Support Engineer Contract Job Trends

Support Engineer
UK

The median Support Engineer daily rate in the UK is £230, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 29 July 2026.

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

6 months to
29 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 174 136 109
Rank change year-on-year -38 -27 -12
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 831 693 828
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.58% 2.11% 2.08%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.71% 2.31% 2.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 545 446 569
10th Percentile £163 £160 £140
25th Percentile £188 £193 £169
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £230 £235 £225
Median % change year-on-year -2.13% +4.44% -10.00%
75th Percentile £400 £379 £344
90th Percentile £492 £538 £514
UK excluding London median daily rate £220 £228 £210
% change year-on-year -3.30% +8.33% -5.08%
Number of hourly rates quoted 54 65 53
10th Percentile £16.34 £17.24 £17.00
25th Percentile £18.31 £20.64 £18.03
Median hourly rate £25.39 £25.25 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year +0.53% +14.77% +14.64%
75th Percentile £36.00 £43.75 £25.00
90th Percentile £53.00 £68.00 £56.60
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £25.20 £22.00
% change year-on-year -12.70% +14.55% +15.79%

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 48,690 30,025 37,043
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.66% 91.50% 92.98%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,369 19,114 23,981
10th Percentile £331 £282 £300
25th Percentile £425 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -1.87%
75th Percentile £625 £623 £638
90th Percentile £725 £725 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,338 1,460 2,193
10th Percentile £15.50 £13.69 £14.05
25th Percentile £21.25 £17.30 £19.09
Median hourly rate £43.61 £25.15 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year +73.38% -40.82% -1.88%
75th Percentile £68.00 £55.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £80.10 £73.75 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £43.00
% change year-on-year +78.93% -41.51% +7.50%

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 29 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 29 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 29 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 -44 701 £225 -4.26% 276
UK excluding London -38 562 £220 -3.30% 260
London -44 236 £240 -4.00% 50
South East -30 166 £250 - 80
North of England -51 113 £200 -9.09% 58
Scotland +54 84 £442 +42.58% 16
Work from Home -101 79 £263 -25.00% 73
North West -29 74 £200 -12.09% 32
Midlands -65 64 £250 -9.09% 35
South West -56 61 £210 -10.64% 30
East of England -4 60 £200 - 45
West Midlands -74 41 £250 -9.09% 18
Yorkshire -23 39 £210 -10.64% 21
East Midlands -5 22 £250 +36.61% 17
Wales -27 10 £195 -2.50% 2
Northern Ireland -5 4 £175 -30.00% 4
North East -62 1 £290 +48.72% 7
Channel Islands - 1 £550 -

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

For the 6 months to 29 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.

