Software Engineering Contract Job Trends in Hertfordshire

Software Engineering
East of England > Hertfordshire

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in Hertfordshire requiring Software Engineering skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 36 5
Rank change year-on-year +31 -31 +7
Contract jobs citing Software Engineering 105 9 103
As % of all contract jobs in Hertfordshire 12.46% 2.74% 12.47%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 15.89% 3.02% 14.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 6 0 11
10th Percentile £447 - -
25th Percentile £489 - £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £575 - £400
Median % change year-on-year - - -36.00%
75th Percentile £619 - £450
90th Percentile £626 - -
East of England median daily rate £495 £488 £500
% change year-on-year +1.43% -2.40% -8.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 83 4 83
10th Percentile £57.63 £62.38 £60.00
25th Percentile £63.75 £64.06 £61.25
Median hourly rate £70.00 £65.25 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +7.28% +0.38% -
75th Percentile - £71.81 -
90th Percentile - £82.73 £90.00
East of England median hourly rate £68.21 £63.75 £65.00
% change year-on-year +7.00% -1.92% -

All Process & Methodology Skills
Hertfordshire

Software Engineering falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in Hertfordshire.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 661 298 733
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Hertfordshire 78.41% 90.58% 88.74%
Number of daily rates quoted 254 151 258
10th Percentile £200 £375 £236
25th Percentile £406 £450 £315
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £550 £425
Median % change year-on-year -7.27% +29.41% -15.00%
75th Percentile £650 £613 £600
90th Percentile £750 £675 £704
East of England median daily rate £492 £500 £475
% change year-on-year -1.60% +5.26% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 263 79 315
10th Percentile £16.35 £20.03 £38.12
25th Percentile £18.50 £43.13 £40.25
Median hourly rate £41.50 £63.00 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -34.13% +26.00% -21.88%
75th Percentile £68.75 £81.01 £65.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £85.00 £78.80
East of England median hourly rate £23.83 £40.00 £40.00
% change year-on-year -40.44% - +81.82%

Software Engineering
Job Vacancy Trend in Hertfordshire

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Software Engineering relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Hertfordshire.

Software Engineering job vacancy trend in Hertfordshire

Software Engineering
Daily Rate Trend in Hertfordshire

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Hertfordshire citing Software Engineering.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Hertfordshire citing Software Engineering

Software Engineering
Daily Rate Histogram in Hertfordshire

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Software Engineering in Hertfordshire over the 6 months to 16 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Software Engineering in Hertfordshire

Software Engineering
Hourly Rate Trend in Hertfordshire

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Hertfordshire citing Software Engineering.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Hertfordshire citing Software Engineering

Software Engineering
Hourly Rate Histogram in Hertfordshire

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Software Engineering in Hertfordshire over the 6 months to 16 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Software Engineering in Hertfordshire

Software Engineering
Contract Job Locations in Hertfordshire

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Software Engineering within the Hertfordshire region over the 6 months to 16 May 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
Stevenage +24 98 £600 - 19
Watford - 3 £450 - 1
Royston - 3 - - 7
Hatfield - 1 - -
Software Engineering
East of England

Software Engineering
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Hertfordshire 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:

