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 8 July 2026.

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

6 months to
8 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 169 139 109
Rank change year-on-year -30 -30 -1
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 815 663 877
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.08% 2.03%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.69% 2.26% 2.19%
Number of daily rates quoted 528 427 595
10th Percentile £156 £160 £140
25th Percentile £185 £200 £163
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £225 £238 £225
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +5.56% -10.00%
75th Percentile £386 £375 £340
90th Percentile £490 £500 £500
UK excluding London median daily rate £208 £225 £205
% change year-on-year -7.56% +9.76% -6.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 53 58
10th Percentile £17.39 £18.10 £16.25
25th Percentile £18.50 £20.64 £18.13
Median hourly rate £24.50 £25.15 £22.40
Median % change year-on-year -2.58% +12.28% +12.00%
75th Percentile £36.00 £43.75 £37.34
90th Percentile £48.35 £68.00 £54.35
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £25.15 £24.18
% change year-on-year -10.54% +4.01% +33.52%

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 48,237 29,379 40,107
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.46% 91.96% 93.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,223 18,754 25,817
10th Percentile £325 £287 £285
25th Percentile £417 £400 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -2.33%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £493
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.65% -1.40%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,243 1,333 2,768
10th Percentile £15.75 £13.75 £12.86
25th Percentile £21.25 £17.44 £16.62
Median hourly rate £43.00 £26.45 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +62.57% -29.47% -12.79%
75th Percentile £67.50 £55.25 £62.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £73.25 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +78.93% -37.13% +1.07%

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 8 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 8 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 8 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 -44 699 £213 -10.53% 284
UK excluding London -37 548 £208 -7.56% 301
London -50 236 £260 -0.95% 52
South East -34 158 £238 -5.00% 81
North of England -69 97 £190 -6.17% 53
Work from Home -76 86 £239 -20.42% 91
Midlands -46 76 £210 -17.62% 45
Scotland +42 70 £437 +40.97% 38
South West -51 66 £210 -10.64% 51
East of England -1 65 £195 -13.33% 25
North West -43 58 £190 -5.00% 27
West Midlands -62 46 £250 -9.09% 20
Yorkshire -20 38 £200 -14.89% 21
East Midlands +5 29 £200 +16.96% 25
Wales -26 11 £195 -2.50% 5
Northern Ireland +2 5 £175 - 9
North East -54 1 £290 +48.72% 7
Channel Islands - 1 £550 - 2

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

For the 6 months to 8 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.

