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 15 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 21 28 27
Rank change year-on-year +7 -1 -12
Contract jobs citing Degree 481 223 302
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.30% 6.17% 7.04%
As % of the Qualifications category 16.72% 15.63% 17.18%
Number of daily rates quoted 251 123 194
10th Percentile £189 £208 £203
25th Percentile £312 £330 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £450 £450
Median % change year-on-year +16.67% - -10.00%
75th Percentile £588 £569 £588
90th Percentile £700 £645 £629
England median daily rate £510 £504 £500
% change year-on-year +1.22% +0.80% -6.10%
Number of hourly rates quoted 92 31 22
10th Percentile £20.13 £21.25 £22.73
25th Percentile £31.25 £22.50 £31.94
Median hourly rate £52.50 £29.61 £51.44
Median % change year-on-year +77.30% -42.44% -6.47%
75th Percentile £68.94 £81.00 £75.00
90th Percentile £80.55 £89.63 £91.80
England median hourly rate £38.72 £34.48 £50.00
% change year-on-year +12.30% -31.04% +3.86%

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 2,876 1,427 1,758
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.64% 39.50% 40.99%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,863 936 1,124
10th Percentile £325 £208 £308
25th Percentile £463 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £500 £530
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -5.66% -1.40%
75th Percentile £638 £588 £638
90th Percentile £738 £650 £700
England median daily rate £535 £525 £525
% change year-on-year +1.90% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 343 134 106
10th Percentile £18.25 - £24.25
25th Percentile £33.70 £18.87 £35.60
Median hourly rate £61.50 £25.15 £60.83
Median % change year-on-year +144.53% -58.66% +1.38%
75th Percentile £87.16 £46.78 £73.29
90th Percentile £100.00 £81.00 £92.19
England median hourly rate £47.54 £25.15 £52.50
% change year-on-year +89.03% -52.10% -2.17%

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 15 October 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 15 October 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 15 October 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 +15 260 £550 +22.22% 123
Berkshire +13 168 £558 +23.89% 68
Hampshire +5 100 £550 +15.18% 69
Surrey +13 69 £450 +109.30% 36
Oxfordshire +1 52 £405 -10.00% 36
Buckinghamshire -9 40 £525 +65.35% 21
West Sussex -21 22 £345 +19.79% 24
Kent +13 17 £250 - 18
Sussex +1 3 £275 - 13
Middlesex - 3 £334 - 2
Home Counties 0 1 - -
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 28 (5.82%) SharePoint
2 14 (2.91%) Confluence
3 5 (1.04%) FactoryTalk
3 5 (1.04%) IIS
3 5 (1.04%) Microsoft Exchange
4 2 (0.42%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.21%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 1 (0.21%) ArcGIS
5 1 (0.21%) CMS
5 1 (0.21%) GeoServer
5 1 (0.21%) Headless CMS
5 1 (0.21%) Oracle Service Bus
5 1 (0.21%) WebLogic
Applications
1 59 (12.27%) Microsoft Office
2 55 (11.43%) Microsoft Excel
3 27 (5.61%) Microsoft Project
4 25 (5.20%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.83%) MS Visio
6 3 (0.62%) Revit
7 2 (0.42%) AutoCAD
7 2 (0.42%) MicroStation
8 1 (0.21%) CATIA
8 1 (0.21%) Chatbot
8 1 (0.21%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.21%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 6 (1.25%) Salesforce CRM
2 4 (0.83%) Primavera
2 4 (0.83%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (0.62%) NEC Housing
4 2 (0.42%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
5 1 (0.21%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.21%) ENOVIA
5 1 (0.21%) SAP CAR
5 1 (0.21%) SAP CRM
5 1 (0.21%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 112 (23.28%) Azure
2 44 (9.15%) AWS
3 43 (8.94%) Entra ID
4 39 (8.11%) Microsoft 365
5 26 (5.41%) GCP
6 23 (4.78%) SaaS
7 22 (4.57%) Azure DevOps
8 19 (3.95%) Power Platform
9 13 (2.70%) OneDrive
10 11 (2.29%) Serverless
