Degree Contract Job Trends in the South East

Academic Degree
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East with a requirement for Degree qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 20 June 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 26 24 14
Rank change year-on-year -2 -10 +12
Contract jobs citing Degree 410 208 506
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.64% 6.85% 8.76%
As % of the Qualifications category 14.70% 17.25% 19.52%
Number of daily rates quoted 209 126 257
10th Percentile £204 £222 £205
25th Percentile £313 £355 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £476 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.99% -4.75% -
75th Percentile £588 £588 £608
90th Percentile £714 £638 £638
England median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -9.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 89 26 83
10th Percentile £26.14 £21.33 £17.80
25th Percentile £37.00 £32.12 £22.50
Median hourly rate £83.00 £55.13 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +50.57% -3.88% +24.00%
75th Percentile £88.00 £73.38 £61.30
90th Percentile - £75.00 £65.00
England median hourly rate £51.44 £50.00 £40.29
% change year-on-year +2.88% +24.11% -15.18%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
South East

Degree falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in the South East.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 2,789 1,206 2,592
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 45.17% 39.71% 44.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,886 764 1,500
10th Percentile £312 £260 £350
25th Percentile £445 £410 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £531 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +1.16% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £625 £600 £650
90th Percentile £725 £675 £725
England median daily rate £525 £525 £535
% change year-on-year - -1.87% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 294 86 226
10th Percentile £17.87 £18.69 £17.80
25th Percentile £28.83 £25.15 £30.10
Median hourly rate £60.00 £52.50 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +14.29% -8.46% -7.50%
75th Percentile £84.00 £70.94 £70.21
90th Percentile £88.00 £83.13 £87.46
England median hourly rate £52.50 £30.27 £41.50
% change year-on-year +73.44% -27.06% -24.55%

Degree
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Degree relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Degree job vacancy trend in the South East

Degree
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Degree.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Degree

Degree
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Degree in the South East over the 6 months to 20 June 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Degree in the South East

Degree
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Degree.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Degree

Degree
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Degree in the South East over the 6 months to 20 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Degree in the South East

Degree
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Degree within the South East region over the 6 months to 20 June 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
Thames Valley +2 206 £518 +8.38% 163
Berkshire +3 126 £400 -16.23% 77
Hampshire +5 107 £550 +5.77% 116
Surrey -12 44 £305 -16.44% 58
Oxfordshire -4 43 £525 +16.67% 52
Buckinghamshire -13 37 £570 +6.79% 37
West Sussex -17 14 £275 -5.17% 24
Kent +9 12 £445 +61.82% 30
Sussex - 4 £275 - 8
Home Counties - 3 - -
East Sussex -6 2 £461 - 10
Middlesex - 1 £198 - 7
Degree
England

