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 10 July 2026.

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

6 months to
10 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 175 136 107
Rank change year-on-year -39 -29 0
Contract jobs requiring a Support Engineer 823 670 883
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.07% 2.05%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.69% 2.25% 2.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 535 429 597
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 £501 £500
UK excluding London median daily rate £210 £227 £205
% change year-on-year -7.39% +10.61% -7.34%
Number of hourly rates quoted 63 55 63
10th Percentile £17.29 £18.10 £16.40
25th Percentile £18.50 £20.82 £18.08
Median hourly rate £25.00 £25.15 £22.15
Median % change year-on-year -0.60% +13.54% +10.75%
75th Percentile £36.00 £43.75 £27.88
90th Percentile £49.90 £68.00 £52.40
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £25.15 £22.25
% change year-on-year -10.54% +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 48,674 29,733 40,149
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.49% 91.88% 93.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 29,515 18,978 25,840
10th Percentile £325 £288 £288
25th Percentile £418 £400 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £522 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.40% -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 3,263 1,368 2,770
10th Percentile £15.93 £13.75 £12.88
25th Percentile £21.25 £17.30 £16.79
Median hourly rate £43.50 £26.39 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +64.87% -29.64% -14.05%
75th Percentile £67.50 £56.06 £62.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £73.40 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +78.93% -37.13% +0.50%

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 10 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 10 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 10 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 -37 705 £213 -10.53% 262
UK excluding London -38 554 £210 -7.39% 275
London -45 238 £255 -2.86% 47
South East -28 162 £238 -5.00% 86
North of England -73 97 £190 -9.52% 47
Work from Home -79 87 £240 -20.00% 73
Midlands -44 77 £223 -12.75% 44
Scotland +43 72 £437 +40.97% 30
South West -46 66 £210 -10.64% 42
East of England -7 64 £198 -12.22% 20
North West -39 58 £190 -8.43% 23
West Midlands -73 45 £250 -9.09% 21
Yorkshire -27 38 £200 -14.89% 18
East Midlands +4 31 £200 +16.96% 23
Wales -23 11 £195 -2.50% 3
Northern Ireland +1 5 £175 - 7
North East -54 1 £290 +48.72% 8
Channel Islands - 1 £550 - 2

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

For the 6 months to 10 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.