1 421 (51.66%) Windows
2 331 (40.61%) Active Directory
3 312 (38.28%) Microsoft
4 283 (34.72%) Microsoft 365
5 182 (22.33%) Problem-Solving
6 175 (21.47%) Windows 10
7 162 (19.88%) Security Cleared
8 159 (19.51%) Customer Service
9 147 (18.04%) ITIL
10 143 (17.55%) Azure
11 122 (14.97%) Microsoft Intune
12 108 (13.25%) SC Cleared
12 108 (13.25%) ServiceNow
13 101 (12.39%) Entra ID
14 84 (10.31%) DNS
15 81 (9.94%) ITSM
16 80 (9.82%) SharePoint
17 78 (9.57%) PowerShell
18 66 (8.10%) SQL
19 64 (7.85%) JIRA
20 62 (7.61%) Linux
21 58 (7.12%) Migration
21 58 (7.12%) VPN
22 56 (6.87%) Continuous Improvement
23 54 (6.63%) DHCP
23 54 (6.63%) Mac OS
24 53 (6.50%) Service Delivery
24 53 (6.50%) Windows Server
25 51 (6.26%) Microsoft Exchange
26 49 (6.01%) 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 80 (9.82%) SharePoint
2 51 (6.26%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.47%) NetWeaver
4 8 (0.98%) HCL Notes
5 5 (0.61%) Confluence
6 3 (0.37%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.25%) IIS
7 2 (0.25%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.25%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.12%) Tuxedo
8 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 41 (5.03%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.60%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.12%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 11 (1.35%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (0.74%) Teamcenter
3 4 (0.49%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.49%) SAP EHS
4 2 (0.25%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.12%) Alphatax
5 1 (0.12%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.12%) Dynamics GP
5 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.12%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 283 (34.72%) Microsoft 365
2 143 (17.55%) Azure
3 101 (12.39%) Entra ID
4 32 (3.93%) AWS
4 32 (3.93%) OneDrive
5 21 (2.58%) Azure DevOps
6 19 (2.33%) SaaS
7 15 (1.84%) GCP
8 11 (1.35%) Power Platform
9 9 (1.10%) PaaS
10 6 (0.74%) Google Workspace
10 6 (0.74%) IaaS
11 5 (0.61%) Amazon S3
11 5 (0.61%) Mimecast
12 4 (0.49%) Azure Data Factory
12 4 (0.49%) Dynamics 365
13 3 (0.37%) Amazon EC2
13 3 (0.37%) OpenShift
13 3 (0.37%) PowerApps
13 3 (0.37%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 84 (10.31%) DNS
2 58 (7.12%) VPN
3 54 (6.63%) DHCP
4 49 (6.01%) TCP/IP
4 49 (6.01%) Wi-Fi
5 42 (5.15%) LAN
6 26 (3.19%) WAN
7 24 (2.94%) SAN
8 19 (2.33%) Firewall
9 17 (2.09%) Internet
10 14 (1.72%) VLAN
11 11 (1.35%) WLAN
12 9 (1.10%) Wireless
13 7 (0.86%) HTTP
13 7 (0.86%) Skype
14 6 (0.74%) VoIP
15 4 (0.49%) Network Security
15 4 (0.49%) Remote Desktop
16 3 (0.37%) Unified Communications
16 3 (0.37%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (4.05%) SQL Server
2 18 (2.21%) MySQL
3 12 (1.47%) SAP HANA
4 11 (1.35%) Amazon Redshift
4 11 (1.35%) Sybase ASE
5 10 (1.23%) MaxDB
6 9 (1.10%) Power BI
6 9 (1.10%) Relational Database
7 7 (0.86%) Pentaho
8 6 (0.74%) PostgreSQL
8 6 (0.74%) 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 (0.25%) Data Warehouse
12 2 (0.25%) MariaDB
12 2 (0.25%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 64 (7.85%) JIRA
2 18 (2.21%) 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 (0.25%) Firebug
5 2 (0.25%) 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
1 323 (39.63%) Social Skills
2 96 (11.78%) Analytical Skills
3 65 (7.98%) Finance
4 45 (5.52%) Manufacturing
5 37 (4.54%) Banking
6 21 (2.58%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 21 (2.58%) Organisational Skills
7 20 (2.45%) Investment Banking
8 15 (1.84%) Aerospace
8 15 (1.84%) Retail
9 14 (1.72%) Aviation
9 14 (1.72%) Documentation Skills
10 13 (1.60%) Law
11 10 (1.23%) Front Office
12 8 (0.98%) Financial Institution
12 8 (0.98%) Legal
13 7 (0.86%) Marketing
13 7 (0.86%) Spanish Language
13 7 (0.86%) Telecoms
14 6 (0.74%) Public Sector
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (1.35%) SAP Basis
2 10 (1.23%) Oracle GoldenGate
2 10 (1.23%) REST
3 8 (0.98%) .NET
4 7 (0.86%) JDO
4 7 (0.86%) Software Packaging
5 6 (0.74%) SAP Fiori
5 6 (0.74%) SAPUI5
6 5 (0.61%) CSS
6 5 (0.61%) LDAP
6 5 (0.61%) SAML
7 4 (0.49%) Middleware
7 4 (0.49%) OAuth
7 4 (0.49%) XML
8 3 (0.37%) Ajax
8 3 (0.37%) AngularJS
8 3 (0.37%) GraphQL
8 3 (0.37%) PySpark
8 3 (0.37%) React
