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 12 July 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 29 24 14
Rank change year-on-year -5 -10 +12
Contract jobs citing Degree 444 231 486
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.82% 6.83% 8.68%
As % of the Qualifications category 15.07% 17.01% 19.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 227 143 248
10th Percentile £195 £260 £205
25th Percentile £317 £358 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £478 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.71% -4.50% -
75th Percentile £588 £588 £608
90th Percentile £713 £650 £638
England median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -7.41%
Number of hourly rates quoted 97 30 83
10th Percentile £25.43 £24.39 £17.80
25th Percentile £35.22 £34.48 £26.05
Median hourly rate £81.50 £58.38 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +39.61% +1.79% +17.04%
75th Percentile £87.16 £75.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £81.20 £73.25
England median hourly rate £43.75 £42.50 £43.75
% change year-on-year +2.94% -2.86% -12.50%

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 2,947 1,358 2,515
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 45.24% 40.14% 44.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,007 873 1,469
10th Percentile £325 £263 £350
25th Percentile £450 £410 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £538 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +2.38% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £625 £600 £650
90th Percentile £725 £663 £725
England median daily rate £525 £525 £537
% change year-on-year - -2.23% -2.36%
Number of hourly rates quoted 305 102 226
10th Percentile £18.25 £18.87 £17.80
25th Percentile £31.25 £24.66 £30.10
Median hourly rate £62.50 £46.30 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +34.99% -19.27% -4.42%
75th Percentile £85.00 £70.00 £71.04
90th Percentile £88.00 £81.00 £87.46
England median hourly rate £53.90 £28.00 £43.00
% change year-on-year +92.50% -34.88% -21.82%

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 12 July 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 12 July 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 12 July 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 +5 226 £500 +4.99% 177
Berkshire +8 135 £410 -14.14% 99
Hampshire +6 114 £550 +6.80% 115
Surrey -5 50 £308 -15.75% 70
Oxfordshire -1 49 £525 +16.67% 44
Buckinghamshire -6 42 £582 +10.76% 38
Kent +9 14 £445 +27.14% 27
West Sussex -23 14 £400 +38.41% 14
Sussex - 4 £275 - 5
Home Counties +2 3 - -
East Sussex -3 2 £461 - 14
Middlesex - 2 £334 - 12
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 21 (4.73%) SharePoint
2 14 (3.15%) Confluence
3 7 (1.58%) Microsoft Exchange
4 3 (0.68%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.45%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 2 (0.45%) CMS
5 2 (0.45%) FactoryTalk
6 1 (0.23%) Apache Pulsar
6 1 (0.23%) MS Project Server
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle Service Bus
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle Workflow
6 1 (0.23%) WebLogic
Applications
1 58 (13.06%) Microsoft Office
2 40 (9.01%) Microsoft Excel
3 23 (5.18%) Microsoft Project
4 19 (4.28%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.90%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.23%) CATIA
6 1 (0.23%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.23%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 11 (2.48%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (1.35%) Salesforce CRM
3 5 (1.13%) Primavera
4 2 (0.45%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.23%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.23%) ENOVIA
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.23%) Payment Gateway
5 1 (0.23%) SAP Hybris
5 1 (0.23%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 95 (21.40%) Azure
2 53 (11.94%) AWS
3 38 (8.56%) Entra ID
4 36 (8.11%) Microsoft 365
5 22 (4.95%) GCP
6 20 (4.50%) Power Platform
7 14 (3.15%) SaaS
8 13 (2.93%) Azure DevOps