11 9 (1.87%) IaaS
12 8 (1.66%) GitHub
13 6 (1.25%) GitHub Actions
13 6 (1.25%) Power Automate
14 5 (1.04%) Azure ExpressRoute
14 5 (1.04%) Azure Functions
14 5 (1.04%) Azure Logic Apps
14 5 (1.04%) Azure Monitor
14 5 (1.04%) Dynamics 365
14 5 (1.04%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 29 (6.03%) TCP/IP
2 24 (4.99%) DNS
3 20 (4.16%) DHCP
4 19 (3.95%) Firewall
5 12 (2.49%) Network Security
5 12 (2.49%) VPN
6 8 (1.66%) VLAN
7 7 (1.46%) SSH
8 6 (1.25%) LAN
9 5 (1.04%) Wireshark
10 4 (0.83%) BGP
10 4 (0.83%) MQTT
10 4 (0.83%) OSPF
10 4 (0.83%) Software-Defined Networking
10 4 (0.83%) WAN
10 4 (0.83%) Wi-Fi
11 3 (0.62%) Cisco Nexus
11 3 (0.62%) MPLS
11 3 (0.62%) NAS
11 3 (0.62%) RSVP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 21 (4.37%) Metadata
2 17 (3.53%) Power BI
3 13 (2.70%) Relational Database
4 8 (1.66%) SQL Server
5 7 (1.46%) PostgreSQL
6 6 (1.25%) GIS
6 6 (1.25%) MySQL
6 6 (1.25%) Tableau
7 4 (0.83%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (0.83%) Elasticsearch
8 1 (0.21%) Apache Iceberg
8 1 (0.21%) BigQuery
8 1 (0.21%) Data Lake
8 1 (0.21%) Geospatial Data
8 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database
8 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 12c
8 1 (0.21%) QGIS
8 1 (0.21%) Spatial Data
8 1 (0.21%) Tableau Desktop
8 1 (0.21%) Tableau Server
Development Applications
1 24 (4.99%) JIRA
2 13 (2.70%) Git
3 6 (1.25%) CircleCI
3 6 (1.25%) GitLab
4 5 (1.04%) Rational DOORS
5 4 (0.83%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.62%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.62%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.62%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.62%) Gradle
6 3 (0.62%) Xcode
6 3 (0.62%) XCTest
6 3 (0.62%) XCUITest
7 2 (0.42%) JUnit
7 2 (0.42%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.21%) MSI
8 1 (0.21%) Octopus Deploy
8 1 (0.21%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 214 (44.49%) Social Skills
2 107 (22.25%) Analytical Skills
3 72 (14.97%) Aerospace
4 55 (11.43%) Public Sector
5 54 (11.23%) Finance
6 40 (8.32%) Manufacturing
7 24 (4.99%) Organisational Skills
8 20 (4.16%) Documentation Skills
9 17 (3.53%) Influencing Skills
10 15 (3.12%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 15 (3.12%) Marketing
10 15 (3.12%) Pharmaceutical
11 13 (2.70%) Military
12 11 (2.29%) Law
12 11 (2.29%) Telecoms
13 10 (2.08%) Automotive
14 9 (1.87%) French Language
14 9 (1.87%) Games
15 8 (1.66%) Presentation Skills
15 8 (1.66%) Retail
Job Titles
1 52 (10.81%) Analyst
1 52 (10.81%) Senior
2 34 (7.07%) Lead
3 32 (6.65%) Delivery Manager
4 22 (4.57%) Architect
5 21 (4.37%) Product Delivery Manager
5 21 (4.37%) Product Manager
5 21 (4.37%) Senior Manager
6 20 (4.16%) IT Manager
6 20 (4.16%) Project Manager
7 19 (3.95%) IT Support
8 16 (3.33%) Senior IT Manager
9 15 (3.12%) Category Manager
9 15 (3.12%) IT Services Manager
9 15 (3.12%) Senior Category Manager
9 15 (3.12%) Senior Service Manager
9 15 (3.12%) Test Manager
10 14 (2.91%) Business Analyst
10 14 (2.91%) Data Analyst
11 12 (2.49%) Systems Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (4.99%) OAuth
2 23 (4.78%) OpenID
3 19 (3.95%) SAML
4 18 (3.74%) LDAP
4 18 (3.74%) SailPoint
5 17 (3.53%) OAuth2
6 15 (3.12%) Oracle Fusion
6 15 (3.12%) Terraform
7 13 (2.70%) Web Services
8 11 (2.29%) CSS
8 11 (2.29%) Middleware
8 11 (2.29%) React
8 11 (2.29%) RESTful
9 10 (2.08%) .NET
10 9 (1.87%) REST
11 8 (1.66%) HTML
12 7 (1.46%) ARM Templates
13 6 (1.25%) Django
14 5 (1.04%) XML
15 4 (0.83%) AngularJS
Miscellaneous
1 61 (12.68%) Management Information System
2 39 (8.11%) Product Ownership
3 28 (5.82%) Onboarding
4 21 (4.37%) Data Centre
4 21 (4.37%) SCADA
5 20 (4.16%) Operational Technology
6 17 (3.53%) Self-Motivation
7 15 (3.12%) Cloud Native
7 15 (3.12%) Life Science
7 15 (3.12%) Virtual Team
8 14 (2.91%) Hybrid Cloud
9 9 (1.87%) Animation
9 9 (1.87%) Data Structures
9 9 (1.87%) Enterprise Software
9 9 (1.87%) Interactive Media