Degree
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 15 (3.66%) SharePoint
2 8 (1.95%) Confluence
3 5 (1.22%) Microsoft Exchange
4 3 (0.73%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.49%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 2 (0.49%) CMS
5 2 (0.49%) MS Project Server
6 1 (0.24%) Apache Pulsar
6 1 (0.24%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 52 (12.68%) Microsoft Office
2 41 (10.00%) Microsoft Excel
3 23 (5.61%) Microsoft Project
4 22 (5.37%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.73%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.24%) CATIA
6 1 (0.24%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.24%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 11 (2.68%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (1.46%) Primavera
3 3 (0.73%) Salesforce CRM
4 2 (0.49%) Payment Gateway
4 2 (0.49%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.24%) ENOVIA
5 1 (0.24%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.24%) SAP Hybris
5 1 (0.24%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 85 (20.73%) Azure
2 53 (12.93%) AWS
3 33 (8.05%) Entra ID
4 28 (6.83%) Microsoft 365
5 18 (4.39%) Power Platform
6 17 (4.15%) GCP
7 13 (3.17%) SaaS
8 11 (2.68%) OneDrive
9 10 (2.44%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (1.71%) Serverless
11 6 (1.46%) GitHub
11 6 (1.46%) GitHub Actions
11 6 (1.46%) IaaS
11 6 (1.46%) Power Automate
12 5 (1.22%) PaaS
13 4 (0.98%) PowerApps
14 3 (0.73%) Lucidchart
14 3 (0.73%) Sauce Labs
15 2 (0.49%) Google Workspace
15 2 (0.49%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 23 (5.61%) Firewall
2 20 (4.88%) DNS
2 20 (4.88%) TCP/IP
3 14 (3.41%) DHCP
3 14 (3.41%) Network Security
3 14 (3.41%) WAN
4 13 (3.17%) LAN
5 9 (2.20%) BGP
5 9 (2.20%) OSPF
6 6 (1.46%) HTTP
6 6 (1.46%) IPsec
6 6 (1.46%) Wireless
7 5 (1.22%) SSH
7 5 (1.22%) Structured Cabling
8 4 (0.98%) MQTT
8 4 (0.98%) RSVP
9 3 (0.73%) Ethernet
9 3 (0.73%) SAN
9 3 (0.73%) VPN
9 3 (0.73%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (4.39%) SQL Server
2 16 (3.90%) Power BI
3 12 (2.93%) Relational Database
4 11 (2.68%) MySQL
5 6 (1.46%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.98%) Elasticsearch
6 4 (0.98%) Tableau
7 3 (0.73%) Big Data
8 2 (0.49%) Data Warehouse
8 2 (0.49%) Hadoop
8 2 (0.49%) Oracle Database
9 1 (0.24%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
9 1 (0.24%) Data Mining
9 1 (0.24%) DynamoDB
9 1 (0.24%) Metadata
9 1 (0.24%) NoSQL
9 1 (0.24%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 28 (6.83%) Rational DOORS
2 19 (4.63%) JIRA
3 10 (2.44%) Git
4 8 (1.95%) GitLab
5 6 (1.46%) CircleCI
5 6 (1.46%) Gradle
6 5 (1.22%) Burp Suite
6 5 (1.22%) JUnit
6 5 (1.22%) Metasploit
7 4 (0.98%) Jenkins
7 4 (0.98%) SonarQube
8 3 (0.73%) Android Studio
8 3 (0.73%) Browser DevTools
8 3 (0.73%) Eclipse
8 3 (0.73%) Xcode
9 2 (0.49%) Balsamiq
9 2 (0.49%) Selenium
9 2 (0.49%) Visual Studio
10 1 (0.24%) TestNG
10 1 (0.24%) WebDriver
General
1 171 (41.71%) Social Skills
2 75 (18.29%) Analytical Skills
3 66 (16.10%) Finance
4 63 (15.37%) Aerospace
5 50 (12.20%) Public Sector
6 25 (6.10%) Documentation Skills
7 17 (4.15%) Manufacturing
7 17 (4.15%) Organisational Skills
8 16 (3.90%) Law
9 13 (3.17%) Marketing
10 12 (2.93%) Influencing Skills
11 11 (2.68%) Presentation Skills
12 8 (1.95%) Legal
12 8 (1.95%) Telecoms
13 7 (1.71%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 7 (1.71%) Military
13 7 (1.71%) Retail
14 6 (1.46%) Aviation
15 5 (1.22%) Arabic Language
15 5 (1.22%) French Language
Job Titles
1 56 (13.66%) Analyst
2 49 (11.95%) Senior
3 32 (7.80%) Product Manager
4 30 (7.32%) Lead
5 29 (7.07%) Delivery Manager
6 28 (6.83%) Product Delivery Manager
7 27 (6.59%) IT Manager
8 22 (5.37%) Project Manager
8 22 (5.37%) Senior Manager
8 22 (5.37%) Systems Delivery Manager
8 22 (5.37%) Systems Manager
9 21 (5.12%) Architect
10 17 (4.15%) Category Manager
11 16 (3.90%) Technical Support
12 15 (3.66%) IT Services Manager
12 15 (3.66%) Senior Category Manager
12 15 (3.66%) Senior IT Manager
12 15 (3.66%) Senior Service Manager
13 14 (3.41%) IT Support
13 14 (3.41%) Senior Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (3.66%) OAuth
1 15 (3.66%) Oracle Fusion
2 13 (3.17%) LDAP
2 13 (3.17%) OpenID
2 13 (3.17%) SailPoint
2 13 (3.17%) SAML
3 11 (2.68%) REST
4 10 (2.44%) OAuth2
4 10 (2.44%) Web Services
5 9 (2.20%) React
6 7 (1.71%) .NET
6 7 (1.71%) Kafka
7 6 (1.46%) CSS
7 6 (1.46%) RAML
7 6 (1.46%) RESTful
8 5 (1.22%) Android Jetpack
8 5 (1.22%) AngularJS
8 5 (1.22%) GraphQL
8 5 (1.22%) gRPC
9 4 (0.98%) OkHttp
