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 19 September 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 30 24
Rank change year-on-year +8 -6 -5
Contract jobs citing Degree 464 205 349
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.96% 5.87% 7.57%
As % of the Qualifications category 15.96% 15.13% 17.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 249 121 209
10th Percentile £194 £204 £199
25th Percentile £313 £350 £355
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £463 £475
Median % change year-on-year +13.51% -2.63% -5.00%
75th Percentile £592 £588 £608
90th Percentile £716 £650 £638
England median daily rate £510 £500 £513
% change year-on-year +2.00% -2.44% -3.30%
Number of hourly rates quoted 87 26 49
10th Percentile £20.35 £22.00 £29.73
25th Percentile £33.70 £23.16 £53.40
Median hourly rate £57.50 £62.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year -7.26% +8.11% -5.98%
75th Percentile £77.50 £81.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £83.00 £89.63 £76.00
England median hourly rate £39.50 £37.46 £57.35
% change year-on-year +5.45% -34.68% +19.13%

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 2,907 1,355 1,977
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.61% 38.83% 42.90%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,955 881 1,244
10th Percentile £350 £222 £330
25th Percentile £463 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £514 £550
Median % change year-on-year +7.00% -6.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £638 £600 £638
90th Percentile £732 £650 £715
England median daily rate £528 £525 £538
% change year-on-year +0.57% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 312 118 151
10th Percentile £18.25 - £22.25
25th Percentile £37.77 £18.87 £42.19
Median hourly rate £61.50 £25.15 £58.05
Median % change year-on-year +144.53% -56.67% -3.26%
75th Percentile £83.00 £66.38 £72.82
90th Percentile £102.10 £81.00 £87.46
England median hourly rate £52.60 £25.15 £54.00
% change year-on-year +109.15% -53.43% -

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 19 September 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 19 September 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 19 September 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 +17 251 £550 +22.22% 653
Berkshire +16 151 £565 +25.56% 325
Hampshire -2 100 £563 +14.33% 313
Surrey +12 68 £388 +80.23% 169
Oxfordshire +2 58 £396 -11.94% 198
Buckinghamshire +1 42 £550 +105.61% 134
Kent +9 13 £248 - 67
West Sussex -28 12 £303 +5.03% 107
Sussex -1 4 £275 - 13
Middlesex - 2 £334 - 5
East Sussex -3 1 £600 - 44
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 29 (6.25%) SharePoint
2 13 (2.80%) Confluence
3 7 (1.51%) Microsoft Exchange
4 4 (0.86%) FactoryTalk
4 4 (0.86%) IIS
5 2 (0.43%) Apache Airflow
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle Service Bus
6 1 (0.22%) WebLogic
Applications
1 59 (12.72%) Microsoft Office
2 54 (11.64%) Microsoft Excel
3 25 (5.39%) Microsoft Project
4 24 (5.17%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (1.08%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.22%) CATIA
6 1 (0.22%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.22%) Revit
6 1 (0.22%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 9 (1.94%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (1.29%) Salesforce CRM
3 4 (0.86%) Primavera
4 3 (0.65%) NEC Housing
5 2 (0.43%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.22%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.22%) ENOVIA
6 1 (0.22%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 108 (23.28%) Azure
2 47 (10.13%) AWS
3 43 (9.27%) Entra ID
4 40 (8.62%) Microsoft 365
5 25 (5.39%) GCP
6 23 (4.96%) SaaS
7 20 (4.31%) Power Platform
8 18 (3.88%) Azure DevOps
9 13 (2.80%) OneDrive
10 11 (2.37%) Serverless
11 9 (1.94%) IaaS
12 6 (1.29%) Power Automate
13 5 (1.08%) Azure Functions
