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

6 months to
16 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 25 24 14
Rank change year-on-year -1 -10 +11
Contract jobs citing Degree 453 234 481
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.95% 6.92% 8.62%
As % of the Qualifications category 15.29% 17.23% 19.16%
Number of daily rates quoted 237 142 248
10th Percentile £193 £263 £205
25th Percentile £313 £360 £362
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £478 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.71% -4.50% -
75th Percentile £580 £588 £608
90th Percentile £705 £650 £638
England median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -6.54%
Number of hourly rates quoted 99 33 83
10th Percentile £25.58 £25.15 £17.80
25th Percentile £35.74 £41.00 £26.05
Median hourly rate £81.50 £64.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +27.34% +11.60% +14.70%
75th Percentile £87.16 £75.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £89.11 £73.25
England median hourly rate £44.75 £42.50 £43.75
% change year-on-year +5.29% -2.86% -11.74%

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 2,962 1,358 2,510
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 45.46% 40.17% 44.98%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,017 871 1,476
10th Percentile £325 £263 £350
25th Percentile £456 £413 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £540 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +2.86% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £625 £600 £646
90th Percentile £725 £663 £725
England median daily rate £525 £525 £535
% change year-on-year - -1.87% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 307 105 223
10th Percentile £18.25 £18.87 £17.80
25th Percentile £31.25 £24.66 £28.37
Median hourly rate £65.00 £41.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +58.54% -28.51% -4.42%
75th Percentile £85.00 £70.00 £71.50
90th Percentile £89.80 £85.43 £87.46
England median hourly rate £54.00 £27.45 £43.00
% change year-on-year +96.72% -36.16% -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 16 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 16 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 16 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 +6 232 £521 +9.74% 172
Berkshire +10 139 £453 -5.24% 86
Hampshire +3 110 £550 +6.80% 104
Surrey -1 55 £310 -15.36% 62
Oxfordshire -3 51 £525 +16.67% 42
Buckinghamshire -9 42 £570 +8.57% 47
Kent +12 15 £445 +27.14% 23
West Sussex -25 15 £338 +16.38% 15
Sussex - 4 £275 - 5
Home Counties +1 3 - -
East Sussex -2 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 22 (4.86%) SharePoint
2 13 (2.87%) Confluence
3 7 (1.55%) Microsoft Exchange
4 2 (0.44%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 2 (0.44%) Apache Spark
4 2 (0.44%) FactoryTalk
5 1 (0.22%) Apache Pulsar
5 1 (0.22%) CMS
5 1 (0.22%) MS Project Server
5 1 (0.22%) Oracle Service Bus
5 1 (0.22%) Oracle Workflow
5 1 (0.22%) WebLogic
Applications
1 64 (14.13%) Microsoft Office
2 45 (9.93%) Microsoft Excel
3 26 (5.74%) Microsoft Project
4 23 (5.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.88%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.22%) CATIA
6 1 (0.22%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.22%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 11 (2.43%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (1.32%) Salesforce CRM
3 5 (1.10%) Primavera
4 2 (0.44%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.22%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.22%) ENOVIA
5 1 (0.22%) Payment Gateway
5 1 (0.22%) SAP Hybris
5 1 (0.22%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 99 (21.85%) Azure
2 52 (11.48%) AWS
3 40 (8.83%) Entra ID
4 36 (7.95%) Microsoft 365
5 21 (4.64%) GCP
5 21 (4.64%) Power Platform
6 15 (3.31%) SaaS
7 13 (2.87%) Azure DevOps
8 12 (2.65%) OneDrive
9 7 (1.55%) IaaS
9 7 (1.55%) Serverless
10 6 (1.32%) Power Automate
11 5 (1.10%) GitHub
12 4 (0.88%) GitHub Actions
12 4 (0.88%) PaaS