1 441 (53.07%) Windows
2 355 (42.72%) Active Directory
3 349 (42.00%) Microsoft
4 298 (35.86%) Microsoft 365
5 191 (22.98%) Problem-Solving
6 180 (21.66%) Windows 10
7 172 (20.70%) Customer Service
8 163 (19.61%) Security Cleared
9 154 (18.53%) ITIL
10 139 (16.73%) Azure
11 123 (14.80%) Microsoft Intune
12 116 (13.96%) Entra ID
12 116 (13.96%) ServiceNow
13 103 (12.39%) SC Cleared
14 99 (11.91%) SharePoint
15 94 (11.31%) DNS
16 90 (10.83%) ITSM
17 81 (9.75%) PowerShell
18 65 (7.82%) SQL
19 64 (7.70%) Continuous Improvement
20 63 (7.58%) JIRA
21 62 (7.46%) VPN
22 61 (7.34%) Linux
23 59 (7.10%) DHCP
23 59 (7.10%) Microsoft Exchange
23 59 (7.10%) Migration
24 58 (6.98%) Asset Management
24 58 (6.98%) Service Delivery
24 58 (6.98%) Windows Server
25 56 (6.74%) 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 99 (11.91%) SharePoint
2 59 (7.10%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.44%) NetWeaver
4 10 (1.20%) HCL Notes
5 3 (0.36%) Confluence
5 3 (0.36%) Skype for Business
6 2 (0.24%) IIS
6 2 (0.24%) OpenStack
6 2 (0.24%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.12%) Exchange Server 2013
7 1 (0.12%) Tuxedo
7 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 39 (4.69%) Microsoft Office
2 12 (1.44%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) Acrobat
4 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.12%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 11 (1.32%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (0.84%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.48%) SAP EHS
4 3 (0.36%) Teamcenter
5 2 (0.24%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.12%) Alphatax
6 1 (0.12%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.12%) Dynamics GP
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle BRM
6 1 (0.12%) SAP BRIM
6 1 (0.12%) SAP FI
6 1 (0.12%) SAP FI-CA
6 1 (0.12%) SAP FS
6 1 (0.12%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 298 (35.86%) Microsoft 365
2 139 (16.73%) Azure
3 116 (13.96%) Entra ID
4 37 (4.45%) OneDrive
5 31 (3.73%) AWS
6 21 (2.53%) Azure DevOps
7 18 (2.17%) SaaS
8 17 (2.05%) GCP
9 10 (1.20%) Power Platform
10 7 (0.84%) Google Workspace
10 7 (0.84%) PaaS
11 6 (0.72%) IaaS
12 5 (0.60%) Mimecast
13 3 (0.36%) Amazon EC2
13 3 (0.36%) Amazon S3
13 3 (0.36%) Azure Data Factory
13 3 (0.36%) OpenShift
13 3 (0.36%) Sauce Labs
14 2 (0.24%) Datadog
14 2 (0.24%) Google Compute Engine
Communications & Networking
1 94 (11.31%) DNS
2 62 (7.46%) VPN
3 59 (7.10%) DHCP
4 56 (6.74%) TCP/IP
5 42 (5.05%) Wi-Fi
6 34 (4.09%) LAN
7 23 (2.77%) SAN
7 23 (2.77%) WAN
8 20 (2.41%) Firewall
9 19 (2.29%) Internet
10 16 (1.93%) VLAN
11 8 (0.96%) Wireless
12 7 (0.84%) HTTP
12 7 (0.84%) Skype
12 7 (0.84%) WLAN
13 5 (0.60%) SMTP
14 4 (0.48%) Network Security
14 4 (0.48%) Remote Desktop
14 4 (0.48%) WebEx
15 3 (0.36%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (4.69%) SQL Server
2 16 (1.93%) MySQL
3 12 (1.44%) SAP HANA
4 11 (1.32%) Sybase ASE
5 10 (1.20%) MaxDB
6 9 (1.08%) Power BI
7 8 (0.96%) Relational Database
8 7 (0.84%) Amazon Redshift
8 7 (0.84%) Pentaho
9 6 (0.72%) PostgreSQL
10 5 (0.60%) Amazon RDS
10 5 (0.60%) Oracle Database
10 5 (0.60%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 4 (0.48%) Oracle Database 12c
