Support Engineer Contract Job Trends

Support Engineer
UK

The median Support Engineer daily rate in the UK is £220, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 16 January 2026.

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

6 months to
16 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 136 145 89
Rank change year-on-year +9 -56 +54
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 808 592 1,019
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.17% 1.86% 2.39%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.38% 2.00% 2.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 557 401 732
10th Percentile £151 £150 £140
25th Percentile £185 £185 £180
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £220 £230 £225
Median % change year-on-year -4.35% +2.22% -5.26%
75th Percentile £350 £375 £339
90th Percentile £500 £519 £493
UK excluding London median daily rate £208 £220 £205
% change year-on-year -5.68% +7.32% +2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 117 40 50
10th Percentile £17.14 £15.15 £16.25
25th Percentile £20.40 £19.41 £17.72
Median hourly rate £24.00 £23.00 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +4.35% +17.95% +1.04%
75th Percentile £25.77 £25.14 £23.00
90th Percentile £40.75 £41.50 £40.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.58 £23.00 £20.00
% change year-on-year +2.50% +15.00% +14.29%

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 33,987 29,559 39,694
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.39% 92.78% 93.19%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,524 18,135 26,394
10th Percentile £300 £288 £280
25th Percentile £405 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £618 £638 £638
90th Percentile £720 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,986 889 1,685
10th Percentile £14.38 £15.61 £14.16
25th Percentile £18.25 £21.22 £18.93
Median hourly rate £26.50 £32.50 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year -18.46% -23.53% +21.43%
75th Percentile £60.00 £62.24 £65.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £73.75 £76.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £31.52 £45.00
% change year-on-year -20.21% -29.96% +53.85%

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 January 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 January 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 16 January 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 +16 735 £225 -5.66% 321
UK excluding London +16 568 £208 -5.68% 317
London -8 199 £250 -16.67% 43
South East +22 167 £250 +21.95% 108
South West +23 109 £250 +11.11% 31
North of England 0 109 £190 -11.63% 67
Midlands +4 107 £215 -18.10% 46
Work from Home -20 102 £269 -17.38% 101
West Midlands -8 72 £250 -5.66% 25
North West +6 62 £152 -29.53% 35
East of England -10 46 £195 -11.36% 51
East Midlands +1 37 £178 -27.55% 21
Yorkshire -31 37 £205 -8.89% 23
Scotland -10 29 £200 +19.76% 16
Wales -1 10 £200 - 6
North East -5 10 £106 -48.29% 13
Northern Ireland -4 3 £175 +18.24% 5

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

For the 6 months to 16 January 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.

1 406 (50.25%) Windows
2 295 (36.51%) Microsoft
3 253 (31.31%) Security Cleared
4 226 (27.97%) Microsoft 365
5 217 (26.86%) Active Directory
6 196 (24.26%) SC Cleared
7 165 (20.42%) Windows 10
8 162 (20.05%) Customer Service
9 158 (19.55%) Problem-Solving
10 106 (13.12%) Azure
11 93 (11.51%) ITIL
11 93 (11.51%) Linux
12 91 (11.26%) Microsoft Intune
12 91 (11.26%) ServiceNow
13 78 (9.65%) Migration
14 71 (8.79%) Microsoft Office
15 69 (8.54%) DNS
15 69 (8.54%) SCCM
16 64 (7.92%) SharePoint
17 63 (7.80%) ITSM
18 62 (7.67%) DHCP
18 62 (7.67%) Service Management
19 60 (7.43%) VPN
20 58 (7.18%) DV Cleared
20 58 (7.18%) PowerShell
20 58 (7.18%) TCP/IP
21 56 (6.93%) Android
22 53 (6.56%) Windows Server
23 52 (6.44%) Microsoft Exchange
24 51 (6.31%) Asset Management