12 4 (0.88%) PowerApps
12 4 (0.88%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
12 4 (0.88%) Smartsheet
12 4 (0.88%) Virtual Private Cloud
13 3 (0.66%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 23 (5.08%) TCP/IP
2 21 (4.64%) DNS
2 21 (4.64%) Firewall
3 15 (3.31%) Network Security
4 14 (3.09%) DHCP
5 12 (2.65%) LAN
6 11 (2.43%) WAN
7 8 (1.77%) BGP
7 8 (1.77%) OSPF
8 6 (1.32%) HTTP
8 6 (1.32%) IPsec
9 5 (1.10%) SSH
9 5 (1.10%) VLAN
9 5 (1.10%) VPN
10 4 (0.88%) Cisco Nexus
10 4 (0.88%) MQTT
10 4 (0.88%) RSVP
10 4 (0.88%) SD-WAN
11 3 (0.66%) Radio Access Network
11 3 (0.66%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (4.19%) Power BI
1 19 (4.19%) SQL Server
2 10 (2.21%) Relational Database
3 9 (1.99%) MySQL
4 6 (1.32%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (1.10%) Tableau
6 4 (0.88%) Elasticsearch
7 3 (0.66%) Data Warehouse
7 3 (0.66%) Oracle Database
8 2 (0.44%) Big Data
8 2 (0.44%) Hadoop
8 2 (0.44%) Metadata
9 1 (0.22%) Apache Iceberg
9 1 (0.22%) BigQuery
9 1 (0.22%) Data Mining
9 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 11g
9 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 12c
9 1 (0.22%) SQLite
9 1 (0.22%) Tableau Desktop
9 1 (0.22%) Tableau Server
Development Applications
1 30 (6.62%) Rational DOORS
2 28 (6.18%) JIRA
3 11 (2.43%) Git
4 8 (1.77%) GitLab
5 4 (0.88%) CircleCI
5 4 (0.88%) Gradle
5 4 (0.88%) Jenkins
5 4 (0.88%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.66%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.66%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.66%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.66%) JUnit
6 3 (0.66%) Xcode
7 2 (0.44%) Balsamiq
7 2 (0.44%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.22%) Burp Suite
8 1 (0.22%) Metasploit
8 1 (0.22%) Selenium
8 1 (0.22%) TestNG
8 1 (0.22%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 192 (42.38%) Social Skills
2 94 (20.75%) Analytical Skills
3 67 (14.79%) Finance
4 62 (13.69%) Aerospace
5 59 (13.02%) Public Sector
6 26 (5.74%) Documentation Skills
7 22 (4.86%) Organisational Skills
8 20 (4.42%) Manufacturing
9 17 (3.75%) Marketing
10 14 (3.09%) Influencing Skills
10 14 (3.09%) Law
11 13 (2.87%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (2.65%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 12 (2.65%) Telecoms
13 11 (2.43%) Military
14 9 (1.99%) Legal
14 9 (1.99%) Retail
15 7 (1.55%) Aviation
15 7 (1.55%) French Language
16 5 (1.10%) Arabic Language
Job Titles
1 66 (14.57%) Analyst
2 53 (11.70%) Senior
3 37 (8.17%) Lead
4 32 (7.06%) Product Manager
5 30 (6.62%) IT Manager
6 29 (6.40%) Delivery Manager
7 28 (6.18%) Product Delivery Manager
8 26 (5.74%) Project Manager
9 24 (5.30%) Architect
9 24 (5.30%) Senior Manager
10 22 (4.86%) Systems Delivery Manager
10 22 (4.86%) Systems Manager
11 17 (3.75%) Category Manager
11 17 (3.75%) IT Support
12 16 (3.53%) Business Analyst
12 16 (3.53%) Senior IT Manager
12 16 (3.53%) Technical Support
13 15 (3.31%) Data Analyst
13 15 (3.31%) IT Services Manager
13 15 (3.31%) Senior Service Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (4.42%) OAuth
2 18 (3.97%) OpenID
3 17 (3.75%) LDAP
3 17 (3.75%) SAML
4 15 (3.31%) Oracle Fusion
4 15 (3.31%) SailPoint
5 13 (2.87%) OAuth2
6 11 (2.43%) React
6 11 (2.43%) Web Services
7 9 (1.99%) REST
8 7 (1.55%) .NET
8 7 (1.55%) CSS
8 7 (1.55%) RESTful
9 6 (1.32%) Kafka
10 5 (1.10%) AngularJS
10 5 (1.10%) GraphQL
10 5 (1.10%) gRPC
11 4 (0.88%) Keycloak
11 4 (0.88%) Protocol Buffers
11 4 (0.88%) RAML
Miscellaneous
1 54 (11.92%) Product Ownership
2 48 (10.60%) Management Information System
3 31 (6.84%) Onboarding
4 27 (5.96%) Data Centre
5 26 (5.74%) Data Structures
6 16 (3.53%) Virtual Team
7 12 (2.65%) Operational Technology
8 11 (2.43%) Self-Motivation
9 10 (2.21%) Cloud Native
10 9 (1.99%) PMI
10 9 (1.99%) SCADA
10 9 (1.99%) Security Posture
11 8 (1.77%) Data Protection Act
11 8 (1.77%) Hybrid Cloud
11 8 (1.77%) Robotics
12 7 (1.55%) CCTV
12 7 (1.55%) Life Science
12 7 (1.55%) Mobile App
13 6 (1.32%) BYOD
