3rd Line Engineer Job Trends

Third Line Engineer
UK

The median Third Line Engineer salary in the UK is £47,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 16 October 2025.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 526 542 457
Rank change year-on-year +16 -85 +299
Permanent jobs requiring a 3rd Line Engineer 142 216 306
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.29% 0.31% 0.55%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.32% 0.32% 0.57%
Number of salaries quoted 137 176 282
10th Percentile £34,500 £34,750 £32,500
25th Percentile £39,250 £36,250 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £47,000 £42,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.59% -5.56% -
75th Percentile £52,500 £51,813 £52,500
90th Percentile £57,500 £57,250 £57,403
UK excluding London median annual salary £47,000 £41,250 £42,500
% change year-on-year +13.94% -2.94% -5.56%

All Permanent IT Job Vacancies
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent 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 permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 43,959 67,207 53,648
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 89.90% 95.34% 95.58%
Number of salaries quoted 25,826 38,508 41,480
10th Percentile £28,000 £31,250 £32,000
25th Percentile £35,000 £41,250 £43,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £53,500 £55,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -2.73% -8.33% -
75th Percentile £73,750 £75,000 £80,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £95,000 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £46,000 £50,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -8.00% -4.76% -

3rd Line Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring '3rd Line Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

3rd Line Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

3rd Line Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for 3rd Line Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for 3rd Line Engineer job vacancies in the UK

3rd Line Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing 3rd Line Engineer over the 6 months to 16 October 2025.

Salary histogram for 3rd Line Engineer in the UK

3rd Line Engineer
Top 15 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing 3rd Line Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 16 October 2025. 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England +40 137 £47,250 +11.18% 53
UK excluding London +15 119 £47,000 +13.94% 50
Work from Home +30 44 £50,000 +25.79% 14
East of England +19 39 £47,000 +4.44% 3
South East +8 31 £47,500 +11.76% 28
Midlands +34 23 £50,000 +17.65% 11
London +42 20 £49,500 -1.00% 10
East Midlands +27 15 £55,000 +22.22% 2
South West +37 13 £45,000 -5.26% 1
North of England -14 11 £40,000 +13.48% 5
North West +3 10 £40,000 - 3
West Midlands +26 8 £47,500 +18.75% 9
Wales +16 2 - - 2
Yorkshire +13 1 £47,500 +25.53% 2
Scotland +3 1 £35,000 -19.54% 1

3rd Line Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 16 October 2025, 3rd Line Engineer 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 permanent job ads featuring 3rd Line Engineer in the job title.

1 98 (69.01%) Microsoft
2 92 (64.79%) Azure
3 82 (57.75%) Windows
4 75 (52.82%) Microsoft 365
5 66 (46.48%) Windows Server
6 62 (43.66%) PowerShell
7 55 (38.73%) Active Directory
8 48 (33.80%) ITIL
9 46 (32.39%) VMware
10 41 (28.87%) Hyper-V
11 40 (28.17%) Microsoft Intune
11 40 (28.17%) Microsoft Exchange
12 39 (27.46%) Cisco
12 39 (27.46%) Firewall
12 39 (27.46%) VMware Infrastructure
13 35 (24.65%) Problem-Solving
14 33 (23.24%) Entra ID
14 33 (23.24%) Social Skills
15 32 (22.54%) Security Cleared
16 30 (21.13%) Veeam
16 30 (21.13%) DNS
17 26 (18.31%) Infrastructure Engineering
17 26 (18.31%) Windows Server 2019
18 23 (16.20%) Task Automation
19 22 (15.49%) DHCP
20 20 (14.08%) SharePoint
21 19 (13.38%) Patch Management
22 18 (12.68%) Customer Service
22 18 (12.68%) Linux
23 17 (11.97%) Mentoring