9 9 (1.87%) PMI
10 8 (1.66%) Graphic Design
10 8 (1.66%) Mobile App
10 8 (1.66%) Security Posture
11 7 (1.46%) Embedded Systems
Operating Systems
1 65 (13.51%) Windows
2 45 (9.36%) Linux
3 22 (4.57%) Unix
3 22 (4.57%) Windows Server
4 17 (3.53%) Apple iOS
5 14 (2.91%) macOS
6 9 (1.87%) Android
7 8 (1.66%) Windows 10
8 1 (0.21%) Solaris
8 1 (0.21%) VMS
8 1 (0.21%) Windows 7
8 1 (0.21%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 162 (33.68%) Computer Science
2 126 (26.20%) Problem-Solving
2 126 (26.20%) Stakeholder Management
3 123 (25.57%) Agile
3 123 (25.57%) Continuous Improvement
4 96 (19.96%) ITIL
5 74 (15.38%) Project Management
6 72 (14.97%) PRINCE2
7 69 (14.35%) Roadmaps
8 67 (13.93%) ITSM
9 64 (13.31%) Decision-Making
10 60 (12.47%) Service Management
11 59 (12.27%) Cybersecurity
12 55 (11.43%) DevOps
13 54 (11.23%) CI/CD
14 53 (11.02%) Project Delivery
15 52 (10.81%) AI
16 51 (10.60%) Change Management
17 50 (10.40%) Analytics
18 44 (9.15%) Software Engineering
Programming Languages
1 68 (14.14%) Python
2 44 (9.15%) PowerShell
3 26 (5.41%) SQL
4 18 (3.74%) JavaScript
5 14 (2.91%) Java
6 9 (1.87%) Bash
7 7 (1.46%) Bicep
7 7 (1.46%) C#
8 6 (1.25%) Shell Script
9 5 (1.04%) Perl
10 4 (0.83%) Kotlin
10 4 (0.83%) Rust
11 3 (0.62%) Apex Code
11 3 (0.62%) C
11 3 (0.62%) Lua
11 3 (0.62%) Objective-C
11 3 (0.62%) Swift
11 3 (0.62%) X++
12 1 (0.21%) C++
12 1 (0.21%) PL/SQL
Qualifications
1 192 (39.92%) Security Cleared
2 138 (28.69%) SC Cleared
3 75 (15.59%) Computer Science Degree
4 39 (8.11%) DV Cleared
5 30 (6.24%) Microsoft Certification
6 29 (6.03%) Azure Certification
7 28 (5.82%) Master's Degree
7 28 (5.82%) PMI Certification
8 24 (4.99%) CISSP
9 22 (4.57%) PMP
9 22 (4.57%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
10 21 (4.37%) BPSS Clearance
11 17 (3.53%) Cisco Certification
12 16 (3.33%) ISTQB
13 14 (2.91%) CISM
14 11 (2.29%) AWS Certification
15 10 (2.08%) (ISC)2 CCSP
15 10 (2.08%) PhD
16 7 (1.46%) CISA
16 7 (1.46%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (7.28%) NIST
2 34 (7.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 31 (6.44%) QA
4 27 (5.61%) Data Quality
5 16 (3.33%) GDPR
6 14 (2.91%) PMO
7 10 (2.08%) ISO 31000
8 9 (1.87%) NCSC
9 8 (1.66%) Accessibility
10 7 (1.46%) GRC
10 7 (1.46%) ISO 9001
10 7 (1.46%) SLA
11 5 (1.04%) 21 CFR Part 11
11 5 (1.04%) Cyber Essentials
11 5 (1.04%) GxP
11 5 (1.04%) ISO/IEC 27005
11 5 (1.04%) PCI DSS
12 2 (0.42%) DO-254
12 2 (0.42%) ISO 19650
12 2 (0.42%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 50 (10.40%) Active Directory
2 23 (4.78%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (3.53%) Docker
4 7 (1.46%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.04%) Hyper-V
6 4 (0.83%) Firmware
6 4 (0.83%) ISA Server
7 3 (0.62%) OpenAM
7 3 (0.62%) vSphere
8 2 (0.42%) Embedded Firmware
9 1 (0.21%) Oracle RAC
9 1 (0.21%) UAG
9 1 (0.21%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.21%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 20 (4.16%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (3.33%) Kubernetes
3 12 (2.49%) Ansible
4 10 (2.08%) Jamf Pro
5 7 (1.46%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.04%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 5 (1.04%) CASB
6 5 (1.04%) SCCM
7 4 (0.83%) Grafana
7 4 (0.83%) Podman
7 4 (0.83%) Prometheus
7 4 (0.83%) Puppet
8 3 (0.62%) MOM
9 2 (0.42%) Istio
9 2 (0.42%) vCenter Server
9 2 (0.42%) vRealize
9 2 (0.42%) vRealize Orchestrator
10 1 (0.21%) Argo
10 1 (0.21%) Data Guard
10 1 (0.21%) Dell DRAC
Vendors
1 147 (30.56%) Microsoft
2 35 (7.28%) Oracle
3 30 (6.24%) ServiceNow
4 27 (5.61%) VMware
5 26 (5.41%) SAP
6 16 (3.33%) Google
7 15 (3.12%) Ariba
7 15 (3.12%) Cisco
8 14 (2.91%) Salesforce
9 10 (2.08%) CyberArk
10 9 (1.87%) BeyondTrust
11 8 (1.66%) CrowdStrike
12 7 (1.46%) F5
12 7 (1.46%) Splunk
13 5 (1.04%) Rockwell
13 5 (1.04%) Workday
14 4 (0.83%) Centrify
14 4 (0.83%) NVIDIA
14 4 (0.83%) Palo Alto
14 4 (0.83%) Tenable