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

6 months to
23 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 28 24
Rank change year-on-year +6 -4 -6
Contract jobs citing Degree 465 207 334
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.02% 5.99% 7.47%
As % of the Qualifications category 16.12% 15.52% 17.60%
Number of daily rates quoted 248 123 206
10th Percentile £189 £205 £197
25th Percentile £306 £352 £351
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £475 £459
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% +3.54% -8.25%
75th Percentile £592 £588 £606
90th Percentile £718 £650 £628
England median daily rate £510 £500 £505
% change year-on-year +2.00% -0.99% -4.54%
Number of hourly rates quoted 87 26 43
10th Percentile £20.35 £22.00 £27.68
25th Percentile £33.70 £23.16 £48.14
Median hourly rate £57.50 £62.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year -7.26% +8.11% -4.42%
75th Percentile £77.50 £81.00 £62.53
90th Percentile £83.00 £89.63 £79.00
England median hourly rate £39.75 £38.50 £57.35
% change year-on-year +3.25% -32.87% +14.70%

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 2,884 1,334 1,898
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.54% 38.62% 42.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,923 861 1,198
10th Percentile £350 £219 £326
25th Percentile £463 £410 £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 £713
England median daily rate £530 £525 £535
% change year-on-year +0.95% -1.87% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 315 118 140
10th Percentile £18.25 - £22.15
25th Percentile £35.61 £18.87 £41.50
Median hourly rate £61.16 £25.15 £58.30
Median % change year-on-year +143.18% -56.86% -2.83%
75th Percentile £83.00 £59.69 £72.36
90th Percentile £102.10 £81.00 £87.75
England median hourly rate £52.50 £25.15 £55.00
% change year-on-year +108.75% -54.27% +1.85%

