The latest average rates for the top IT contracting skills and contractor demand updates.
Contractor rates not only depend on your skills and experience as a contractor, but they also depend on the economic climate, company budgets and often location of the contract.
For more on current contractor rates and demand please visit our contractor forum where these topics are often discussed. You can also search the latest IT contract jobs here.
Contractor Market Demand
Strong IT contractor demand relaxed in June
Far off May's peak, growth in IT contractor demand has now reverted to Q1 territory.
Growth in IT contractor demand takes its first dip
Four-month spree comes to an end for IT contractors, but demand overall is still ‘huge’.
Cyber security shortages fuelling IT contractor demand
March saw clients raise starting rates to draw you into the computer security fold.
Contractor Guide to Rates
Hourly or daily rate? IT contractor guide to pay
Explained - the staple payment terms of freelancing, attached to your next IT contract, by Outsource UK.
Getting the right rate for the contract - negotiation for IT contractors
The basics of negotiation and establishing what rate becomes a 'deal breaker' for you.
Contract rate negotiation: How to negotiate a rate rise
An IT contractor's guide to asking for premiums.
Top Ten IT Contracting Skills by demand
| Rank | Skill | Average Daily Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Analyst | £400 |
| 2 | Java | £500 |
| 3 | SQL | £440 |
| 4 | Linux | £490 |
| 5 | C# | £430 |
| 6 | Cyber Security | £450 |
| 7 | Project Manager | £450 |
| 8 | .NET | £430 |
| 9 | Oracle | £460 |
| 10 | Scrum | £480 |
Top Ten IT Contracting skills by daily rate
| Rank | Skill | Average Daily Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief Technology Officer | £900 |
| 2 | Head of Cyber Security | £870 |
| 3 | C++ Algorithmic Trading Developer | £850 |
| 4 | Chief Security Officer | £830 |
| 5 | IT Director | £800 |
| 6 | Quantitative Analyst Developer | £800 |
| 7 | Programme Director | £800 |
| 8 | Head of Engineering | £780 |
| 9 | KDB Developer | £780 |
| 10 | WAN Consultant | £750 |
Emerging IT Contracting skills in 2018
| Skill | Average Daily Rate |
|---|---|
| Blockchain | £530 |
| GDPR | £450 |
| Artificial Intelligence | £530 |
| .NET Core | £430 |
| Machine Learning | £550 |
| Redux | £500 |
| Kubernetes | £550 |
| Terraform | £550 |
| Data Engineering | £520 |
| Azure | £480 |
*Source: Technojobs data (Updated July 2018)
For more information on IT contractor skills please see the below:
Agile Software Development
C#
C++
Cisco
IT support
ITIL
Scrum
Sharepoint
System Testing