12 3 (0.36%) Big Data
12 3 (0.36%) Data Warehouse
12 3 (0.36%) Elasticsearch
12 3 (0.36%) SQL Server Reporting Services
13 2 (0.24%) MariaDB
13 2 (0.24%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 63 (7.58%) JIRA
2 20 (2.41%) Git
3 9 (1.08%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.36%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.36%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.36%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.36%) Xcode
5 2 (0.24%) Artifactory
5 2 (0.24%) Firebug
6 1 (0.12%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
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%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.12%) Subversion
6 1 (0.12%) TeamCity
6 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 340 (40.91%) Social Skills
2 99 (11.91%) Analytical Skills
3 63 (7.58%) Finance
4 43 (5.17%) Manufacturing
5 34 (4.09%) Banking
6 25 (3.01%) Organisational Skills
7 21 (2.53%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 17 (2.05%) Investment Banking
9 16 (1.93%) Documentation Skills
10 15 (1.81%) Retail
11 13 (1.56%) Law
12 11 (1.32%) Aerospace
13 10 (1.20%) Aviation
13 10 (1.20%) Financial Institution
13 10 (1.20%) Front Office
14 9 (1.08%) Legal
14 9 (1.08%) Spanish Language
14 9 (1.08%) Telecoms
15 7 (0.84%) Marketing
15 7 (0.84%) Public Sector
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (1.81%) .NET
2 11 (1.32%) LDAP
2 11 (1.32%) SAP Basis
3 10 (1.20%) Oracle GoldenGate
4 9 (1.08%) REST
4 9 (1.08%) XML
5 7 (0.84%) JDO
6 6 (0.72%) .NET Framework
6 6 (0.72%) SAP Fiori
6 6 (0.72%) SAPUI5
6 6 (0.72%) Software Packaging
7 5 (0.60%) CSS
7 5 (0.60%) SAML
8 4 (0.48%) OAuth
9 3 (0.36%) GraphQL
9 3 (0.36%) JSP
9 3 (0.36%) Middleware
9 3 (0.36%) React
9 3 (0.36%) RESTful
9 3 (0.36%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 103 (12.39%) Onboarding
2 35 (4.21%) Data Centre
3 23 (2.77%) Analytical Mindset
4 22 (2.65%) Self-Motivation
4 22 (2.65%) Video Conferencing
5 17 (2.05%) PKI
6 15 (1.81%) Data Protection Act
7 14 (1.68%) Driving Licence
7 14 (1.68%) iPhone
8 13 (1.56%) Enterprise Software
9 12 (1.44%) Legacy Systems
9 12 (1.44%) Virtual Team
10 11 (1.32%) Hedge funds
10 11 (1.32%) SCADA
11 10 (1.20%) Blackberry
11 10 (1.20%) Smartphone
12 9 (1.08%) iPad
13 7 (0.84%) Management Information System
14 6 (0.72%) BYOD
14 6 (0.72%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 441 (53.07%) Windows
2 180 (21.66%) Windows 10
3 61 (7.34%) Linux
4 58 (6.98%) Windows Server
5 52 (6.26%) Mac OS
6 41 (4.93%) Unix
7 29 (3.49%) Apple iOS
8 26 (3.13%) Android
9 18 (2.17%) Windows 7
10 9 (1.08%) Windows Server 2019
11 8 (0.96%) Ubuntu
12 7 (0.84%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
13 6 (0.72%) Windows Server 2016
14 4 (0.48%) Solaris
14 4 (0.48%) Windows Server 2008
15 3 (0.36%) OpenVMS
15 3 (0.36%) VMS
15 3 (0.36%) Windows Server 2012
15 3 (0.36%) Windows XP
16 2 (0.24%) Mac OS X
Processes & Methodologies
1 191 (22.98%) Problem-Solving
2 172 (20.70%) Customer Service
3 154 (18.53%) ITIL
4 90 (10.83%) ITSM
5 64 (7.70%) Continuous Improvement
6 59 (7.10%) Migration
7 58 (6.98%) Asset Management
7 58 (6.98%) Service Delivery
8 45 (5.42%) Change Management