13 5 (1.08%) Azure Logic Apps
13 5 (1.08%) Dynamics 365
13 5 (1.08%) PowerApps
13 5 (1.08%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
14 4 (0.86%) Azure ExpressRoute
14 4 (0.86%) Azure Monitor
14 4 (0.86%) Smartsheet
Communications & Networking
1 25 (5.39%) TCP/IP
2 22 (4.74%) DNS
3 20 (4.31%) Firewall
4 19 (4.09%) DHCP
5 14 (3.02%) Network Security
6 11 (2.37%) VPN
7 9 (1.94%) LAN
8 7 (1.51%) SSH
8 7 (1.51%) VLAN
8 7 (1.51%) WAN
9 5 (1.08%) BGP
9 5 (1.08%) OSPF
9 5 (1.08%) Software-Defined Networking
10 4 (0.86%) Cisco Nexus
10 4 (0.86%) MQTT
10 4 (0.86%) RSVP
10 4 (0.86%) Wireshark
11 3 (0.65%) BIG-IP
11 3 (0.65%) Cisco Firepower
11 3 (0.65%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (4.31%) Metadata
2 18 (3.88%) Power BI
3 13 (2.80%) Relational Database
3 13 (2.80%) SQL Server
4 7 (1.51%) PostgreSQL
5 6 (1.29%) MySQL
5 6 (1.29%) Tableau
6 5 (1.08%) GIS
7 4 (0.86%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (0.86%) Elasticsearch
8 1 (0.22%) BusinessObjects
8 1 (0.22%) Data Mining
8 1 (0.22%) NoSQL
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 10g
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 11g
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 12c
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Reports
8 1 (0.22%) SQLite
8 1 (0.22%) Text Mining
Development Applications
1 22 (4.74%) JIRA
2 12 (2.59%) Git
3 7 (1.51%) GitLab
4 4 (0.86%) Rational DOORS
4 4 (0.86%) SonarQube
5 3 (0.65%) Android Studio
5 3 (0.65%) Browser DevTools
5 3 (0.65%) Eclipse
5 3 (0.65%) Xcode
6 2 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.22%) CircleCI
7 1 (0.22%) Jenkins
7 1 (0.22%) JUnit
7 1 (0.22%) MSI
7 1 (0.22%) Octopus Deploy
7 1 (0.22%) Selenium
7 1 (0.22%) TestNG
7 1 (0.22%) Visual Studio Code
7 1 (0.22%) XCTest
7 1 (0.22%) XCUITest
General
1 209 (45.04%) Social Skills
2 109 (23.49%) Analytical Skills
3 68 (14.66%) Aerospace
4 59 (12.72%) Finance
5 56 (12.07%) Public Sector
6 35 (7.54%) Manufacturing
7 24 (5.17%) Documentation Skills
7 24 (5.17%) Organisational Skills
8 16 (3.45%) Marketing
9 14 (3.02%) Law
9 14 (3.02%) Military
10 13 (2.80%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 13 (2.80%) Influencing Skills
11 10 (2.16%) Pharmaceutical
12 9 (1.94%) Automotive
12 9 (1.94%) French Language
12 9 (1.94%) Telecoms
13 8 (1.72%) Games
13 8 (1.72%) Presentation Skills
14 7 (1.51%) Retail
Job Titles
1 58 (12.50%) Analyst
2 56 (12.07%) Senior
3 41 (8.84%) Lead
4 27 (5.82%) Delivery Manager
5 25 (5.39%) Architect
6 24 (5.17%) IT Manager
7 22 (4.74%) Senior Manager
8 19 (4.09%) IT Support
8 19 (4.09%) Product Delivery Manager
8 19 (4.09%) Product Manager
9 18 (3.88%) Project Manager
10 16 (3.45%) Senior IT Manager
11 15 (3.23%) Category Manager
11 15 (3.23%) IT Services Manager
11 15 (3.23%) Senior Category Manager
11 15 (3.23%) Senior Service Manager
12 14 (3.02%) Business Analyst
12 14 (3.02%) Data Analyst
13 13 (2.80%) Technical Leader
13 13 (2.80%) Test Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (5.17%) OAuth
2 23 (4.96%) OpenID
3 19 (4.09%) SAML
4 18 (3.88%) LDAP
4 18 (3.88%) SailPoint
5 17 (3.66%) OAuth2
6 15 (3.23%) Oracle Fusion
7 14 (3.02%) Terraform
8 13 (2.80%) Web Services
9 10 (2.16%) .NET
9 10 (2.16%) CSS
9 10 (2.16%) Middleware
9 10 (2.16%) React
9 10 (2.16%) RESTful
10 7 (1.51%) HTML
11 6 (1.29%) ARM Templates
11 6 (1.29%) Django
11 6 (1.29%) REST
12 5 (1.08%) XML
13 4 (0.86%) Kafka
Miscellaneous
1 58 (12.50%) Management Information System
2 32 (6.90%) Onboarding
3 28 (6.03%) Product Ownership
4 23 (4.96%) Data Centre
5 17 (3.66%) Operational Technology
5 17 (3.66%) SCADA
6 16 (3.45%) Cloud Native
6 16 (3.45%) Hybrid Cloud
7 14 (3.02%) Self-Motivation
7 14 (3.02%) Virtual Team
8 13 (2.80%) Life Science
9 9 (1.94%) Data Structures
9 9 (1.94%) Embedded Systems
9 9 (1.94%) PMI
9 9 (1.94%) Security Posture
10 8 (1.72%) Animation
10 8 (1.72%) Graphic Design
10 8 (1.72%) Interactive Media
10 8 (1.72%) Public Cloud