3rd Line 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 40 (28.17%) Microsoft Exchange
2 20 (14.08%) SharePoint
3 6 (4.23%) IIS
4 3 (2.11%) Exchange Server 2003
5 1 (0.70%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 6 (4.23%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.70%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 5 (3.52%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 92 (64.79%) Azure
2 75 (52.82%) Microsoft 365
3 33 (23.24%) Entra ID
4 14 (9.86%) AWS
5 7 (4.93%) Azure Storage
6 5 (3.52%) Azure Sentinel
6 5 (3.52%) GCP
7 4 (2.82%) Azure App Service
7 4 (2.82%) Azure DevOps
7 4 (2.82%) Azure Monitor
8 3 (2.11%) Azure Table
8 3 (2.11%) Cloud Computing
8 3 (2.11%) Power Platform
9 2 (1.41%) AWS Lambda
9 2 (1.41%) OneDrive
9 2 (1.41%) PowerApps
9 2 (1.41%) Serverless
10 1 (0.70%) Amazon ECS
10 1 (0.70%) SaaS
10 1 (0.70%) SAP Commerce Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 39 (27.46%) Firewall
2 30 (21.13%) DNS
3 22 (15.49%) DHCP
4 16 (11.27%) Wireless
5 14 (9.86%) VLAN
6 12 (8.45%) WAN
7 11 (7.75%) LAN
7 11 (7.75%) SAN
8 10 (7.04%) TCP/IP
8 10 (7.04%) VPN
9 9 (6.34%) Cisco IOS
9 9 (6.34%) VoIP
9 9 (6.34%) Wi-Fi
10 7 (4.93%) iSCSI
11 6 (4.23%) Internet
11 6 (4.23%) IPsec
12 5 (3.52%) IP Telephony
13 4 (2.82%) Junos
13 4 (2.82%) Wireless Security
14 3 (2.11%) Cisco ISE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 12 (8.45%) SQL Server
2 5 (3.52%) Amazon RDS
3 3 (2.11%) Oracle Database
3 3 (2.11%) Oracle Database 10g
4 2 (1.41%) Data Mining
5 1 (0.70%) Azure SQL Database
General
1 33 (23.24%) Social Skills
2 13 (9.15%) Marketing
3 12 (8.45%) Finance
3 12 (8.45%) Public Sector
4 11 (7.75%) Telecoms
5 10 (7.04%) Manufacturing
6 9 (6.34%) Electronics
7 7 (4.93%) Automotive
7 7 (4.93%) Law
8 5 (3.52%) Billing
9 4 (2.82%) Analytical Skills
10 3 (2.11%) Organisational Skills
11 2 (1.41%) Advertising
11 2 (1.41%) Games
11 2 (1.41%) Retail
12 1 (0.70%) Aerospace
12 1 (0.70%) Documentation Skills
12 1 (0.70%) Inclusion and Diversity
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (0.70%) .NET
1 1 (0.70%) 802.1X
1 1 (0.70%) LAMP
Miscellaneous
1 14 (9.86%) Onboarding
2 11 (7.75%) Driving Licence
3 6 (4.23%) Clustering
4 5 (3.52%) Hybrid Cloud
5 4 (2.82%) Replication
6 3 (2.11%) iPad
6 3 (2.11%) PKI
6 3 (2.11%) Social Media
7 2 (1.41%) Enterprise Software
7 2 (1.41%) Self-Motivation
7 2 (1.41%) Video Conferencing
8 1 (0.70%) BYOD
8 1 (0.70%) Data Centre
8 1 (0.70%) FMCG
8 1 (0.70%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 82 (57.75%) Windows
2 66 (46.48%) Windows Server
3 26 (18.31%) Windows Server 2019
4 18 (12.68%) Linux
5 13 (9.15%) Windows 10
6 9 (6.34%) Android
6 9 (6.34%) Windows Server 2016
7 6 (4.23%) Mac OS
8 5 (3.52%) Apple iOS
8 5 (3.52%) Unix
9 4 (2.82%) VMS
9 4 (2.82%) Windows Server 2003
10 3 (2.11%) Solaris
11 2 (1.41%) HPUX
12 1 (0.70%) CentOS
12 1 (0.70%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.70%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 48 (33.80%) ITIL