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 64 (7.92%) SharePoint
2 52 (6.44%) Microsoft Exchange
3 20 (2.48%) Skype for Business
4 7 (0.87%) Exchange Server 2010
4 7 (0.87%) SharePoint Server
5 6 (0.74%) Exchange Server 2003
5 6 (0.74%) Exchange Server 2007
5 6 (0.74%) Exchange Server 2013
5 6 (0.74%) Office Communications Server
6 4 (0.50%) Apache
7 3 (0.37%) IIS
8 2 (0.25%) Apache Airflow
8 2 (0.25%) Apache Spark
8 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
8 2 (0.25%) Jupyter
8 2 (0.25%) Smallworld
9 1 (0.12%) CMS
9 1 (0.12%) Confluence
9 1 (0.12%) Tomcat
Applications
1 71 (8.79%) Microsoft Office
2 23 (2.85%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.37%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (0.25%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.12%) AutoCAD
5 1 (0.12%) DaVinci Resolve
5 1 (0.12%) OmniGraffle
5 1 (0.12%) Pro Tools
5 1 (0.12%) ProjectWise
5 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 9 (1.11%) SAP EHS
2 7 (0.87%) Remedy ITSM
2 7 (0.87%) Shopify
3 5 (0.62%) Primavera
4 3 (0.37%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.12%) Aladdin
5 1 (0.12%) assyst
5 1 (0.12%) Bloomberg TOMS
5 1 (0.12%) Eikon
5 1 (0.12%) Fidessa
5 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.12%) Oracle Receivables
5 1 (0.12%) SystmOne
5 1 (0.12%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 226 (27.97%) Microsoft 365
2 106 (13.12%) Azure
3 42 (5.20%) Entra ID
4 30 (3.71%) AWS
5 28 (3.47%) SaaS
6 23 (2.85%) OneDrive
7 18 (2.23%) Google Workspace
7 18 (2.23%) Sauce Labs
8 10 (1.24%) Dynamics 365
9 9 (1.11%) Power Platform
10 7 (0.87%) npm
11 6 (0.74%) Azure DevOps
12 4 (0.50%) Azure Data Factory
12 4 (0.50%) Microsoft Purview
12 4 (0.50%) OpenShift
12 4 (0.50%) Slack
13 3 (0.37%) Amazon S3
14 2 (0.25%) Datadog
14 2 (0.25%) GitHub
14 2 (0.25%) SuccessFactors
Communications & Networking
1 69 (8.54%) DNS
2 62 (7.67%) DHCP
3 60 (7.43%) VPN
4 58 (7.18%) TCP/IP
5 35 (4.33%) Wi-Fi
5 35 (4.33%) Wireless
6 31 (3.84%) Firewall
7 28 (3.47%) WAN
8 20 (2.48%) VLAN
9 19 (2.35%) Junos
9 19 (2.35%) LAN
10 17 (2.10%) MPLS
11 16 (1.98%) Cisco IOS
12 15 (1.86%) BGP
12 15 (1.86%) Cisco Firepower
12 15 (1.86%) Cisco ISE
12 15 (1.86%) IPsec
12 15 (1.86%) Skype
13 13 (1.61%) Network Security
13 13 (1.61%) PABX
Database & Business Intelligence
1 28 (3.47%) Relational Database
2 24 (2.97%) MySQL
3 13 (1.61%) SQL Server
4 8 (0.99%) Power BI
5 5 (0.62%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 4 (0.50%) Amazon Redshift
6 4 (0.50%) MariaDB
6 4 (0.50%) RDBMS
7 3 (0.37%) Amazon Athena
7 3 (0.37%) InfluxDB
7 3 (0.37%) Oracle Database
8 2 (0.25%) Electronic Patient Records
8 2 (0.25%) GIS
8 2 (0.25%) Tableau
9 1 (0.12%) Apache Cassandra
9 1 (0.12%) Azure SQL Database
9 1 (0.12%) Elasticsearch
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle ODI
9 1 (0.12%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 26 (3.22%) Browser DevTools