9 12 (2.70%) OneDrive
10 8 (1.80%) Serverless
11 6 (1.35%) Power Automate
12 5 (1.13%) GitHub
12 5 (1.13%) IaaS
13 4 (0.90%) GitHub Actions
13 4 (0.90%) PaaS
13 4 (0.90%) PowerApps
13 4 (0.90%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
13 4 (0.90%) Virtual Private Cloud
14 3 (0.68%) Lucidchart
14 3 (0.68%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 23 (5.18%) TCP/IP
2 21 (4.73%) DNS
2 21 (4.73%) Firewall
3 15 (3.38%) Network Security
4 14 (3.15%) DHCP
5 13 (2.93%) LAN
6 12 (2.70%) WAN
7 9 (2.03%) BGP
7 9 (2.03%) OSPF
8 6 (1.35%) HTTP
8 6 (1.35%) IPsec
9 5 (1.13%) Cisco Nexus
9 5 (1.13%) SSH
9 5 (1.13%) VLAN
9 5 (1.13%) VPN
10 4 (0.90%) BIG-IP
10 4 (0.90%) MQTT
10 4 (0.90%) RSVP
10 4 (0.90%) SD-WAN
11 3 (0.68%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (4.28%) SQL Server
2 18 (4.05%) Power BI
3 11 (2.48%) Relational Database
4 9 (2.03%) MySQL
5 7 (1.58%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.90%) Elasticsearch
6 4 (0.90%) Tableau
7 3 (0.68%) Big Data
7 3 (0.68%) Data Warehouse
7 3 (0.68%) Oracle Database
8 2 (0.45%) Hadoop
9 1 (0.23%) BigQuery
9 1 (0.23%) Data Mining
9 1 (0.23%) DynamoDB
9 1 (0.23%) NoSQL
9 1 (0.23%) Oracle Database 10g
9 1 (0.23%) Oracle Database 11g
9 1 (0.23%) Oracle Database 12c
9 1 (0.23%) Oracle Reports
9 1 (0.23%) SQLite
Development Applications
1 30 (6.76%) Rational DOORS
2 27 (6.08%) JIRA
3 11 (2.48%) Git
4 8 (1.80%) GitLab
5 4 (0.90%) CircleCI
5 4 (0.90%) Gradle
5 4 (0.90%) Jenkins
5 4 (0.90%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.68%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.68%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.68%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.68%) JUnit
6 3 (0.68%) Xcode
7 2 (0.45%) Balsamiq
7 2 (0.45%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.23%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.23%) Burp Suite
8 1 (0.23%) Metasploit
8 1 (0.23%) TestNG
8 1 (0.23%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 190 (42.79%) Social Skills
2 90 (20.27%) Analytical Skills
3 67 (15.09%) Finance
4 62 (13.96%) Aerospace
5 56 (12.61%) Public Sector
6 24 (5.41%) Documentation Skills
7 20 (4.50%) Organisational Skills
8 19 (4.28%) Manufacturing
9 18 (4.05%) Marketing
10 16 (3.60%) Influencing Skills
11 15 (3.38%) Law
12 13 (2.93%) Presentation Skills
13 12 (2.70%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 10 (2.25%) Military
14 10 (2.25%) Telecoms
15 8 (1.80%) Retail
16 7 (1.58%) Aviation
16 7 (1.58%) French Language
16 7 (1.58%) Legal
17 5 (1.13%) Arabic Language
Job Titles
1 64 (14.41%) Analyst
2 52 (11.71%) Senior
3 36 (8.11%) Lead
4 32 (7.21%) Product Manager
5 29 (6.53%) Delivery Manager
6 28 (6.31%) IT Manager
6 28 (6.31%) Product Delivery Manager
7 24 (5.41%) Architect
8 23 (5.18%) Project Manager
8 23 (5.18%) Senior Manager
9 22 (4.95%) Systems Delivery Manager
9 22 (4.95%) Systems Manager
10 17 (3.83%) Category Manager
10 17 (3.83%) IT Support
11 16 (3.60%) Business Analyst
11 16 (3.60%) Technical Support
12 15 (3.38%) IT Services Manager
12 15 (3.38%) Senior Category Manager
12 15 (3.38%) Senior IT Manager
12 15 (3.38%) Senior Service Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (4.05%) OAuth
2 16 (3.60%) OpenID
3 15 (3.38%) LDAP
3 15 (3.38%) Oracle Fusion
3 15 (3.38%) SAML
4 13 (2.93%) SailPoint
5 11 (2.48%) OAuth2
5 11 (2.48%) React
6 10 (2.25%) Web Services
7 9 (2.03%) REST
8 7 (1.58%) .NET
8 7 (1.58%) CSS
8 7 (1.58%) Kafka
8 7 (1.58%) RESTful
9 5 (1.13%) AngularJS
9 5 (1.13%) GraphQL
9 5 (1.13%) gRPC
10 4 (0.90%) Keycloak
10 4 (0.90%) Protocol Buffers
10 4 (0.90%) RAML
Miscellaneous
1 53 (11.94%) Product Ownership
2 46 (10.36%) Management Information System
3 30 (6.76%) Onboarding
4 28 (6.31%) Data Centre
5 26 (5.86%) Data Structures
6 16 (3.60%) Virtual Team
7 11 (2.48%) Self-Motivation
8 10 (2.25%) Cloud Native
8 10 (2.25%) Operational Technology
9 9 (2.03%) Security Posture
10 8 (1.80%) Data Protection Act
10 8 (1.80%) Hybrid Cloud
10 8 (1.80%) PMI
10 8 (1.80%) Robotics
10 8 (1.80%) SCADA
11 7 (1.58%) CCTV
11 7 (1.58%) Life Science
11 7 (1.58%) Mobile App
