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

6 months to
8 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 29 19
Rank change year-on-year +7 -10 0
Contract jobs citing Degree 465 208 363
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.04% 6.00% 7.84%
As % of the Qualifications category 15.97% 15.26% 17.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 250 123 204
10th Percentile £195 £205 £203
25th Percentile £316 £352 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £463 £493
Median % change year-on-year +13.51% -6.09% -1.01%
75th Percentile £592 £588 £608
90th Percentile £713 £650 £638
England median daily rate £503 £500 £513
% change year-on-year +0.55% -2.44% -4.03%
Number of hourly rates quoted 90 25 59
10th Percentile £20.46 £21.90 £33.28
25th Percentile £33.70 £32.05 £53.40
Median hourly rate £60.00 £64.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year -6.25% +11.60% -4.42%
75th Percentile £83.00 £81.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £89.63 £75.00
England median hourly rate £38.72 £41.50 £57.35
% change year-on-year -6.70% -27.64% +20.10%

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 2,911 1,363 2,023
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 44.09% 39.30% 43.67%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,972 882 1,276
10th Percentile £350 £238 £350
25th Percentile £463 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £638 £600 £638
90th Percentile £730 £653 £723
England median daily rate £525 £525 £538
% change year-on-year - -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 303 118 164
10th Percentile £18.25 - £22.95
25th Percentile £35.61 £18.87 £48.18
Median hourly rate £61.16 £25.15 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +143.18% -56.15% -4.42%
75th Percentile £83.00 £69.36 £71.79
90th Percentile £96.00 £81.00 £87.46
England median hourly rate £52.50 £25.15 £55.00
% change year-on-year +108.75% -54.27% -

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 8 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 8 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 8 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 +17 249 £550 +22.22% 566
Berkshire +13 149 £565 +25.56% 261
Hampshire -6 105 £550 +12.02% 269
Surrey +13 65 £350 +62.79% 151
Oxfordshire +4 57 £396 -11.94% 174
Buckinghamshire -2 43 £564 +110.75% 139
Kent +12 12 £201 - 70
West Sussex -27 11 £300 +4.17% 67
Sussex -1 4 £275 - 9
Middlesex - 2 £334 - 21
Home Counties -1 1 - -
East Sussex -2 1 £600 - 30
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 27 (5.81%) SharePoint
2 13 (2.80%) Confluence
3 6 (1.29%) Microsoft Exchange
4 4 (0.86%) FactoryTalk
5 2 (0.43%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.43%) IIS
6 1 (0.22%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle Service Bus
6 1 (0.22%) WebLogic
Applications
1 62 (13.33%) Microsoft Office
2 54 (11.61%) Microsoft Excel
3 31 (6.67%) Microsoft Project
4 24 (5.16%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (1.08%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.22%) CATIA
6 1 (0.22%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.22%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 11 (2.37%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (1.29%) Salesforce CRM
3 5 (1.08%) Primavera
4 3 (0.65%) NEC Housing
5 2 (0.43%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
5 2 (0.43%) Teamcenter
6 1 (0.22%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.22%) ENOVIA
Cloud Services
1 109 (23.44%) Azure
2 50 (10.75%) AWS
3 43 (9.25%) Entra ID
4 40 (8.60%) Microsoft 365
5 25 (5.38%) GCP
6 24 (5.16%) Power Platform
7 23 (4.95%) SaaS