2 35 (24.65%) Problem-Solving
3 26 (18.31%) Infrastructure Engineering
4 23 (16.20%) Task Automation
5 19 (13.38%) Patch Management
6 18 (12.68%) Customer Service
7 17 (11.97%) Mentoring
8 16 (11.27%) ITSM
8 16 (11.27%) Migration
9 11 (7.75%) Disaster Recovery
9 11 (7.75%) Server Management
9 11 (7.75%) Service Delivery
10 10 (7.04%) Business Intelligence
10 10 (7.04%) Project Delivery
10 10 (7.04%) Remote Monitoring and Management
11 9 (6.34%) Cloud Security
11 9 (6.34%) Digital Marketing
11 9 (6.34%) Programme Management
12 8 (5.63%) DevOps
12 8 (5.63%) Root Cause Analysis
Programming Languages
1 62 (43.66%) PowerShell
2 11 (7.75%) SQL
3 4 (2.82%) C#
4 2 (1.41%) Bash
4 2 (1.41%) Python
5 1 (0.70%) Java
Qualifications
1 32 (22.54%) Security Cleared
2 17 (11.97%) SC Cleared
3 16 (11.27%) Cisco Certification
4 15 (10.56%) Degree
5 14 (9.86%) CCNA
5 14 (9.86%) DV Cleared
6 13 (9.15%) Microsoft Certification
7 8 (5.63%) DBS Check
8 6 (4.23%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
9 5 (3.52%) ACMT
9 5 (3.52%) Azure Certification
10 3 (2.11%) CCNP
10 3 (2.11%) Computer Science Degree
10 3 (2.11%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
10 3 (2.11%) MCSE
11 2 (1.41%) MCP
11 2 (1.41%) MCSA
12 1 (0.70%) ITIL Certification
12 1 (0.70%) Network+ Certification
12 1 (0.70%) RHCE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 10 (7.04%) Cyber Essentials
2 9 (6.34%) SLA
3 1 (0.70%) GDPR
3 1 (0.70%) HIPAA
3 1 (0.70%) PCI DSS
3 1 (0.70%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 55 (38.73%) Active Directory
2 41 (28.87%) Hyper-V
3 39 (27.46%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (7.04%) VMware ESXi
5 7 (4.93%) Docker
6 6 (4.23%) vSphere
7 4 (2.82%) Virtual Machines
7 4 (2.82%) XenApp
8 2 (1.41%) Firmware
8 2 (1.41%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 2 (1.41%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (1.41%) Virtual Servers
8 2 (1.41%) VMware NSX
9 1 (0.70%) BitLocker
9 1 (0.70%) Dovecot
9 1 (0.70%) Postfix
9 1 (0.70%) Terminal Services
Systems Management
1 40 (28.17%) Microsoft Intune
2 15 (10.56%) Backup Exec
3 14 (9.86%) SCCM
4 11 (7.75%) vCenter Server
5 10 (7.04%) Autotask
6 8 (5.63%) Jamf Pro
7 6 (4.23%) Kubernetes
8 4 (2.82%) Terraform
9 3 (2.11%) SCOM
10 2 (1.41%) Grafana
10 2 (1.41%) Prometheus
10 2 (1.41%) SCSM
11 1 (0.70%) Ansible
11 1 (0.70%) Avamar
11 1 (0.70%) FortiGate
11 1 (0.70%) Microsoft Clustering
11 1 (0.70%) Podman
11 1 (0.70%) SCOrch
11 1 (0.70%) WhatsUp Gold
11 1 (0.70%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 98 (69.01%) Microsoft
2 46 (32.39%) VMware
3 39 (27.46%) Cisco
4 30 (21.13%) Veeam
5 15 (10.56%) Apple
6 13 (9.15%) Datto
7 12 (8.45%) Meraki
8 11 (7.75%) Sophos
9 10 (7.04%) Aruba
9 10 (7.04%) HP
9 10 (7.04%) SAP
10 9 (6.34%) Juniper
11 8 (5.63%) Oracle
12 7 (4.93%) SolarWinds
13 6 (4.23%) Citrix
14 5 (3.52%) arcserve
14 5 (3.52%) Remedy
14 5 (3.52%) ServiceNow
15 4 (2.82%) Google
15 4 (2.82%) Ubiquiti