1 424 (51.52%) Windows
2 336 (40.83%) Active Directory
3 318 (38.64%) Microsoft
4 287 (34.87%) Microsoft 365
5 183 (22.24%) Problem-Solving
6 177 (21.51%) Windows 10
7 161 (19.56%) Security Cleared
8 160 (19.44%) Customer Service
9 150 (18.23%) ITIL
10 145 (17.62%) Azure
11 125 (15.19%) Microsoft Intune
12 110 (13.37%) ServiceNow
13 107 (13.00%) Entra ID
13 107 (13.00%) SC Cleared
14 86 (10.45%) DNS
15 83 (10.09%) ITSM
15 83 (10.09%) SharePoint
16 79 (9.60%) PowerShell
17 67 (8.14%) SQL
18 65 (7.90%) JIRA
19 62 (7.53%) Linux
20 58 (7.05%) VPN
21 56 (6.80%) Continuous Improvement
21 56 (6.80%) DHCP
21 56 (6.80%) Migration
22 55 (6.68%) Microsoft Exchange
23 54 (6.56%) Mac OS
24 53 (6.44%) Service Delivery
24 53 (6.44%) Windows Server
25 51 (6.20%) 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 83 (10.09%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.68%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.46%) NetWeaver
4 8 (0.97%) HCL Notes
5 5 (0.61%) Confluence
6 3 (0.36%) 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 41 (4.98%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.58%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.12%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 11 (1.34%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (0.73%) Teamcenter
3 5 (0.61%) Remedy ITSM
4 4 (0.49%) SAP EHS
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 EBS
6 1 (0.12%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 287 (34.87%) Microsoft 365
2 145 (17.62%) Azure
3 107 (13.00%) Entra ID
4 34 (4.13%) OneDrive
5 31 (3.77%) AWS
6 21 (2.55%) Azure DevOps
7 19 (2.31%) SaaS
8 15 (1.82%) GCP
9 11 (1.34%) Power Platform
10 9 (1.09%) PaaS
11 6 (0.73%) Google Workspace
11 6 (0.73%) IaaS
12 5 (0.61%) Azure Data Factory
12 5 (0.61%) Mimecast
13 4 (0.49%) Amazon S3
13 4 (0.49%) Dynamics 365
14 3 (0.36%) Amazon EC2
14 3 (0.36%) OpenShift
14 3 (0.36%) PowerApps
14 3 (0.36%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 86 (10.45%) DNS
2 58 (7.05%) VPN
3 56 (6.80%) DHCP
4 51 (6.20%) TCP/IP
5 49 (5.95%) Wi-Fi
6 42 (5.10%) LAN
7 26 (3.16%) WAN
8 24 (2.92%) SAN
9 19 (2.31%) Firewall
10 17 (2.07%) Internet
11 14 (1.70%) VLAN
12 11 (1.34%) WLAN
13 8 (0.97%) Wireless
14 7 (0.85%) HTTP
14 7 (0.85%) Skype
15 6 (0.73%) VoIP
16 4 (0.49%) Network Security
16 4 (0.49%) Remote Desktop
16 4 (0.49%) Unified Communications
17 3 (0.36%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (4.13%) SQL Server
2 18 (2.19%) MySQL
3 12 (1.46%) SAP HANA
4 11 (1.34%) Sybase ASE
5 10 (1.22%) Amazon Redshift
5 10 (1.22%) MaxDB
6 9 (1.09%) Power BI
6 9 (1.09%) Relational Database
7 7 (0.85%) Pentaho
7 7 (0.85%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 6 (0.73%) PostgreSQL
9 5 (0.61%) Amazon RDS
10 4 (0.49%) Oracle Database
10 4 (0.49%) Oracle Database 12c
11 3 (0.36%) Big Data
11 3 (0.36%) Elasticsearch
11 3 (0.36%) 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 65 (7.90%) JIRA
2 19 (2.31%) Git
3 9 (1.09%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.36%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.36%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.36%) 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
1 327 (39.73%) Social Skills
2 96 (11.66%) Analytical Skills
3 65 (7.90%) Finance
4 45 (5.47%) Manufacturing
5 37 (4.50%) Banking
6 21 (2.55%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 21 (2.55%) Organisational Skills
7 20 (2.43%) Investment Banking
8 15 (1.82%) Aerospace
8 15 (1.82%) Documentation Skills
8 15 (1.82%) Retail
9 14 (1.70%) Aviation
10 13 (1.58%) Law
11 10 (1.22%) Front Office
12 8 (0.97%) Financial Institution
12 8 (0.97%) Legal
13 7 (0.85%) Marketing
13 7 (0.85%) Spanish Language
13 7 (0.85%) Telecoms
14 6 (0.73%) Public Sector
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (1.34%) SAP Basis
2 10 (1.22%) Oracle GoldenGate
2 10 (1.22%) REST
3 8 (0.97%) .NET
4 7 (0.85%) JDO
5 6 (0.73%) SAP Fiori
5 6 (0.73%) SAPUI5
5 6 (0.73%) Software Packaging
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 (0.36%) Ajax
8 3 (0.36%) AngularJS
8 3 (0.36%) GraphQL
8 3 (0.36%) React
8 3 (0.36%) RESTful