8 17 (3.66%) Azure DevOps
9 12 (2.58%) OneDrive
10 11 (2.37%) Serverless
11 8 (1.72%) IaaS
12 7 (1.51%) Power Automate
13 6 (1.29%) PowerApps
14 5 (1.08%) Azure Functions
14 5 (1.08%) Azure Logic Apps
14 5 (1.08%) Dynamics 365
14 5 (1.08%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
15 4 (0.86%) Azure ExpressRoute
15 4 (0.86%) Azure Monitor
15 4 (0.86%) Smartsheet
Communications & Networking
1 25 (5.38%) TCP/IP
2 23 (4.95%) DNS
3 22 (4.73%) Firewall
4 20 (4.30%) DHCP
5 16 (3.44%) Network Security
6 11 (2.37%) VPN
7 10 (2.15%) LAN
8 8 (1.72%) WAN
9 7 (1.51%) SSH
9 7 (1.51%) VLAN
10 5 (1.08%) BGP
10 5 (1.08%) OSPF
11 4 (0.86%) Cisco Nexus
11 4 (0.86%) MQTT
11 4 (0.86%) RSVP
11 4 (0.86%) SD-WAN
11 4 (0.86%) Software-Defined Networking
12 3 (0.65%) BIG-IP
12 3 (0.65%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
12 3 (0.65%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (4.73%) Power BI
2 16 (3.44%) Metadata
3 13 (2.80%) Relational Database
3 13 (2.80%) SQL Server
4 7 (1.51%) Tableau
5 6 (1.29%) MySQL
5 6 (1.29%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.86%) Data Warehouse
6 4 (0.86%) Elasticsearch
7 1 (0.22%) Apache Iceberg
7 1 (0.22%) Big Data
7 1 (0.22%) BigQuery
7 1 (0.22%) BusinessObjects
7 1 (0.22%) Data Mining
7 1 (0.22%) DynamoDB
7 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 10g
7 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 12c
7 1 (0.22%) Tableau Desktop
7 1 (0.22%) Tableau Server
Development Applications
1 25 (5.38%) JIRA
2 13 (2.80%) Git
2 13 (2.80%) Rational DOORS
3 8 (1.72%) GitLab
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%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
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
General
1 200 (43.01%) Social Skills
2 111 (23.87%) Analytical Skills
3 66 (14.19%) Finance
4 65 (13.98%) Aerospace
5 59 (12.69%) Public Sector
6 30 (6.45%) Manufacturing
7 24 (5.16%) Organisational Skills
8 23 (4.95%) Documentation Skills
9 16 (3.44%) Marketing
10 15 (3.23%) Military
11 14 (3.01%) Law
12 13 (2.80%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 12 (2.58%) Influencing Skills
13 12 (2.58%) Telecoms
14 9 (1.94%) French Language
14 9 (1.94%) Pharmaceutical
14 9 (1.94%) Presentation Skills
15 8 (1.72%) Games
15 8 (1.72%) Retail
16 7 (1.51%) Legal
Job Titles
1 61 (13.12%) Analyst
2 57 (12.26%) Senior
3 42 (9.03%) Lead
4 31 (6.67%) Delivery Manager
5 26 (5.59%) Product Delivery Manager
5 26 (5.59%) Product Manager
6 24 (5.16%) IT Manager
6 24 (5.16%) Senior Manager
7 23 (4.95%) Architect
8 22 (4.73%) Project Manager
9 19 (4.09%) IT Support
10 16 (3.44%) Senior IT Manager
11 15 (3.23%) Business Analyst
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 (3.01%) Data Analyst
13 13 (2.80%) Senior Analyst
13 13 (2.80%) Technical Leader
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (5.16%) OAuth
2 23 (4.95%) OpenID
3 19 (4.09%) SAML
4 18 (3.87%) LDAP
4 18 (3.87%) SailPoint
5 17 (3.66%) OAuth2
6 15 (3.23%) Oracle Fusion
7 13 (2.80%) Terraform
7 13 (2.80%) Web Services
8 10 (2.15%) .NET
8 10 (2.15%) CSS
8 10 (2.15%) React
8 10 (2.15%) RESTful
9 8 (1.72%) Middleware
10 7 (1.51%) HTML
11 6 (1.29%) ARM Templates
12 5 (1.08%) Django
13 4 (0.86%) AngularJS
13 4 (0.86%) Kafka
13 4 (0.86%) REST
Miscellaneous
1 57 (12.26%) Management Information System
2 37 (7.96%) Product Ownership
3 32 (6.88%) Onboarding
4 21 (4.52%) Data Centre
5 17 (3.66%) Data Structures
6 16 (3.44%) Hybrid Cloud
7 15 (3.23%) Cloud Native
7 15 (3.23%) Operational Technology
8 14 (3.01%) Life Science
8 14 (3.01%) Self-Motivation
8 14 (3.01%) Virtual Team
9 13 (2.80%) SCADA
10 9 (1.94%) Security Posture
11 8 (1.72%) Animation
11 8 (1.72%) Graphic Design