8 45 (5.42%) Problem Management
9 44 (5.29%) Service Management
10 42 (5.05%) User Experience
11 41 (4.93%) Incident Management
12 39 (4.69%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 38 (4.57%) Identity Access Management
14 35 (4.21%) Root Cause Analysis
15 31 (3.73%) DevOps
16 30 (3.61%) Data Protection
17 29 (3.49%) High Availability
18 28 (3.37%) Break/Fix
Programming Languages
1 81 (9.75%) PowerShell
2 65 (7.82%) SQL
3 30 (3.61%) Python
4 28 (3.37%) C#
5 20 (2.41%) Java
6 17 (2.05%) Bash
6 17 (2.05%) Shell Script
7 15 (1.81%) JavaScript
8 10 (1.20%) Korn
9 7 (0.84%) C++
10 6 (0.72%) Perl
11 4 (0.48%) T-SQL
12 2 (0.24%) DCL
12 2 (0.24%) Go
12 2 (0.24%) VBScript
13 1 (0.12%) C
13 1 (0.12%) VB.NET
13 1 (0.12%) VBA
Qualifications
1 163 (19.61%) Security Cleared
2 103 (12.39%) SC Cleared
3 53 (6.38%) Degree
4 44 (5.29%) DV Cleared
5 31 (3.73%) Microsoft Certification
6 30 (3.61%) A+ Certification
7 24 (2.89%) Network+ Certification
8 21 (2.53%) CCNA
8 21 (2.53%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.93%) BPSS Clearance
9 16 (1.93%) MCSE
10 9 (1.08%) Computer Science Degree
10 9 (1.08%) DBS Check
11 7 (0.84%) Microsoft Certified Professional
12 6 (0.72%) Azure Certification
12 6 (0.72%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 5 (0.60%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.48%) NVQ Level 4
15 1 (0.12%) CISA
15 1 (0.12%) CTC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 48 (5.78%) SLA
2 5 (0.60%) QA
3 4 (0.48%) Data Quality
3 4 (0.48%) GDPR
4 3 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
4 3 (0.36%) Sarbanes-Oxley
5 2 (0.24%) GLP
5 2 (0.24%) GMP
5 2 (0.24%) GxP
5 2 (0.24%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 1 (0.12%) Actionable Recommendations
6 1 (0.12%) Disclosure Scotland
6 1 (0.12%) GRC
6 1 (0.12%) ITGC
System Software
1 355 (42.72%) Active Directory
2 43 (5.17%) VMware Infrastructure
3 24 (2.89%) VMware ESXi
4 22 (2.65%) Hyper-V
5 17 (2.05%) VMware NSX
6 15 (1.81%) Virtual Desktop
7 12 (1.44%) vCloud
8 10 (1.20%) Oracle RAC
9 7 (0.84%) vSphere
10 5 (0.60%) BitLocker
10 5 (0.60%) Docker
10 5 (0.60%) NFS
11 4 (0.48%) Firmware
12 3 (0.36%) Microsoft App-V
12 3 (0.36%) Terminal Services
13 2 (0.24%) zsh
14 1 (0.12%) Virtual Servers
14 1 (0.12%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 123 (14.80%) Microsoft Intune
2 48 (5.78%) SCCM
3 24 (2.89%) vCenter Server
4 20 (2.41%) Single Sign-On
5 18 (2.17%) SCOM
6 16 (1.93%) Jamf Pro
7 12 (1.44%) Grafana
8 10 (1.20%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 10 (1.20%) Oracle RMAN
9 9 (1.08%) Ansible
10 8 (0.96%) Kubernetes
10 8 (0.96%) Terraform
11 5 (0.60%) Red Hat Satellite
12 3 (0.36%) AirWatch
12 3 (0.36%) ITRS Geneos
12 3 (0.36%) Nagios
12 3 (0.36%) Puppet
12 3 (0.36%) vMotion
12 3 (0.36%) vRealize
12 3 (0.36%) WSUS
Vendors
1 349 (42.00%) Microsoft
2 116 (13.96%) ServiceNow
3 54 (6.50%) VMware
4 35 (4.21%) Apple
5 32 (3.85%) Oracle
6 28 (3.37%) Okta
7 22 (2.65%) Google
8 21 (2.53%) Citrix
8 21 (2.53%) Dell
8 21 (2.53%) SAP
9 19 (2.29%) Cisco
10 18 (2.17%) BeyondTrust
11 14 (1.68%) HP
12 11 (1.32%) Meraki
12 11 (1.32%) Sybase
13 10 (1.20%) Lotus
14 9 (1.08%) iManage
14 9 (1.08%) McAfee
14 9 (1.08%) Remedy
14 9 (1.08%) Splunk