Miscellaneous
1 48 (11.71%) Product Ownership
2 42 (10.24%) Management Information System
3 28 (6.83%) Data Centre
3 28 (6.83%) Onboarding
4 26 (6.34%) Data Structures
5 17 (4.15%) Virtual Team
6 10 (2.44%) Security Posture
6 10 (2.44%) Self-Motivation
7 9 (2.20%) PMI
8 8 (1.95%) Operational Technology
8 8 (1.95%) Robotics
9 7 (1.71%) CCTV
9 7 (1.71%) Cloud Native
9 7 (1.71%) Data Protection Act
9 7 (1.71%) Mobile App
10 6 (1.46%) BYOD
10 6 (1.46%) Legacy Code
10 6 (1.46%) SCADA
11 5 (1.22%) Life Science
11 5 (1.22%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 74 (18.05%) Windows
2 51 (12.44%) Linux
3 34 (8.29%) Unix
4 15 (3.66%) Apple iOS
5 14 (3.41%) Windows Server
6 12 (2.93%) Android
7 11 (2.68%) Mac OS
8 8 (1.95%) Windows 10
9 4 (0.98%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 2 (0.49%) OpenVMS
10 2 (0.49%) Ubuntu
10 2 (0.49%) Windows Server 2012
11 1 (0.24%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 162 (39.51%) Computer Science
2 107 (26.10%) Agile
3 88 (21.46%) Problem-Solving
4 83 (20.24%) Continuous Improvement
5 70 (17.07%) Cybersecurity
6 60 (14.63%) Change Control
7 57 (13.90%) Information Security
7 57 (13.90%) Stakeholder Management
8 54 (13.17%) ITIL
8 54 (13.17%) ITSM
9 53 (12.93%) Decision-Making
10 51 (12.44%) AI
11 48 (11.71%) PRINCE2
12 47 (11.46%) Project Management
13 44 (10.73%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 44 (10.73%) Systems Engineering
14 36 (8.78%) CI/CD
14 36 (8.78%) Programme Management
15 35 (8.54%) Scaled Agile Framework
16 31 (7.56%) Customer Service
Programming Languages
1 55 (13.41%) Python
2 30 (7.32%) PowerShell
3 21 (5.12%) SQL
4 20 (4.88%) Java
5 17 (4.15%) JavaScript
6 9 (2.20%) Perl
7 8 (1.95%) Shell Script
8 7 (1.71%) Kotlin
9 4 (0.98%) Bash
9 4 (0.98%) C#
9 4 (0.98%) C++
9 4 (0.98%) Rust
10 3 (0.73%) C
10 3 (0.73%) Korn
11 2 (0.49%) Ada
11 2 (0.49%) Go
11 2 (0.49%) R
11 2 (0.49%) X++
12 1 (0.24%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 1 (0.24%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 175 (42.68%) Security Cleared
2 112 (27.32%) SC Cleared
3 63 (15.37%) Computer Science Degree
4 24 (5.85%) CISSP
5 19 (4.63%) Cisco Certification
5 19 (4.63%) PMI Certification
6 17 (4.15%) DV Cleared
6 17 (4.15%) PMP
7 15 (3.66%) BPSS Clearance
7 15 (3.66%) Master's Degree
8 14 (3.41%) CISM
9 12 (2.93%) CCNP
9 12 (2.93%) Microsoft Certification
10 10 (2.44%) ACCA
10 10 (2.44%) CIMA
11 9 (2.20%) CESG Certified Professional
11 9 (2.20%) CompTIA Security+
12 7 (1.71%) AWS Certification
13 6 (1.46%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 6 (1.46%) CCNA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 51 (12.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 49 (11.95%) NIST
3 20 (4.88%) PMO
4 16 (3.90%) GDPR
5 15 (3.66%) NCSC
5 15 (3.66%) QA
6 12 (2.93%) Data Quality
6 12 (2.93%) PCI DSS
7 8 (1.95%) NIST 800
8 7 (1.71%) Cyber Essentials
8 7 (1.71%) SLA
9 6 (1.46%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 5 (1.22%) Government Security Classifications
10 5 (1.22%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 4 (0.98%) Accessibility
11 4 (0.98%) ISO 31000
12 3 (0.73%) DO-254
12 3 (0.73%) IEC 61508
12 3 (0.73%) ISO 26262
12 3 (0.73%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 45 (10.98%) Active Directory
2 14 (3.41%) Docker
3 9 (2.20%) VMware Infrastructure
4 7 (1.71%) Firmware
5 4 (0.98%) Embedded Firmware
5 4 (0.98%) VMware NSX
6 2 (0.49%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.49%) Oracle RAC
7 1 (0.24%) Citrix Hypervisor
7 1 (0.24%) OpenAM
7 1 (0.24%) UAG
7 1 (0.24%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 14 (3.41%) Kubernetes
1 14 (3.41%) Microsoft Intune
2 10 (2.44%) Jamf Pro
3 8 (1.95%) Terraform
4 7 (1.71%) Grafana
4 7 (1.71%) Prometheus
5 5 (1.22%) Nmap
5 5 (1.22%) Single Sign-On
6 4 (0.98%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 4 (0.98%) Ansible
6 4 (0.98%) Podman
6 4 (0.98%) Puppet
7 2 (0.49%) Nessus
7 2 (0.49%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 2 (0.49%) Oracle RMAN
7 2 (0.49%) vCenter Server
8 1 (0.24%) HP ALM
8 1 (0.24%) Kubeflow
8 1 (0.24%) linkerd
8 1 (0.24%) SCCM
Vendors
1 87 (21.22%) Microsoft
2 41 (10.00%) Oracle
3 31 (7.56%) SAP
4 25 (6.10%) IBM
5 24 (5.85%) ServiceNow
6 16 (3.90%) BeyondTrust
6 16 (3.90%) CyberArk
7 15 (3.66%) Ariba
8 14 (3.41%) Cisco
9 11 (2.68%) VMware
10 9 (2.20%) Palo Alto
11 8 (1.95%) CheckPoint
11 8 (1.95%) Splunk
12 7 (1.71%) Aruba
12 7 (1.71%) Salesforce
13 6 (1.46%) Tenable
14 5 (1.22%) Dell
14 5 (1.22%) Google
14 5 (1.22%) Workday
15 4 (0.98%) NVIDIA