13 6 (1.32%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 72 (15.89%) Windows
2 49 (10.82%) Linux
3 33 (7.28%) Unix
4 16 (3.53%) Windows Server
5 15 (3.31%) Apple iOS
6 11 (2.43%) Mac OS
7 10 (2.21%) Android
7 10 (2.21%) Windows 10
8 4 (0.88%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.44%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.44%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.44%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.22%) Solaris
10 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 180 (39.74%) Computer Science
2 128 (28.26%) Agile
3 106 (23.40%) Problem-Solving
4 100 (22.08%) Continuous Improvement
5 82 (18.10%) Stakeholder Management
6 73 (16.11%) Cybersecurity
7 72 (15.89%) ITIL
8 67 (14.79%) ITSM
9 64 (14.13%) Decision-Making
10 63 (13.91%) Change Control
11 56 (12.36%) AI
11 56 (12.36%) Project Management
12 55 (12.14%) Information Security
13 53 (11.70%) PRINCE2
13 53 (11.70%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 45 (9.93%) Systems Engineering
15 39 (8.61%) CI/CD
15 39 (8.61%) Scaled Agile Framework
16 37 (8.17%) Customer Service
17 36 (7.95%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 62 (13.69%) Python
2 39 (8.61%) PowerShell
3 22 (4.86%) SQL
4 19 (4.19%) Java
5 16 (3.53%) JavaScript
6 8 (1.77%) Shell Script
7 7 (1.55%) Perl
8 5 (1.10%) Bash
8 5 (1.10%) C
8 5 (1.10%) Kotlin
9 4 (0.88%) Rust
10 3 (0.66%) C#
10 3 (0.66%) C++
10 3 (0.66%) Korn
11 2 (0.44%) Ada
11 2 (0.44%) Go
11 2 (0.44%) Lua
11 2 (0.44%) PL/SQL
11 2 (0.44%) TypeScript
11 2 (0.44%) X++
Qualifications
1 187 (41.28%) Security Cleared
2 113 (24.94%) SC Cleared
3 62 (13.69%) Computer Science Degree
4 28 (6.18%) PMI Certification
5 25 (5.52%) CISSP
6 24 (5.30%) PMP
7 23 (5.08%) BPSS Clearance
8 22 (4.86%) Master's Degree
9 21 (4.64%) DV Cleared
10 20 (4.42%) Microsoft Certification
11 19 (4.19%) Cisco Certification
12 14 (3.09%) CISM
13 12 (2.65%) CCNP
14 10 (2.21%) ACCA
14 10 (2.21%) Azure Certification
14 10 (2.21%) CIMA
15 9 (1.99%) CESG Certified Professional
16 8 (1.77%) AWS Certification
16 8 (1.77%) CompTIA Security+
17 7 (1.55%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 54 (11.92%) NIST
2 53 (11.70%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 19 (4.19%) Data Quality
4 17 (3.75%) NCSC
5 15 (3.31%) PMO
6 14 (3.09%) GDPR
7 13 (2.87%) QA
8 9 (1.99%) SLA
9 8 (1.77%) NIST 800
9 8 (1.77%) PCI DSS
9 8 (1.77%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 7 (1.55%) Cyber Essentials
11 6 (1.32%) ISO/IEC 20000
12 5 (1.10%) Government Security Classifications
12 5 (1.10%) ISO 31000
13 4 (0.88%) Accessibility
13 4 (0.88%) GRC
14 3 (0.66%) IEC 61508
14 3 (0.66%) ISO 26262
14 3 (0.66%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 54 (11.92%) Active Directory
2 17 (3.75%) Docker
3 13 (2.87%) VMware Infrastructure
4 6 (1.32%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.10%) Firmware
6 4 (0.88%) Embedded Firmware
7 3 (0.66%) OpenAM
7 3 (0.66%) Oracle RAC
8 2 (0.44%) Hyper-V
9 1 (0.22%) Citrix Hypervisor
9 1 (0.22%) UAG
9 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 15 (3.31%) Kubernetes
1 15 (3.31%) Microsoft Intune
2 10 (2.21%) Jamf Pro
2 10 (2.21%) Terraform
3 7 (1.55%) Grafana
3 7 (1.55%) Prometheus
4 6 (1.32%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 6 (1.32%) Ansible
4 6 (1.32%) Single Sign-On
5 4 (0.88%) Podman
5 4 (0.88%) Puppet
6 3 (0.66%) Oracle RMAN
7 2 (0.44%) Nessus
7 2 (0.44%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 2 (0.44%) vCenter Server
8 1 (0.22%) CASB
8 1 (0.22%) HP ALM
8 1 (0.22%) Istio
8 1 (0.22%) Kubeflow
8 1 (0.22%) Nmap
Vendors
1 113 (24.94%) Microsoft
2 43 (9.49%) Oracle
3 33 (7.28%) ServiceNow
4 32 (7.06%) SAP
5 27 (5.96%) IBM
6 17 (3.75%) BeyondTrust
6 17 (3.75%) CyberArk
6 17 (3.75%) VMware
7 15 (3.31%) Ariba
8 13 (2.87%) Cisco
9 11 (2.43%) Salesforce
10 9 (1.99%) Google
10 9 (1.99%) Palo Alto
11 7 (1.55%) Splunk
12 6 (1.32%) CheckPoint
12 6 (1.32%) Tenable
13 5 (1.10%) Aruba
13 5 (1.10%) Dell
13 5 (1.10%) Workday
14 4 (0.88%) F5