8 3 (0.37%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 89 (10.92%) Onboarding
2 35 (4.29%) Data Centre
3 23 (2.82%) Self-Motivation
4 21 (2.58%) Analytical Mindset
5 20 (2.45%) Video Conferencing
6 19 (2.33%) Virtual Team
7 15 (1.84%) Data Protection Act
7 15 (1.84%) Enterprise Software
7 15 (1.84%) iPhone
8 14 (1.72%) PKI
9 12 (1.47%) Legacy Systems
10 11 (1.35%) Driving Licence
11 10 (1.23%) SCADA
12 9 (1.10%) Hedge funds
12 9 (1.10%) Smartphone
13 8 (0.98%) Blackberry
13 8 (0.98%) iPad
14 7 (0.86%) Management Information System
15 6 (0.74%) BYOD
16 5 (0.61%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 421 (51.66%) Windows
2 175 (21.47%) Windows 10
3 62 (7.61%) Linux
4 54 (6.63%) Mac OS
5 53 (6.50%) Windows Server
6 43 (5.28%) Unix
7 27 (3.31%) Apple iOS
8 24 (2.94%) Android
9 15 (1.84%) Windows 7
10 8 (0.98%) Ubuntu
10 8 (0.98%) Windows Server 2016
11 7 (0.86%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 6 (0.74%) Windows Server 2019
13 4 (0.49%) Solaris
13 4 (0.49%) Windows XP
14 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2012
15 2 (0.25%) Mac OS X
15 2 (0.25%) OpenVMS
15 2 (0.25%) VMS
16 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 182 (22.33%) Problem-Solving
2 159 (19.51%) Customer Service
3 147 (18.04%) ITIL
4 81 (9.94%) ITSM
5 58 (7.12%) Migration
6 56 (6.87%) Continuous Improvement
7 53 (6.50%) Service Delivery
8 45 (5.52%) Change Management
9 44 (5.40%) Asset Management
10 40 (4.91%) Problem Management
11 38 (4.66%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 38 (4.66%) Service Management
11 38 (4.66%) User Experience
12 36 (4.42%) Incident Management
13 35 (4.29%) Root Cause Analysis
14 34 (4.17%) DevOps
15 28 (3.44%) Data Protection
15 28 (3.44%) High Availability
16 25 (3.07%) Break/Fix
16 25 (3.07%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 78 (9.57%) PowerShell
2 66 (8.10%) SQL
3 34 (4.17%) Python
4 22 (2.70%) C#
5 21 (2.58%) Java
6 17 (2.09%) JavaScript
6 17 (2.09%) Shell Script
7 16 (1.96%) Bash
8 10 (1.23%) Korn
9 7 (0.86%) C++
9 7 (0.86%) Perl
10 4 (0.49%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.25%) DCL
11 2 (0.25%) Go
11 2 (0.25%) VBScript
12 1 (0.12%) C
12 1 (0.12%) R
12 1 (0.12%) VB.NET
12 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 162 (19.88%) Security Cleared
2 108 (13.25%) SC Cleared
3 49 (6.01%) Degree
4 39 (4.79%) DV Cleared
5 29 (3.56%) Microsoft Certification
6 26 (3.19%) A+ Certification
7 22 (2.70%) Network+ Certification
8 21 (2.58%) CCNA
8 21 (2.58%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.96%) MCSE
10 14 (1.72%) BPSS Clearance
11 9 (1.10%) DBS Check
12 8 (0.98%) Azure Certification
12 8 (0.98%) Computer Science Degree
13 7 (0.86%) Microsoft Certified Professional
14 6 (0.74%) ITIL Certification
15 4 (0.49%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 4 (0.49%) NVQ Level 4
16 1 (0.12%) AWS Certification
16 1 (0.12%) CTC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 41 (5.03%) 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 (0.25%) GLP
4 2 (0.25%) GMP
4 2 (0.25%) 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
1 331 (40.61%) Active Directory
2 37 (4.54%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (2.58%) VMware ESXi
4 20 (2.45%) Hyper-V
5 17 (2.09%) VMware NSX
6 12 (1.47%) vCloud
6 12 (1.47%) Virtual Desktop
7 10 (1.23%) 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%) Firmware
11 3 (0.37%) Microsoft App-V
11 3 (0.37%) Terminal Services
12 2 (0.25%) Virtual Servers
13 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 1 (0.12%) XenDesktop
13 1 (0.12%) zsh
Systems Management
1 122 (14.97%) Microsoft Intune
2 47 (5.77%) SCCM
3 21 (2.58%) vCenter Server
4 20 (2.45%) Jamf Pro
5 18 (2.21%) Single Sign-On
6 15 (1.84%) SCOM
7 12 (1.47%) Grafana
8 10 (1.23%) Ansible
8 10 (1.23%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 10 (1.23%) Oracle RMAN
9 6 (0.74%) Kubernetes
9 6 (0.74%) 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 (0.25%) WMI
12 2 (0.25%) WSUS
Vendors
1 312 (38.28%) Microsoft
2 108 (13.25%) ServiceNow
3 47 (5.77%) VMware
4 33 (4.05%) Apple
5 31 (3.80%) Oracle
6 22 (2.70%) Okta
7 21 (2.58%) Dell
7 21 (2.58%) SAP
8 19 (2.33%) Citrix
9 17 (2.09%) Google
10 15 (1.84%) Cisco
10 15 (1.84%) HP
11 12 (1.47%) BeyondTrust
12 11 (1.35%) Sybase
13 9 (1.10%) McAfee
13 9 (1.10%) Meraki
14 8 (0.98%) Lotus
14 8 (0.98%) Red Hat
14 8 (0.98%) Splunk
14 8 (0.98%) Talend