5 26 (3.46%) SAP
6 19 (2.53%) Apple
7 16 (2.13%) HP
8 15 (2.00%) Cisco
9 11 (1.46%) Google
9 11 (1.46%) Okta
10 10 (1.33%) McAfee
11 9 (1.20%) Bloomberg
12 8 (1.07%) Citrix
12 8 (1.07%) Denodo
12 8 (1.07%) Splunk
12 8 (1.07%) Starlink
12 8 (1.07%) Sybase
12 8 (1.07%) Talend
13 7 (0.93%) Databricks
319 Support Engineer jobs Nationwide