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 24 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
24 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 75 49 73
Rank change year-on-year -26 +24 -8
Contract jobs citing Network Security 12 14 22
As % of all contract jobs in Reading 1.13% 2.59% 1.80%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 8.89% 22.95% 9.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 10 10 7
10th Percentile £407 - £435
25th Percentile £414 - £492
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £471 £450 £533
Median % change year-on-year +4.61% -15.57% -11.17%
75th Percentile £581 £469 -
90th Percentile £606 £550 £580
Berkshire median daily rate £447 £450 £533
% change year-on-year -0.67% -15.57% +2.01%
Number of hourly rates quoted 0 0 1
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile - - £56.25
Median hourly rate - - £57.50
75th Percentile - - £58.75
90th Percentile - - -
Berkshire median hourly rate £42.25 - £38.25
% change year-on-year - - +101.32%

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 135 61 235
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading 12.76% 11.28% 19.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 61 34 104
10th Percentile £335 £203 £205
25th Percentile £435 £334 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £450 £525
Median % change year-on-year +13.33% -14.29% -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £495 £608
90th Percentile £688 £550 £638
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £450 £513
% change year-on-year - -12.20% +9.04%
Number of hourly rates quoted 16 1 13
10th Percentile £16.01 - £77.22
25th Percentile £19.34 - -
Median hourly rate £23.00 £55.00 £87.46
Median % change year-on-year -58.18% -37.11% +16.61%
75th Percentile £35.22 - £87.53
90th Percentile £56.00 - -
Berkshire median hourly rate £32.50 £55.00 £83.77
% change year-on-year -40.91% -34.34% +13.32%

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 24 June 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%) SharePoint
Applications
1 1 (8.33%) InfoPath
1 1 (8.33%) Microsoft Office
1 1 (8.33%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Cloud Services
1 1 (8.33%) Azure
1 1 (8.33%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 8 (66.67%) Firewall
2 2 (16.67%) Cisco ISE
2 2 (16.67%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
2 2 (16.67%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
2 2 (16.67%) Intrusion Detection
3 1 (8.33%) Cisco Nexus
3 1 (8.33%) DNS
3 1 (8.33%) LAN
3 1 (8.33%) Modbus
3 1 (8.33%) MPLS
3 1 (8.33%) SD-WAN
3 1 (8.33%) TCP/IP
3 1 (8.33%) VoIP
3 1 (8.33%) VPN
3 1 (8.33%) WAN
3 1 (8.33%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (8.33%) Data Mining
General
1 6 (50.00%) Social Skills
2 1 (8.33%) Analytical Skills
2 1 (8.33%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 4 (33.33%) Security Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) Architect
2 3 (25.00%) Network Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Network Architect
3 2 (16.67%) Project Manager
3 2 (16.67%) Security Manager
3 2 (16.67%) Security Project Manager
3 2 (16.67%) Solutions Architect
4 1 (8.33%) Analyst
4 1 (8.33%) Business Analyst
4 1 (8.33%) Cybersecurity Analyst
4 1 (8.33%) Cybersecurity Engineer
4 1 (8.33%) Cybersecurity Manager
4 1 (8.33%) Information Security Engineer
4 1 (8.33%) Lead
4 1 (8.33%) Migration Architect
4 1 (8.33%) Project Manager - Cybersecurity
4 1 (8.33%) Senior
4 1 (8.33%) SIEM Engineer
Miscellaneous
1 3 (25.00%) Data Protection Act
1 3 (25.00%) Security Posture
2 2 (16.67%) Operational Technology
3 1 (8.33%) Cyber Security Posture
3 1 (8.33%) Data Centre
3 1 (8.33%) iSeries
3 1 (8.33%) Management Information System
3 1 (8.33%) SCADA
Processes & Methodologies
1 6 (50.00%) Cybersecurity
2 5 (41.67%) Data Protection
3 3 (25.00%) Collaborative Working
3 3 (25.00%) Data Loss Prevention
3 3 (25.00%) SIEM
4 2 (16.67%) Network Architecture
4 2 (16.67%) Network Design
4 2 (16.67%) Network Monitoring
4 2 (16.67%) Network Segmentation
4 2 (16.67%) Performance Analysis
4 2 (16.67%) Problem-Solving
4 2 (16.67%) Security Monitoring
4 2 (16.67%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 2 (16.67%) Stakeholder Management
5 1 (8.33%) Change Management
5 1 (8.33%) GAP Analysis
5 1 (8.33%) Identity Management
5 1 (8.33%) Migration
5 1 (8.33%) Risk Assessment
5 1 (8.33%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 1 (8.33%) Kusto Query Language
1 1 (8.33%) PowerShell
1 1 (8.33%) Python
Qualifications
1 6 (50.00%) Security Cleared
2 4 (33.33%) SC Cleared
3 2 (16.67%) CISSP
3 2 (16.67%) DV Cleared
4 1 (8.33%) CEH
4 1 (8.33%) CISM
4 1 (8.33%) Degree
4 1 (8.33%) GIAC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (16.67%) GRC
2 1 (8.33%) NIST
Systems Management
1 1 (8.33%) CASB
1 1 (8.33%) FortiGate
1 1 (8.33%) Kibana
Vendors
1 4 (33.33%) Cisco
2 3 (25.00%) F5
2 3 (25.00%) Palo Alto
3 2 (16.67%) Juniper
4 1 (8.33%) Aruba
4 1 (8.33%) FireEye
4 1 (8.33%) Tanium