Applications
1 3 (2.86%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (0.95%) CATIA
Cloud Services
1 4 (3.81%) AWS
1 4 (3.81%) Azure
2 3 (2.86%) Azure DevOps
2 3 (2.86%) SaaS
3 2 (1.90%) Azure Logic Apps
3 2 (1.90%) Power Automate
4 1 (0.95%) Azure AKS
4 1 (0.95%) Boomi
Communications & Networking
1 20 (19.05%) Software-Defined Radio
2 18 (17.14%) Ethernet
3 8 (7.62%) Wireless
4 6 (5.71%) TCP/IP
5 4 (3.81%) Modbus
6 3 (2.86%) RS-232
6 3 (2.86%) RS-422
6 3 (2.86%) RS-485
7 1 (0.95%) Profibus
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (2.86%) Metadata
Development Applications
1 26 (24.76%) Rational DOORS
2 9 (8.57%) Rational Rhapsody
3 8 (7.62%) Git
4 7 (6.67%) Eclipse
4 7 (6.67%) Visual Studio
5 6 (5.71%) JIRA
5 6 (5.71%) PVCS
General
1 18 (17.14%) Social Skills
2 17 (16.19%) Aerospace
3 13 (12.38%) Electronics
4 11 (10.48%) Documentation Skills
4 11 (10.48%) Law
5 7 (6.67%) Military
6 6 (5.71%) Analytical Skills
6 6 (5.71%) Presentation Skills
7 5 (4.76%) Publishing
8 4 (3.81%) Automotive
9 2 (1.90%) Manufacturing
10 1 (0.95%) Public Sector
Job Titles
1 83 (79.05%) Software Engineer
2 59 (56.19%) Embedded Engineer
3 51 (48.57%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 23 (21.90%) Ada Engineer
5 21 (20.00%) Ada Software Engineer
6 20 (19.05%) DSP Engineer
6 20 (19.05%) DSP Software Engineer
7 18 (17.14%) C++ Software Engineer
8 16 (15.24%) C# Software Engineer
8 16 (15.24%) Radio Engineer
9 13 (12.38%) C Software Engineer
9 13 (12.38%) Embedded C Engineer
9 13 (12.38%) Embedded C Software Engineer
10 11 (10.48%) C/C++ Embedded Software Engineer
10 11 (10.48%) C/C++ Software Engineer
10 11 (10.48%) Embedded C/C++ Engineer
10 11 (10.48%) Embedded C/C++ Software Engineer
10 11 (10.48%) Embedded C++ Engineer
10 11 (10.48%) Embedded C++ Software Engineer
11 8 (7.62%) DSP Embedded Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (5.71%) Node.js
1 6 (5.71%) Web Services
2 3 (2.86%) REST
2 3 (2.86%) SOAP
3 1 (0.95%) Yocto
Miscellaneous
1 8 (7.62%) FPGA
1 8 (7.62%) PCIe
2 5 (4.76%) Embedded Systems
3 3 (2.86%) Cyber Threat
3 3 (2.86%) Legacy Systems
3 3 (2.86%) Low-Code
3 3 (2.86%) Management Information System
3 3 (2.86%) Reference Data
4 1 (0.95%) Device Driver
4 1 (0.95%) Robotics
4 1 (0.95%) Team-Oriented Environment
4 1 (0.95%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 11 (10.48%) Linux
2 10 (9.52%) Windows
3 8 (7.62%) FreeRTOS
4 1 (0.95%) Embedded Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 21 (20.00%) Validation
2 19 (18.10%) Verification and Validation
3 16 (15.24%) Unit Testing
4 15 (14.29%) Workflow
5 14 (13.33%) Problem-Solving
6 13 (12.38%) Test Automation
7 11 (10.48%) SysML
7 11 (10.48%) UML
7 11 (10.48%) Visualisation
8 10 (9.52%) Agile
8 10 (9.52%) CI/CD
8 10 (9.52%) Continuous Integration
8 10 (9.52%) Data Acquisition
8 10 (9.52%) Embedded Software Development
8 10 (9.52%) TDD
9 9 (8.57%) Workflow Management
10 8 (7.62%) Digital Signal Processing
10 8 (7.62%) Signal Processing
10 8 (7.62%) Software Testing
10 8 (7.62%) Synthetic Environment
Programming Languages
1 43 (40.95%) C
2 40 (38.10%) C++
3 32 (30.48%) Ada
4 24 (22.86%) C#
5 20 (19.05%) Embedded C
6 11 (10.48%) Embedded C++
7 8 (7.62%) JavaScript
8 6 (5.71%) Python
9 5 (4.76%) Perl
10 3 (2.86%) Java
10 3 (2.86%) PowerShell
10 3 (2.86%) SQL
11 1 (0.95%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 26 (24.76%) Security Cleared
2 23 (21.90%) SC Cleared
3 3 (2.86%) Degree
3 3 (2.86%) DV Cleared
4 2 (1.90%) Computer Science Degree
5 1 (0.95%) BPSS Clearance
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 9 (8.57%) Def Stans
2 5 (4.76%) QA
3 1 (0.95%) IEC 61508
System Software
1 6 (5.71%) Virtual Machines
1 6 (5.71%) VMware Infrastructure
2 1 (0.95%) Docker
Systems Management
1 1 (0.95%) Functional Safety
1 1 (0.95%) Kubernetes
Vendors
1 7 (6.67%) Microsoft
2 6 (5.71%) ANSYS
2 6 (5.71%) IBM
2 6 (5.71%) VMware
3 4 (3.81%) Lauterbach
4 3 (2.86%) MuleSoft
4 3 (2.86%) Salesforce
5 2 (1.90%) Pega
5 2 (1.90%) SAP
5 2 (1.90%) ServiceNow
6 1 (0.95%) Informatica
6 1 (0.95%) NVIDIA
6 1 (0.95%) Siemens