11 8 (1.72%) Interactive Media
11 8 (1.72%) PMI
12 7 (1.51%) CCTV
12 7 (1.51%) Embedded Systems
12 7 (1.51%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 68 (14.62%) Windows
2 47 (10.11%) Linux
3 27 (5.81%) Unix
4 22 (4.73%) Windows Server
5 13 (2.80%) 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
1 160 (34.41%) Computer Science
2 125 (26.88%) Agile
3 116 (24.95%) Continuous Improvement
3 116 (24.95%) Problem-Solving
4 103 (22.15%) Stakeholder Management
5 90 (19.35%) ITIL
6 71 (15.27%) ITSM
6 71 (15.27%) Project Management
7 69 (14.84%) Cybersecurity
8 68 (14.62%) PRINCE2
9 61 (13.12%) Decision-Making
10 55 (11.83%) Roadmaps
11 52 (11.18%) Service Management
12 51 (10.97%) Information Security
13 49 (10.54%) AI
14 48 (10.32%) Change Control
15 47 (10.11%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 46 (9.89%) DevOps
17 45 (9.68%) Analytics
18 44 (9.46%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 67 (14.41%) Python
2 46 (9.89%) PowerShell
3 25 (5.38%) SQL
4 17 (3.66%) JavaScript
5 14 (3.01%) 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%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 1 (0.22%) Kotlin
13 1 (0.22%) R
Qualifications
1 183 (39.35%) Security Cleared
2 118 (25.38%) SC Cleared
3 63 (13.55%) Computer Science Degree
4 30 (6.45%) Microsoft Certification
4 30 (6.45%) PMI Certification
5 28 (6.02%) DV Cleared
6 26 (5.59%) Master's Degree
6 26 (5.59%) PMP
7 25 (5.38%) CISSP
8 20 (4.30%) BPSS Clearance
9 18 (3.87%) Azure Certification
9 18 (3.87%) Cisco Certification
10 17 (3.66%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
11 14 (3.01%) CISM
12 11 (2.37%) ISTQB
13 10 (2.15%) ACCA
13 10 (2.15%) AWS Certification
13 10 (2.15%) CIMA
14 8 (1.72%) (ISC)2 CCSP
14 8 (1.72%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 49 (10.54%) NIST
2 47 (10.11%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 25 (5.38%) Data Quality
4 16 (3.44%) PMO
5 15 (3.23%) QA
6 14 (3.01%) GDPR
7 11 (2.37%) NCSC
8 7 (1.51%) ISO 31000
8 7 (1.51%) SLA
9 6 (1.29%) Accessibility
9 6 (1.29%) GRC
10 5 (1.08%) Cyber Essentials
10 5 (1.08%) GxP
10 5 (1.08%) NIST 800
10 5 (1.08%) PCI DSS
10 5 (1.08%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 4 (0.86%) 21 CFR Part 11
12 3 (0.65%) ISO 9001
12 3 (0.65%) ISO/IEC 42001
13 2 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 58 (12.47%) Active Directory
2 19 (4.09%) VMware Infrastructure
3 16 (3.44%) Docker
4 7 (1.51%) VMware NSX
5 6 (1.29%) Firmware
6 4 (0.86%) Embedded Firmware
6 4 (0.86%) Hyper-V
7 3 (0.65%) OpenAM
8 2 (0.43%) ISA Server
9 1 (0.22%) Oracle RAC
9 1 (0.22%) UAG
9 1 (0.22%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
9 1 (0.22%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 18 (3.87%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (3.44%) Kubernetes
3 11 (2.37%) Ansible
4 10 (2.15%) Jamf Pro
5 7 (1.51%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.08%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 5 (1.08%) Grafana
6 5 (1.08%) Prometheus
7 4 (0.86%) Podman
7 4 (0.86%) Puppet
7 4 (0.86%) SCCM
8 3 (0.65%) CASB
8 3 (0.65%) MOM
9 2 (0.43%) Istio
9 2 (0.43%) vCenter Server
10 1 (0.22%) Argo
10 1 (0.22%) Dell DRAC
10 1 (0.22%) Oracle RMAN
10 1 (0.22%) vRealize
10 1 (0.22%) vRealize Orchestrator
Vendors
1 139 (29.89%) Microsoft
2 38 (8.17%) Oracle
3 36 (7.74%) ServiceNow
4 33 (7.10%) SAP
5 25 (5.38%) VMware
6 15 (3.23%) Ariba
6 15 (3.23%) CyberArk
7 14 (3.01%) BeyondTrust
7 14 (3.01%) Google
7 14 (3.01%) Salesforce
8 13 (2.80%) IBM
9 10 (2.15%) Cisco
10 6 (1.29%) F5
11 5 (1.08%) CrowdStrike
11 5 (1.08%) EMC
11 5 (1.08%) Palo Alto
11 5 (1.08%) Splunk
11 5 (1.08%) Workday
12 4 (0.86%) Dell
12 4 (0.86%) Tenable