Network Security Contract Job Trends in Reading

Network Security
Berkshire > Reading

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in Reading requiring Network Security skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 11 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 80 46 77
Rank change year-on-year -34 +31 -26
Contract jobs citing Network Security 12 23 15
As % of all contract jobs in Reading 1.15% 3.72% 1.24%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 9.60% 22.55% 6.25%
Number of daily rates quoted 9 8 8
10th Percentile £415 £450 £514
25th Percentile £420 £525 -
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £467 £625 £533
Median % change year-on-year -25.28% +17.26% +0.57%
75th Percentile £575 £650 £673
90th Percentile £588 - £766
Berkshire median daily rate £430 £550 £533
% change year-on-year -21.82% +3.19% +6.60%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
Reading

Network Security falls under the Communications and Computer Networking category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring communications or computer networking skills in Reading.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 125 102 240
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading 12.02% 16.48% 19.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 73 37 111
10th Percentile £285 £248 £205
25th Percentile £413 £375 £269
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £480 £450 £490
Median % change year-on-year +6.67% -8.16% -9.26%
75th Percentile £618 £550 £608
90th Percentile £688 £643 -
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £463 £475
% change year-on-year -2.70% -2.63% -3.31%
Number of hourly rates quoted 10 0 12
10th Percentile £16.01 - £77.10
25th Percentile £16.84 - £85.13
Median hourly rate £19.34 - £87.46
Median % change year-on-year - - +32.52%
75th Percentile £57.00 - £87.53
90th Percentile £80.60 - -
Berkshire median hourly rate £42.25 £24.66 £83.77
% change year-on-year +71.33% -70.56% +26.92%

Network Security
Job Vacancy Trend in Reading

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Network Security relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading.

Network Security job vacancy trend in Reading

Network Security
Daily Rate Trend in Reading

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Network Security.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Network Security

Network Security
Daily Rate Histogram in Reading

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Network Security in Reading over the 6 months to 11 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Network Security in Reading

Network Security
Hourly Rate Trend in Reading

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Network Security.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Network Security

Network Security
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Reading 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 1 (8.33%) Microsoft Exchange
1 1 (8.33%) Skype for Business
Cloud Services
1 3 (25.00%) Azure
2 1 (8.33%) AWS
2 1 (8.33%) Azure DevOps
2 1 (8.33%) Azure Sentinel
2 1 (8.33%) Entra ID
2 1 (8.33%) IaaS
2 1 (8.33%) PaaS
2 1 (8.33%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 4 (33.33%) Firewall
2 2 (16.67%) Cisco ISE
3 1 (8.33%) DNS
3 1 (8.33%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
3 1 (8.33%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
3 1 (8.33%) Radio Access Network
3 1 (8.33%) Skype
3 1 (8.33%) Unified Communications
3 1 (8.33%) WebEx
General
1 8 (66.67%) Social Skills
2 4 (33.33%) Analytical Skills
3 1 (8.33%) Documentation Skills
3 1 (8.33%) Legal
Job Titles
1 4 (33.33%) Architect
2 2 (16.67%) Analyst
2 2 (16.67%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
2 2 (16.67%) Information Security Engineer
2 2 (16.67%) Network Architect
2 2 (16.67%) Network Engineer
2 2 (16.67%) Security Architect
2 2 (16.67%) Security Engineer
2 2 (16.67%) SIEM Engineer
2 2 (16.67%) SOC Analyst
2 2 (16.67%) Solutions Architect
3 1 (8.33%) Cybersecurity Architect
3 1 (8.33%) Cybersecurity Manager
3 1 (8.33%) IP Architect
3 1 (8.33%) Migration Architect
3 1 (8.33%) Project Manager - Cybersecurity
3 1 (8.33%) Security Manager
3 1 (8.33%) Security Project Manager
3 1 (8.33%) Security Solutions Architect
3 1 (8.33%) Senior
Miscellaneous
1 2 (16.67%) Cyber Security Posture
1 2 (16.67%) Security Operations Centre
1 2 (16.67%) Security Posture
2 1 (8.33%) Cyber Threat
2 1 (8.33%) Data Protection Act
2 1 (8.33%) iSeries
2 1 (8.33%) Legacy Systems
2 1 (8.33%) Management Information System
2 1 (8.33%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 2 (16.67%) Linux
1 2 (16.67%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 6 (50.00%) Cybersecurity
1 6 (50.00%) SIEM
2 5 (41.67%) Problem-Solving
3 3 (25.00%) Analytical Thinking
3 3 (25.00%) Continuous Improvement
3 3 (25.00%) DevOps
4 2 (16.67%) Behavioural Analysis
4 2 (16.67%) Collaborative Working
4 2 (16.67%) Computer Science
4 2 (16.67%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
4 2 (16.67%) Forensic Analysis
4 2 (16.67%) Malware Analysis
4 2 (16.67%) Performance Analysis
4 2 (16.67%) Security Architecture
4 2 (16.67%) Security Operations
4 2 (16.67%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 2 (16.67%) Technical Analysis
4 2 (16.67%) Threat Detection
4 2 (16.67%) Threat Intelligence
4 2 (16.67%) Vulnerability Management
Programming Languages
1 4 (33.33%) PowerShell
1 4 (33.33%) Python
2 2 (16.67%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 6 (50.00%) CISSP
1 6 (50.00%) Security Cleared
2 4 (33.33%) Degree
2 4 (33.33%) SC Cleared
3 3 (25.00%) GIAC
4 2 (16.67%) CCNP
4 2 (16.67%) CEH
4 2 (16.67%) CFCE
4 2 (16.67%) Cisco Certification
4 2 (16.67%) Computer Science Degree
4 2 (16.67%) DV Cleared
4 2 (16.67%) GCFA
4 2 (16.67%) GCIA
4 2 (16.67%) GCIH
4 2 (16.67%) Microsoft Certification
5 1 (8.33%) Azure Certification
5 1 (8.33%) CCIE
5 1 (8.33%) CCNA
5 1 (8.33%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (16.67%) GDPR
1 2 (16.67%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 2 (16.67%) NIST
2 1 (8.33%) HIPAA
System Software
1 1 (8.33%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 2 (16.67%) Kibana
2 1 (8.33%) FortiGate
Vendors
1 3 (25.00%) Cisco
1 3 (25.00%) Microsoft
2 2 (16.67%) FireEye
2 2 (16.67%) Juniper
2 2 (16.67%) Palo Alto
2 2 (16.67%) Splunk
2 2 (16.67%) Tanium
3 1 (8.33%) ArcSight
3 1 (8.33%) CrowdStrike
3 1 (8.33%) F5
3 1 (8.33%) LogRhythm
3 1 (8.33%) Polycom
3 1 (8.33%) Tenable