Four best techie jobs of 2025 (quarter one) be like...

 For many of the UK’s freelance technology contractors, it has been a tough 12 months.

On the ground, that toughness has meant scant rate increases and limited opportunities.

A two-tier tech contractor/freelancer jobs market

As a result, so-called ‘generalist IT’ contractors have found the freelance tech jobs market difficult, whereas those temporary technologists with specialist industry, regulatory, or technical expertise have experienced greater demand.

As this second group of tech candidates – those who are best positioned for the summer of 2025 will tell you, there are four tech skill sets and areas of IT that have been buoyant.

So buoyant, that workers with this quartet of tech skills are being offered daily pay rates rising above inflation. Here, exclusively for Free-Work, I explore some of the rates my team at VIQU IT Recruitment have seen with newly placed contractors since the start of 2025, writes VIQU’s managing director Matt Collingwood.

Best four tech jobs of 2025 (as of Q1 2025)

1. ERP Technologies -- Up 11% over 12 months

Freelance job candidates skilled in ERP technologies have seen an 11% increase in rates, where they have been newly placed (over the past 12 months).

This double-digit rate uplift makes ERP the top area in UK tech for daily pay growth, out of all tech freelancer or contractor specialisms.

Oracle and SAP still rule the roost...

It’s no surprise that the biggest names driving this growth in the ERP world are Oracle and SAP. This is largely due to the growing demand from UK organisations for cloud-based solutions.

The standout winners among newly placed ERP freelancers and contractors have been Functional Consultants, who are now commanding average day rates of £735 in 2025.

Further appealingly for would-be ERP consultants, around 80% of Functional Consultant placements fall outside IR35.

2. AI and Cyber Security Risk Consultants -- Up by 9% over 12 months

A common topic of conversation with our clients in 2025 is the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the associated risks of cyber and governance failings.

According to a recent PwC report, 64% of CEOs expressed the belief that generative AI is likely to increase the risk of cyber issues for their businesses in 2025.

Corporate AI strategies: what are companies doing with Artificial Intelligence?

As generative AI rapidly evolves, so too do its associated risks. Many business leaders are weighing up the benefits that AI and automation can bring in terms of efficiency and cost savings, against the ethical considerations and potential risks.

At the time of writing (mid-April 2025), our clients are reviewing their strategies, identifying key threats, and setting clear priorities. Cybersecurity remains a top concern, driving the need for smarter, sector-specific risk modelling.

AI contractor pay of £1,000 a day? It’s on the cards

Although these AI and cybersecurity risk contractors are still the ‘new kids on the block,’ I predict significant rate increases for them throughout 2025 and 2026.

Over the past 12 months, VIQU’s newly placed AI Cyber Risk contractors have seen a 9% rise in day rates, bringing the average to £805 a day. With the wider adoption of AI widely forecast, I don’t doubt that in two years this average will be pushing £1,000 per day.

3. Cloud Engineers -- 5.25% pay rate lift

Overall, UK technology worker salaries in 2024 only rose by a modest 2%.

By contrast, newly placed freelance Cloud Engineers have seen their pay rates increase by an average of 5.25% over the past 12 months.

Due to geopolitical uncertainties, many hiring organisations showed hesitation in committing to IT projects throughout 2023 and 2024.

2023 and 2024, 2025 is not, at least not based on our conversations...

However, delaying essential digital initiatives can only be postponed for so long.

From our Q1 2025 conversations with clients, the general sentiment is that many expect to increase their technology budgets in 2025 (compared to 2024), particularly in cloud-related projects -- often out of necessity.

Our agency’s newly placed contractor rates for Cloud Engineers in the UK (excluding London) are currently a median of £535 per day; compared with a London median pay of £580 per day.

4. Public sector tech contractor rates -- Up by an average 2.5% in 2025

In the UK, the fiscal year for the public sector runs from April 1st to March 31st, for the purposes of government financial statements.

Procurement is typically conducted through various supplier frameworks, often facilitated by the government's procurement department, the Crown Commercial Service.

Our staffing business works with a range of departments, from central government and local authorities to the NHS. So we know that the public sector spends over £26 billion annually on digital technology, employing a workforce of nearly 100,000 digital and data professionals. These budgets are almost always set ahead of each fiscal year by team and department heads.

Seasonal uplift thanks to IT budgets? Sure but techies will take it nonetheless

What we often find is that tech budget spending tends to be seasonal.

There is usually an increase in demand at the start of the new fiscal year (April and May). Similarly, we observe a spike in demand during their Q4 (January to March 2025). While not universal, some budget holders retain funds — whether through cost savings or cancelled projects throughout the fiscal year — and look to utilise any remaining budget towards the end of the financial year, as unspent funds typically cannot be carried into the next.

Although this budgetary management does not directly benefit permanent salary banding, we often see increased demand for contractors. Since December 2024, we have observed a 2.5% increase in the rates of newly placed contractors across all our public sector clients.

A welcome alignment…

This trend is not new.

In the past, I’ve even had public sector managers request that we invoice them in March for services to be used in the upcoming fiscal year. However, this positive momentum does align with the fact that we’ve been witnessing more investment in tech in the public sector, which should be good news for IT contractors from a large variety of backgrounds and specialisms in the coming months.

TLDR: Four best techie jobs of 2025, if demand and money matters…

The top tech jobs and specialisms within IT that I’ve mentioned above certainly indicate that those with niche and technical skillsets are more in-demand in the current market. And therefore, they are commanding increased pay rates since the start of 2025.

Computer contractors who are not experiencing the same buoyant conditions should consider gaining new skills, specialising in a niche or exposing themselves to certain industries and sectors to get themselves in the same boat, as overdue sun rays on tech are beginning to poke through!