2 18 (2.23%) Android Studio
2 18 (2.23%) Eclipse
2 18 (2.23%) Xcode
3 16 (1.98%) JIRA
4 9 (1.11%) Git
5 7 (0.87%) Firebug
5 7 (0.87%) Maven
6 3 (0.37%) Jenkins
7 2 (0.25%) Fiddler
7 2 (0.25%) MSI
8 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.12%) ClearCase
8 1 (0.12%) Hudson
General
1 348 (43.07%) Social Skills
2 73 (9.03%) Finance
3 57 (7.05%) Public Sector
4 55 (6.81%) Analytical Skills
5 38 (4.70%) Banking
6 35 (4.33%) Manufacturing
7 26 (3.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 25 (3.09%) Organisational Skills
9 21 (2.60%) Telecoms
10 20 (2.48%) Aerospace
11 14 (1.73%) Electronics
11 14 (1.73%) Law
11 14 (1.73%) Marketing
12 13 (1.61%) Investment Banking
13 12 (1.49%) Front Office
14 9 (1.11%) Documentation Skills
14 9 (1.11%) Legal
15 8 (0.99%) Aviation
16 6 (0.74%) Automotive
16 6 (0.74%) Retail
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 26 (3.22%) CSS
2 24 (2.97%) Middleware
3 19 (2.35%) Ajax
3 19 (2.35%) AngularJS
3 19 (2.35%) GraphQL
3 19 (2.35%) React
4 11 (1.36%) XML
5 7 (0.87%) HTML
6 5 (0.62%) PySpark
6 5 (0.62%) REST
6 5 (0.62%) SOAP
7 4 (0.50%) .NET
7 4 (0.50%) JDO
7 4 (0.50%) JSON
7 4 (0.50%) YAML
8 2 (0.25%) ADO
8 2 (0.25%) EDI
8 2 (0.25%) Kafka
8 2 (0.25%) Microsoft Graph
8 2 (0.25%) OAuth
Miscellaneous
1 42 (5.20%) Onboarding
2 38 (4.70%) Self-Motivation
3 30 (3.71%) Driving Licence
4 26 (3.22%) PKI
5 24 (2.97%) Smartphone
6 21 (2.60%) Data Centre
7 19 (2.35%) Mobile App
8 17 (2.10%) Data Protection Act
9 14 (1.73%) Analytical Mindset
10 13 (1.61%) Management Information System
11 11 (1.36%) Video Conferencing
12 10 (1.24%) Enterprise Software
13 9 (1.11%) iPhone
14 8 (0.99%) Replication
14 8 (0.99%) Virtual Team
15 7 (0.87%) Hybrid Cloud
15 7 (0.87%) Legacy Systems
16 6 (0.74%) iPad
17 4 (0.50%) Operational Technology
18 3 (0.37%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 406 (50.25%) Windows
2 165 (20.42%) Windows 10
3 93 (11.51%) Linux
4 56 (6.93%) Android
5 53 (6.56%) Windows Server
6 44 (5.45%) Mac OS
7 41 (5.07%) Apple iOS
8 31 (3.84%) Unix
9 12 (1.49%) Ubuntu
10 10 (1.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 9 (1.11%) Windows 7
12 6 (0.74%) Windows Server 2003
13 4 (0.50%) CentOS
14 2 (0.25%) Windows Server 2012
14 2 (0.25%) Windows Server 2016
15 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
15 1 (0.12%) Windows 8
15 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2019
15 1 (0.12%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 162 (20.05%) Customer Service
2 158 (19.55%) Problem-Solving
3 93 (11.51%) ITIL
4 78 (9.65%) Migration
5 63 (7.80%) ITSM
6 62 (7.67%) Service Management
7 51 (6.31%) Asset Management
8 49 (6.06%) Workflow
9 47 (5.82%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 39 (4.83%) Workflow Management
11 37 (4.58%) User Experience
12 30 (3.71%) Logistics
12 30 (3.71%) Root Cause Analysis
13 29 (3.59%) OO
14 27 (3.34%) Continuous Improvement
14 27 (3.34%) Service Delivery