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 23 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 23 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 23 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 +16 247 £550 +22.22% 710
Berkshire +13 149 £570 +24.93% 355
Hampshire -3 102 £556 +13.06% 352
Surrey +11 70 £388 +80.23% 175
Oxfordshire +2 58 £396 -11.94% 230
Buckinghamshire -6 40 £574 +71.27% 128
West Sussex -25 14 £303 +4.67% 104
Kent +9 13 £248 - 72
Sussex 0 4 £275 - 14
Middlesex - 2 £334 - 6
East Sussex 0 1 £600 - 51
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 (6.24%) SharePoint
2 13 (2.80%) Confluence
3 8 (1.72%) Microsoft Exchange
4 5 (1.08%) IIS
5 4 (0.86%) FactoryTalk
6 2 (0.43%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.22%) Oracle Service Bus
7 1 (0.22%) WebLogic
Applications
1 60 (12.90%) Microsoft Office
2 53 (11.40%) Microsoft Excel
3 24 (5.16%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 24 (5.16%) Microsoft Project
4 5 (1.08%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.22%) CATIA
5 1 (0.22%) Chatbot
5 1 (0.22%) Revit
5 1 (0.22%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 8 (1.72%) 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
1 107 (23.01%) Azure
2 47 (10.11%) AWS
3 43 (9.25%) Entra ID
4 41 (8.82%) Microsoft 365
5 25 (5.38%) GCP
6 23 (4.95%) SaaS
7 20 (4.30%) Power Platform
8 17 (3.66%) 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 26 (5.59%) TCP/IP
2 23 (4.95%) DNS
3 20 (4.30%) Firewall
4 19 (4.09%) DHCP
5 14 (3.01%) 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%) Wi-Fi
10 4 (0.86%) Wireshark
11 3 (0.65%) IPsec
11 3 (0.65%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (4.30%) Metadata
2 18 (3.87%) 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%) Apache Iceberg
8 1 (0.22%) BigQuery
8 1 (0.22%) BusinessObjects
8 1 (0.22%) Data Mining
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 10g
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 12c
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Reports
8 1 (0.22%) Tableau Desktop
8 1 (0.22%) Tableau Server
Development Applications
1 21 (4.52%) JIRA
2 12 (2.58%) 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 (44.95%) Social Skills
2 108 (23.23%) Analytical Skills
3 68 (14.62%) Aerospace
4 59 (12.69%) Finance
5 56 (12.04%) Public Sector
6 34 (7.31%) Manufacturing
7 25 (5.38%) Documentation Skills
8 24 (5.16%) Organisational Skills
9 16 (3.44%) Marketing
10 14 (3.01%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 14 (3.01%) Law
10 14 (3.01%) Military
11 13 (2.80%) Influencing Skills
12 10 (2.15%) Pharmaceutical
13 9 (1.94%) Automotive
13 9 (1.94%) French Language
13 9 (1.94%) Telecoms
14 8 (1.72%) Games
14 8 (1.72%) Presentation Skills
15 7 (1.51%) Retail
Job Titles
1 58 (12.47%) Analyst
2 54 (11.61%) Senior
3 41 (8.82%) Lead
4 27 (5.81%) Delivery Manager
5 24 (5.16%) Architect
5 24 (5.16%) IT Manager
6 21 (4.52%) Senior Manager
7 19 (4.09%) IT Support
7 19 (4.09%) Product Delivery Manager
7 19 (4.09%) Product Manager
8 17 (3.66%) Project Manager
9 16 (3.44%) Senior IT Manager
10 15 (3.23%) Category Manager
10 15 (3.23%) IT Services Manager
10 15 (3.23%) Senior Category Manager
10 15 (3.23%) Senior Service Manager
11 14 (3.01%) Business Analyst
11 14 (3.01%) Data Analyst
11 14 (3.01%) Test Manager
12 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 14 (3.01%) Terraform
8 13 (2.80%) Web Services
9 10 (2.15%) .NET
9 10 (2.15%) CSS
9 10 (2.15%) Middleware
9 10 (2.15%) React
9 10 (2.15%) 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 59 (12.69%) Management Information System
2 32 (6.88%) Onboarding
3 28 (6.02%) Product Ownership
4 24 (5.16%) Data Centre
5 17 (3.66%) Operational Technology
5 17 (3.66%) SCADA
6 16 (3.44%) Cloud Native
6 16 (3.44%) Hybrid Cloud
7 14 (3.01%) Self-Motivation
8 13 (2.80%) Life Science
8 13 (2.80%) Virtual Team
9 10 (2.15%) Embedded Systems
10 9 (1.94%) Data Structures
10 9 (1.94%) PMI
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%) Public Cloud
12 7 (1.51%) CCTV
Operating Systems
1 68 (14.62%) Windows
2 48 (10.32%) Linux
3 27 (5.81%) Unix
4 24 (5.16%) Windows Server
5 14 (3.01%) Apple iOS
6 13 (2.80%) Mac OS
7 8 (1.72%) Windows 10
8 7 (1.51%) Android
9 1 (0.22%) Solaris
9 1 (0.22%) VMS
9 1 (0.22%) Windows 7
9 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 156 (33.55%) Computer Science
2 116 (24.95%) Problem-Solving
3 114 (24.52%) Agile
4 111 (23.87%) Continuous Improvement
5 110 (23.66%) Stakeholder Management
6 97 (20.86%) ITIL
7 74 (15.91%) ITSM
8 69 (14.84%) Project Management
9 67 (14.41%) Cybersecurity
10 66 (14.19%) Decision-Making
10 66 (14.19%) PRINCE2
10 66 (14.19%) Roadmaps
11 57 (12.26%) Service Management
12 51 (10.97%) Information Security
13 49 (10.54%) AI
13 49 (10.54%) Change Management
14 48 (10.32%) DevOps
15 46 (9.89%) CI/CD
16 45 (9.68%) Project Delivery
17 43 (9.25%) Analytics
Programming Languages
1 73 (15.70%) Python
2 47 (10.11%) PowerShell
3 27 (5.81%) 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%) Objective-C
13 1 (0.22%) PL/SQL
13 1 (0.22%) Swift
Qualifications
1 180 (38.71%) Security Cleared
2 125 (26.88%) SC Cleared
3 64 (13.76%) Computer Science Degree
4 35 (7.53%) DV Cleared
5 30 (6.45%) Master's Degree
5 30 (6.45%) Microsoft Certification
5 30 (6.45%) PMI Certification
6 26 (5.59%) CISSP
7 24 (5.16%) PMP
8 21 (4.52%) Azure Certification
8 21 (4.52%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 20 (4.30%) BPSS Clearance
9 20 (4.30%) Cisco Certification
10 15 (3.23%) CISM
10 15 (3.23%) ISTQB
11 10 (2.15%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 10 (2.15%) AWS Certification
12 9 (1.94%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 8 (1.72%) CCNP
13 8 (1.72%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (10.11%) NIST
2 45 (9.68%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 24 (5.16%) Data Quality
4 21 (4.52%) QA
5 15 (3.23%) GDPR
6 14 (3.01%) PMO
7 10 (2.15%) ISO 31000
8 9 (1.94%) GRC
8 9 (1.94%) NCSC
9 7 (1.51%) SLA
10 6 (1.29%) ISO 9001
10 6 (1.29%) PCI DSS
11 5 (1.08%) Accessibility
11 5 (1.08%) Cyber Essentials
11 5 (1.08%) GxP
11 5 (1.08%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 4 (0.86%) 21 CFR Part 11
13 3 (0.65%) ISO/IEC 42001
13 3 (0.65%) NIST 800
13 3 (0.65%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 57 (12.26%) Active Directory
2 21 (4.52%) 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%) Hyper-V
7 4 (0.86%) ISA Server
8 3 (0.65%) OpenAM
8 3 (0.65%) vSphere
9 1 (0.22%) Oracle RAC
9 1 (0.22%) UAG
9 1 (0.22%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 19 (4.09%) 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%) 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%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 140 (30.11%) Microsoft
2 39 (8.39%) Oracle
3 32 (6.88%) ServiceNow
4 31 (6.67%) SAP
5 27 (5.81%) VMware
6 15 (3.23%) Ariba
6 15 (3.23%) CyberArk
6 15 (3.23%) Google
7 14 (3.01%) BeyondTrust
7 14 (3.01%) Cisco
7 14 (3.01%) Salesforce
8 8 (1.72%) F5
9 7 (1.51%) CrowdStrike
9 7 (1.51%) Splunk
10 5 (1.08%) Dell
10 5 (1.08%) Palo Alto
10 5 (1.08%) Workday
11 4 (0.86%) EMC
11 4 (0.86%) IBM
11 4 (0.86%) Qualys