SOC Analyst Contract Job Trends in Reading

Security Operations Centre Analyst
Berkshire > Reading

The median Security Operations Centre Analyst daily rate in Reading is £500, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 24 October 2025.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
24 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 55 - 86
Rank change year-on-year - - +9
Contract jobs requiring a SOC Analyst 11 0 1
As % of all contract jobs in Reading 1.75% - 0.091%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.92% - 0.098%
Number of daily rates quoted 5 0 1
10th Percentile £429 - -
25th Percentile £450 - £525
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 - £550
Median % change year-on-year - - +4.76%
75th Percentile - - £575
90th Percentile £511 - -
Berkshire median daily rate £500 - £525

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
Reading

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in Reading. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in Reading with a recognized job title 572 970 1,022
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.08% 89.15% 92.66%
Number of daily rates quoted 389 539 690
10th Percentile £325 £333 £250
25th Percentile £450 £463 £412
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £575 £525
Median % change year-on-year -8.70% +9.52% +5.00%
75th Percentile £607 £650 £625
90th Percentile £650 £700 £700
Berkshire median daily rate £508 £525 £500
% change year-on-year -3.33% +5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 24 27 12
10th Percentile - £48.18 £58.98
25th Percentile £14.75 £56.88 £61.04
Median hourly rate £28.00 £61.60 £64.31
Median % change year-on-year -54.55% -4.22% +16.93%
75th Percentile £65.00 £98.75 £69.56
90th Percentile £71.03 £100.00 £75.23
Berkshire median hourly rate £28.00 £61.50 £61.79
% change year-on-year -54.47% -0.48% +23.58%

SOC Analyst
Job Vacancy Trend in Reading

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'SOC Analyst' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading.

SOC Analyst job vacancy trend in Reading

SOC Analyst
Daily Rate Trend in Reading

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for SOC Analyst job vacancies in Reading.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for SOC Analyst job vacancies in Reading

SOC Analyst Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Reading

For the 6 months to 24 October 2025, SOC Analyst contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the Reading region featuring SOC Analyst in the job title.

1 10 (90.91%) SIEM
2 9 (81.82%) Forensic Analysis
2 9 (81.82%) Incident Response
2 9 (81.82%) Microsoft
2 9 (81.82%) Splunk
2 9 (81.82%) Threat Intelligence
3 8 (72.73%) CISSP
3 8 (72.73%) CrowdStrike
3 8 (72.73%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
3 8 (72.73%) GCFA
3 8 (72.73%) GCIA
3 8 (72.73%) GCIH
3 8 (72.73%) PowerShell
3 8 (72.73%) Python
4 7 (63.64%) Behavioural Analysis
4 7 (63.64%) CFCE
4 7 (63.64%) GDPR
4 7 (63.64%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 7 (63.64%) Linux
4 7 (63.64%) Malware Analysis
4 7 (63.64%) NIST
4 7 (63.64%) Windows
5 6 (54.55%) ArcSight
5 6 (54.55%) Data Privacy
5 6 (54.55%) LogRhythm
5 6 (54.55%) Risk Management
5 6 (54.55%) Security Operations
6 5 (45.45%) GIAC
6 5 (45.45%) HIPAA
6 5 (45.45%) Task Automation

SOC Analyst Skill Set
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:

Cloud Services
1 2 (18.18%) Azure
2 1 (9.09%) AWS
2 1 (9.09%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 3 (27.27%) Network Security
General
1 6 (54.55%) Legal
2 4 (36.36%) Analytical Skills
3 3 (27.27%) Public Sector
3 3 (27.27%) Social Skills
Miscellaneous
1 6 (54.55%) Cyber Threat
1 6 (54.55%) Security Operations Centre
2 5 (45.45%) Management Information System
3 4 (36.36%) Security Posture
4 1 (9.09%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 7 (63.64%) Linux
1 7 (63.64%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 10 (90.91%) SIEM
2 9 (81.82%) Forensic Analysis
2 9 (81.82%) Incident Response
2 9 (81.82%) Threat Intelligence
3 8 (72.73%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
4 7 (63.64%) Behavioural Analysis
4 7 (63.64%) Malware Analysis
5 6 (54.55%) Data Privacy
5 6 (54.55%) Risk Management
5 6 (54.55%) Security Operations
6 5 (45.45%) Task Automation
7 4 (36.36%) Cybersecurity
8 3 (27.27%) Computer Science
8 3 (27.27%) Continuous Improvement
8 3 (27.27%) DevOps
8 3 (27.27%) Technical Analysis
9 2 (18.18%) Advanced Persistent Threat
9 2 (18.18%) Analytical Thinking
9 2 (18.18%) Digital Forensics
9 2 (18.18%) Mentoring
Programming Languages
1 8 (72.73%) PowerShell
1 8 (72.73%) Python
2 2 (18.18%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 8 (72.73%) CISSP
1 8 (72.73%) GCFA
1 8 (72.73%) GCIA
1 8 (72.73%) GCIH
2 7 (63.64%) CFCE
3 5 (45.45%) GIAC
4 3 (27.27%) Security Cleared
5 2 (18.18%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (18.18%) Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 7 (63.64%) GDPR
1 7 (63.64%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 7 (63.64%) NIST
2 5 (45.45%) HIPAA
Systems Management
1 4 (36.36%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
Vendors
1 9 (81.82%) Microsoft
1 9 (81.82%) Splunk
2 8 (72.73%) CrowdStrike
3 6 (54.55%) ArcSight
3 6 (54.55%) LogRhythm
4 1 (9.09%) Intel