15 24 (2.97%) Business Intelligence
15 24 (2.97%) Stakeholder Management
16 23 (2.85%) Cybersecurity
17 22 (2.72%) Incident Management
Programming Languages
1 58 (7.18%) PowerShell
2 40 (4.95%) Java
3 39 (4.83%) JavaScript
4 36 (4.46%) Python
5 27 (3.34%) SQL
6 19 (2.35%) Perl
7 17 (2.10%) Shell Script
8 13 (1.61%) C
8 13 (1.61%) C++
9 12 (1.49%) Ada
10 10 (1.24%) Bash
11 2 (0.25%) AWK
11 2 (0.25%) C#
11 2 (0.25%) Magik
11 2 (0.25%) TypeScript
11 2 (0.25%) VB.NET
12 1 (0.12%) PL/SQL
12 1 (0.12%) Tcl
12 1 (0.12%) VBA
12 1 (0.12%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 253 (31.31%) Security Cleared
2 196 (24.26%) SC Cleared
3 58 (7.18%) DV Cleared
4 36 (4.46%) Degree
5 25 (3.09%) Microsoft Certification
6 17 (2.10%) Azure Certification
7 13 (1.61%) Network+ Certification
8 11 (1.36%) A+ Certification
8 11 (1.36%) BPSS Clearance
8 11 (1.36%) Server+ Certification
9 9 (1.11%) DBS Check
10 7 (0.87%) ITIL Certification
11 6 (0.74%) Computer Science Degree
12 4 (0.50%) MCP
13 3 (0.37%) CCNA
13 3 (0.37%) Cisco Certification
13 3 (0.37%) Master's Degree
13 3 (0.37%) MCSE
14 2 (0.25%) AWS Certification
14 2 (0.25%) MCSA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (3.84%) SLA
2 7 (0.87%) GDPR
3 5 (0.62%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 4 (0.50%) QA
5 2 (0.25%) Cyber Essentials
6 1 (0.12%) Accessibility
6 1 (0.12%) Data Quality
6 1 (0.12%) GAAP
6 1 (0.12%) IFRS
6 1 (0.12%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 1 (0.12%) SOC 2
System Software
1 217 (26.86%) Active Directory
2 30 (3.71%) VMware Infrastructure
3 18 (2.23%) Hyper-V
4 16 (1.98%) VMware NSX
5 15 (1.86%) Virtual Desktop
6 8 (0.99%) Docker
7 7 (0.87%) Firmware
8 6 (0.74%) Brightmail
8 6 (0.74%) ISA Server
9 4 (0.50%) vSphere
10 3 (0.37%) Terminal Services
11 2 (0.25%) NFS
11 2 (0.25%) Virtual Servers
12 1 (0.12%) BitLocker
12 1 (0.12%) Virtual Machines
12 1 (0.12%) VMware ESXi
12 1 (0.12%) VMware Workstation
12 1 (0.12%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 91 (11.26%) Microsoft Intune
2 69 (8.54%) SCCM
3 29 (3.59%) Jamf Pro
4 21 (2.60%) Ansible
5 18 (2.23%) vCenter Server
6 14 (1.73%) Terraform
7 12 (1.49%) Grafana
8 6 (0.74%) Kubernetes
8 6 (0.74%) Microsoft Clustering
8 6 (0.74%) Red Hat Satellite
9 5 (0.62%) Kibana
9 5 (0.62%) Single Sign-On
10 4 (0.50%) ITRS Geneos
11 3 (0.37%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 3 (0.37%) SCOM
12 2 (0.25%) FortiGate
12 2 (0.25%) Prometheus
12 2 (0.25%) WSUS
13 1 (0.12%) Autotask
13 1 (0.12%) logstash
Vendors
1 295 (36.51%) Microsoft
2 91 (11.26%) ServiceNow
3 45 (5.57%) Cisco
4 43 (5.32%) VMware
5 41 (5.07%) Apple
5 41 (5.07%) Oracle
6 30 (3.71%) Juniper
7 29 (3.59%) SAP
8 25 (3.09%) HP
9 21 (2.60%) Google
9 21 (2.60%) SolarWinds
9 21 (2.60%) Splunk
10 19 (2.35%) Dell
10 19 (2.35%) Red Hat
11 15 (1.86%) Citrix
12 10 (1.24%) Bloomberg
13 9 (1.11%) Remedy
14 7 (0.87%) McAfee
14 7 (0.87%) New Relic
15 6 (0.74%) Starlink