8 3 (0.36%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 89 (10.81%) Onboarding
2 35 (4.25%) Data Centre
3 23 (2.79%) Self-Motivation
4 21 (2.55%) Analytical Mindset
4 21 (2.55%) Video Conferencing
5 19 (2.31%) Virtual Team
6 16 (1.94%) iPhone
7 15 (1.82%) Data Protection Act
8 14 (1.70%) Enterprise Software
8 14 (1.70%) PKI
9 12 (1.46%) Legacy Systems
10 11 (1.34%) Driving Licence
11 10 (1.22%) SCADA
12 9 (1.09%) Hedge funds
12 9 (1.09%) iPad
13 8 (0.97%) Blackberry
13 8 (0.97%) Smartphone
14 7 (0.85%) Management Information System
15 6 (0.73%) BYOD
16 5 (0.61%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 424 (51.52%) Windows
2 177 (21.51%) Windows 10
3 62 (7.53%) Linux
4 54 (6.56%) Mac OS
5 53 (6.44%) Windows Server
6 43 (5.22%) Unix
7 26 (3.16%) Apple iOS
8 24 (2.92%) Android
9 14 (1.70%) Windows 7
10 8 (0.97%) Ubuntu
10 8 (0.97%) Windows Server 2016
11 7 (0.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 6 (0.73%) Windows Server 2019
13 4 (0.49%) Solaris
14 3 (0.36%) Windows Server 2012
14 3 (0.36%) Windows XP
15 2 (0.24%) Mac OS X
15 2 (0.24%) OpenVMS
15 2 (0.24%) VMS
16 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 183 (22.24%) Problem-Solving
2 160 (19.44%) Customer Service
3 150 (18.23%) ITIL
4 83 (10.09%) ITSM
5 56 (6.80%) Continuous Improvement
5 56 (6.80%) Migration
6 53 (6.44%) Service Delivery
7 44 (5.35%) Asset Management
7 44 (5.35%) Change Management
8 41 (4.98%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 39 (4.74%) Problem Management
10 38 (4.62%) Service Management
10 38 (4.62%) User Experience
11 37 (4.50%) Incident Management
12 35 (4.25%) Root Cause Analysis
13 34 (4.13%) DevOps
14 28 (3.40%) Data Protection
14 28 (3.40%) High Availability
15 26 (3.16%) Identity Access Management
16 25 (3.04%) Break/Fix
Programming Languages
1 79 (9.60%) PowerShell
2 67 (8.14%) SQL
3 33 (4.01%) Python
4 22 (2.67%) C#
5 21 (2.55%) Java
6 17 (2.07%) JavaScript
6 17 (2.07%) Shell Script
7 16 (1.94%) 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
1 161 (19.56%) Security Cleared
2 107 (13.00%) SC Cleared
3 49 (5.95%) Degree
4 39 (4.74%) DV Cleared
5 30 (3.65%) Microsoft Certification
6 27 (3.28%) A+ Certification
7 23 (2.79%) Network+ Certification
8 21 (2.55%) CCNA
8 21 (2.55%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.94%) MCSE
10 14 (1.70%) BPSS Clearance
11 9 (1.09%) DBS Check
12 8 (0.97%) Azure Certification
12 8 (0.97%) Computer Science Degree
13 7 (0.85%) Microsoft Certified Professional
14 6 (0.73%) ITIL Certification
15 5 (0.61%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
16 4 (0.49%) NVQ Level 4
17 1 (0.12%) AWS Certification
17 1 (0.12%) CTC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 42 (5.10%) SLA
2 4 (0.49%) Data Quality
2 4 (0.49%) GDPR
2 4 (0.49%) QA
3 3 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
3 3 (0.36%) 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
1 336 (40.83%) Active Directory
2 37 (4.50%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (2.55%) VMware ESXi
4 20 (2.43%) 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 (0.97%) vSphere
9 5 (0.61%) Docker
9 5 (0.61%) NFS
10 4 (0.49%) BitLocker
11 3 (0.36%) Firmware
11 3 (0.36%) Microsoft App-V
11 3 (0.36%) Terminal Services
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
1 125 (15.19%) Microsoft Intune
2 48 (5.83%) SCCM
3 21 (2.55%) vCenter Server
4 19 (2.31%) Jamf Pro
5 18 (2.19%) Single Sign-On
6 15 (1.82%) SCOM
7 12 (1.46%) Grafana
8 10 (1.22%) Ansible
8 10 (1.22%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 10 (1.22%) Oracle RMAN
9 6 (0.73%) Kubernetes
9 6 (0.73%) Terraform
10 5 (0.61%) Red Hat Satellite
11 3 (0.36%) AirWatch
11 3 (0.36%) Nagios
11 3 (0.36%) Puppet
11 3 (0.36%) vMotion
11 3 (0.36%) vRealize
12 2 (0.24%) WMI
12 2 (0.24%) WSUS
Vendors
1 318 (38.64%) Microsoft
2 110 (13.37%) ServiceNow
3 48 (5.83%) VMware
4 33 (4.01%) Apple
5 31 (3.77%) Oracle
6 23 (2.79%) Okta
7 21 (2.55%) Dell
7 21 (2.55%) SAP
8 19 (2.31%) Citrix
9 17 (2.07%) Cisco
9 17 (2.07%) Google
10 15 (1.82%) HP
11 13 (1.58%) BeyondTrust
12 11 (1.34%) Sybase
13 10 (1.22%) Meraki
14 9 (1.09%) McAfee
15 8 (0.97%) Lotus
15 8 (0.97%) Red Hat
15 8 (0.97%) Remedy
15 8 (0.97%) Splunk