11 7 (1.51%) CCTV
Operating Systems
1 67 (14.44%) Windows
2 49 (10.56%) Linux
3 27 (5.82%) Unix
4 24 (5.17%) Windows Server
5 14 (3.02%) Apple iOS
6 11 (2.37%) Mac OS
7 8 (1.72%) Windows 10
8 7 (1.51%) Android
9 1 (0.22%) Solaris
9 1 (0.22%) Windows 7
9 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 156 (33.62%) Computer Science
2 115 (24.78%) Problem-Solving
3 113 (24.35%) Agile
4 110 (23.71%) Continuous Improvement
5 107 (23.06%) Stakeholder Management
6 93 (20.04%) ITIL
7 73 (15.73%) ITSM
8 69 (14.87%) Project Management
9 66 (14.22%) Cybersecurity
9 66 (14.22%) Decision-Making
9 66 (14.22%) Roadmaps
10 63 (13.58%) PRINCE2
11 57 (12.28%) Service Management
12 50 (10.78%) Information Security
13 47 (10.13%) AI
13 47 (10.13%) Change Management
13 47 (10.13%) DevOps
14 46 (9.91%) CI/CD
15 44 (9.48%) Project Delivery
16 43 (9.27%) Analytics
Programming Languages
1 73 (15.73%) Python
2 47 (10.13%) PowerShell
3 27 (5.82%) SQL
4 17 (3.66%) JavaScript
5 14 (3.02%) Java
6 8 (1.72%) Bash
7 7 (1.51%) C#
8 6 (1.29%) Bicep
8 6 (1.29%) Shell Script
9 5 (1.08%) C
9 5 (1.08%) Perl
10 4 (0.86%) Rust
11 3 (0.65%) Apex Code
11 3 (0.65%) C++
11 3 (0.65%) Lua
11 3 (0.65%) X++
12 2 (0.43%) Ada
13 1 (0.22%) Objective-C
13 1 (0.22%) PL/SQL
13 1 (0.22%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 183 (39.44%) Security Cleared
2 127 (27.37%) SC Cleared
3 64 (13.79%) Computer Science Degree
4 36 (7.76%) DV Cleared
5 30 (6.47%) Microsoft Certification
6 28 (6.03%) Master's Degree
6 28 (6.03%) PMI Certification
7 25 (5.39%) CISSP
8 22 (4.74%) PMP
9 21 (4.53%) Azure Certification
10 20 (4.31%) BPSS Clearance
10 20 (4.31%) Cisco Certification
10 20 (4.31%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
11 14 (3.02%) CISM
11 14 (3.02%) ISTQB
12 10 (2.16%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 10 (2.16%) AWS Certification
13 9 (1.94%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 8 (1.72%) CCNP
14 8 (1.72%) CIMA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (10.13%) NIST
2 45 (9.70%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 24 (5.17%) Data Quality
4 18 (3.88%) QA
5 14 (3.02%) GDPR
5 14 (3.02%) PMO
6 9 (1.94%) ISO 31000
6 9 (1.94%) NCSC
7 8 (1.72%) GRC
8 7 (1.51%) SLA
9 5 (1.08%) Accessibility
9 5 (1.08%) Cyber Essentials
9 5 (1.08%) GxP
9 5 (1.08%) ISO 9001
9 5 (1.08%) PCI DSS
10 4 (0.86%) 21 CFR Part 11
10 4 (0.86%) ISO/IEC 27005
10 4 (0.86%) NIST 800
11 3 (0.65%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 3 (0.65%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 56 (12.07%) Active Directory
2 19 (4.09%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (3.66%) Docker
4 8 (1.72%) VMware NSX
5 7 (1.51%) Firmware
6 5 (1.08%) Embedded Firmware
7 4 (0.86%) ISA Server
8 3 (0.65%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.65%) OpenAM
9 2 (0.43%) vSphere
10 1 (0.22%) Oracle RAC
10 1 (0.22%) UAG
10 1 (0.22%) Virtual Desktop
10 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 19 (4.09%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (3.45%) Kubernetes
3 11 (2.37%) Ansible
4 10 (2.16%) Jamf Pro
5 7 (1.51%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.08%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 5 (1.08%) CASB
7 4 (0.86%) Grafana
7 4 (0.86%) Podman
7 4 (0.86%) Prometheus
7 4 (0.86%) Puppet
7 4 (0.86%) SCCM
8 3 (0.65%) MOM
9 2 (0.43%) Istio
9 2 (0.43%) vCenter Server
9 2 (0.43%) vRealize
9 2 (0.43%) vRealize Orchestrator
10 1 (0.22%) Argo
10 1 (0.22%) Data Guard
10 1 (0.22%) Dell DRAC
Vendors
1 140 (30.17%) Microsoft
2 39 (8.41%) Oracle
3 32 (6.90%) SAP
3 32 (6.90%) ServiceNow
4 25 (5.39%) VMware
5 15 (3.23%) Ariba
5 15 (3.23%) CyberArk
5 15 (3.23%) Google
6 14 (3.02%) BeyondTrust
6 14 (3.02%) Salesforce
7 13 (2.80%) Cisco
8 8 (1.72%) F5
9 7 (1.51%) CrowdStrike
9 7 (1.51%) Splunk
10 5 (1.08%) Palo Alto
10 5 (1.08%) Workday
11 4 (0.86%) Centrify
11 4 (0.86%) NVIDIA
11 4 (0.86%) Rockwell
11 4 (0.86%) Tenable