12 6 (1.35%) BYOD
12 6 (1.35%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 72 (16.22%) Windows
2 50 (11.26%) Linux
3 34 (7.66%) Unix
4 16 (3.60%) Windows Server
5 15 (3.38%) Apple iOS
6 11 (2.48%) Mac OS
7 10 (2.25%) Android
7 10 (2.25%) Windows 10
8 4 (0.90%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.45%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.45%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.45%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.23%) Solaris
10 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 175 (39.41%) Computer Science
2 127 (28.60%) Agile
3 103 (23.20%) Problem-Solving
4 93 (20.95%) Continuous Improvement
5 78 (17.57%) Stakeholder Management
6 73 (16.44%) Cybersecurity
7 68 (15.32%) ITIL
8 63 (14.19%) Change Control
8 63 (14.19%) Decision-Making
9 62 (13.96%) ITSM
10 56 (12.61%) AI
11 54 (12.16%) Information Security
12 50 (11.26%) PRINCE2
12 50 (11.26%) Project Management
13 48 (10.81%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 45 (10.14%) Systems Engineering
15 41 (9.23%) CI/CD
16 38 (8.56%) Scaled Agile Framework
17 37 (8.33%) Customer Service
18 36 (8.11%) Programme Management
Programming Languages
1 61 (13.74%) Python
2 37 (8.33%) PowerShell
3 23 (5.18%) SQL
4 20 (4.50%) Java
5 16 (3.60%) JavaScript
6 8 (1.80%) Shell Script
7 7 (1.58%) Perl
8 5 (1.13%) Bash
8 5 (1.13%) C
8 5 (1.13%) Kotlin
9 4 (0.90%) C++
9 4 (0.90%) Rust
10 3 (0.68%) C#
10 3 (0.68%) Korn
11 2 (0.45%) Ada
11 2 (0.45%) Go
11 2 (0.45%) Lua
11 2 (0.45%) PL/SQL
11 2 (0.45%) TypeScript
11 2 (0.45%) X++
Qualifications
1 183 (41.22%) Security Cleared
2 110 (24.77%) SC Cleared
3 61 (13.74%) Computer Science Degree
4 25 (5.63%) CISSP
5 23 (5.18%) PMI Certification
6 22 (4.95%) Master's Degree
7 21 (4.73%) BPSS Clearance
8 20 (4.50%) DV Cleared
8 20 (4.50%) PMP
9 19 (4.28%) Cisco Certification
9 19 (4.28%) Microsoft Certification
10 14 (3.15%) CISM
11 12 (2.70%) CCNP
12 10 (2.25%) ACCA
12 10 (2.25%) Azure Certification
12 10 (2.25%) CIMA
13 9 (2.03%) CESG Certified Professional
14 8 (1.80%) AWS Certification
14 8 (1.80%) CompTIA Security+
15 6 (1.35%) (ISC)2 CCSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 52 (11.71%) NIST
2 51 (11.49%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 17 (3.83%) Data Quality
3 17 (3.83%) NCSC
4 16 (3.60%) PMO
5 12 (2.70%) GDPR
5 12 (2.70%) QA
6 9 (2.03%) SLA
7 8 (1.80%) NIST 800
7 8 (1.80%) PCI DSS
7 8 (1.80%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 7 (1.58%) Cyber Essentials
9 6 (1.35%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 5 (1.13%) Government Security Classifications
10 5 (1.13%) ISO 31000
11 4 (0.90%) Accessibility
11 4 (0.90%) GRC
12 3 (0.68%) DO-254
12 3 (0.68%) IEC 61508
12 3 (0.68%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 52 (11.71%) Active Directory
2 17 (3.83%) Docker
3 13 (2.93%) VMware Infrastructure
4 6 (1.35%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.13%) Firmware
6 4 (0.90%) Embedded Firmware
7 3 (0.68%) OpenAM
7 3 (0.68%) Oracle RAC
8 2 (0.45%) Hyper-V
9 1 (0.23%) Citrix Hypervisor
9 1 (0.23%) UAG
9 1 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 16 (3.60%) Kubernetes
2 15 (3.38%) Microsoft Intune
3 10 (2.25%) Jamf Pro
3 10 (2.25%) Terraform
4 7 (1.58%) Grafana
4 7 (1.58%) Prometheus
5 6 (1.35%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 6 (1.35%) Ansible
6 5 (1.13%) Single Sign-On
7 4 (0.90%) Podman
7 4 (0.90%) Puppet
8 3 (0.68%) Oracle RMAN
9 2 (0.45%) Nessus
9 2 (0.45%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
9 2 (0.45%) vCenter Server
10 1 (0.23%) CASB
10 1 (0.23%) HP ALM
10 1 (0.23%) Istio
10 1 (0.23%) Kubeflow
10 1 (0.23%) linkerd
Vendors
1 106 (23.87%) Microsoft
2 44 (9.91%) Oracle
3 32 (7.21%) SAP
4 31 (6.98%) ServiceNow
5 27 (6.08%) IBM
6 17 (3.83%) BeyondTrust
6 17 (3.83%) CyberArk
6 17 (3.83%) VMware
7 15 (3.38%) Ariba
8 14 (3.15%) Cisco
9 11 (2.48%) Salesforce
10 10 (2.25%) Google
11 9 (2.03%) Palo Alto
12 7 (1.58%) Splunk
13 6 (1.35%) CheckPoint
13 6 (1.35%) Tenable
14 5 (1.13%) Aruba
14 5 (1.13%) Dell
14 5 (1.13%) F5
14 5 (1.13%) Workday