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 10 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 25 14
Rank change year-on-year +3 -11 +7
Contract jobs citing Degree 481 234 426
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.20% 6.63% 8.68%
As % of the Qualifications category 16.04% 16.43% 19.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 245 135 235
10th Percentile £192 £243 £205
25th Percentile £313 £371 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £588 £588 £608
90th Percentile £713 £650 £638
England median daily rate £500 £500 £513
% change year-on-year - -2.44% -4.03%
Number of hourly rates quoted 113 33 77
10th Percentile £27.36 £22.03 £18.35
25th Percentile £38.25 £32.31 £41.00
Median hourly rate £80.00 £60.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +33.33% +4.62% -4.42%
75th Percentile £85.50 £75.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £88.30 £74.25
England median hourly rate £51.00 £42.50 £57.35
% change year-on-year +20.00% -25.89% +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 2,998 1,424 2,200
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 44.86% 40.33% 44.84%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,026 924 1,373
10th Percentile £325 £250 £350
25th Percentile £461 £416 £430
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £630 £600 £640
90th Percentile £725 £671 £725
England median daily rate £525 £525 £538
% change year-on-year - -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 329 118 186
10th Percentile £19.31 - £18.08
25th Percentile £38.25 £18.87 £41.06
Median hourly rate £68.22 £27.88 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +144.67% -51.39% -6.94%
75th Percentile £85.00 £67.50 £70.39
90th Percentile £88.00 £81.00 £87.46
England median hourly rate £54.00 £25.15 £47.50
% change year-on-year +114.71% -47.05% -13.64%

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 10 August 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 10 August 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 10 August 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 +9 267 £525 +16.67% 301
Berkshire +13 161 £525 +10.53% 153
Hampshire 0 109 £550 +10.00% 154
Surrey 0 58 £310 -3.13% 86
Oxfordshire -2 56 £405 -10.00% 87
Buckinghamshire -4 50 £565 +8.92% 64
West Sussex -28 13 £338 +16.78% 26
Kent +9 10 £201 -52.63% 30
Sussex -1 4 £275 - 7
East Sussex +1 2 £461 - 27
Middlesex - 2 £334 - 7
Home Counties +1 1 - -
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 24 (4.99%) SharePoint
2 15 (3.12%) Confluence
3 7 (1.46%) Microsoft Exchange
4 4 (0.83%) FactoryTalk
5 2 (0.42%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.42%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.21%) Adobe Experience Manager
6 1 (0.21%) CMS
6 1 (0.21%) Oracle Service Bus
6 1 (0.21%) Oracle Workflow
6 1 (0.21%) WebLogic
Applications
1 65 (13.51%) Microsoft Office
2 50 (10.40%) Microsoft Excel
3 32 (6.65%) Microsoft Project
4 25 (5.20%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (1.04%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.21%) CATIA
6 1 (0.21%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.21%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 11 (2.29%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (1.46%) Primavera
2 7 (1.46%) Salesforce CRM
3 3 (0.62%) NEC Housing
4 2 (0.42%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
4 2 (0.42%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.21%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.21%) ENOVIA
Cloud Services
1 106 (22.04%) Azure
2 51 (10.60%) AWS
3 44 (9.15%) Entra ID
4 39 (8.11%) Microsoft 365
5 23 (4.78%) Power Platform
6 20 (4.16%) GCP
6 20 (4.16%) SaaS
7 17 (3.53%) Azure DevOps
8 12 (2.49%) OneDrive
9 9 (1.87%) Serverless
10 7 (1.46%) IaaS
11 6 (1.25%) Power Automate
12 5 (1.04%) PowerApps
12 5 (1.04%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
13 4 (0.83%) Azure Functions
13 4 (0.83%) Azure Logic Apps
13 4 (0.83%) Dynamics 365
13 4 (0.83%) GitHub
13 4 (0.83%) PaaS
13 4 (0.83%) Smartsheet
Communications & Networking
1 27 (5.61%) TCP/IP
2 23 (4.78%) DNS
3 22 (4.57%) Firewall
4 18 (3.74%) DHCP
4 18 (3.74%) Network Security
5 9 (1.87%) VPN
6 8 (1.66%) LAN
7 7 (1.46%) SSH
7 7 (1.46%) VLAN
7 7 (1.46%) WAN
8 6 (1.25%) HTTP
9 5 (1.04%) BGP
9 5 (1.04%) OSPF
10 4 (0.83%) Cisco Nexus
10 4 (0.83%) MQTT
10 4 (0.83%) RSVP
10 4 (0.83%) SD-WAN
11 3 (0.62%) BIG-IP
11 3 (0.62%) Cisco ASA
11 3 (0.62%) NAS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 21 (4.37%) Power BI
2 17 (3.53%) SQL Server
3 11 (2.29%) Relational Database
4 7 (1.46%) MySQL
4 7 (1.46%) PostgreSQL
5 6 (1.25%) Metadata
6 5 (1.04%) Data Warehouse
6 5 (1.04%) Tableau
7 4 (0.83%) Elasticsearch
8 3 (0.62%) Oracle Database
9 2 (0.42%) Big Data
9 2 (0.42%) Hadoop
10 1 (0.21%) Apache Iceberg
10 1 (0.21%) BigQuery
10 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 11g
10 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 12c
10 1 (0.21%) SQLite
10 1 (0.21%) Tableau Desktop
10 1 (0.21%) Tableau Server
10 1 (0.21%) Text Mining
Development Applications
1 32 (6.65%) Rational DOORS
2 27 (5.61%) JIRA
3 12 (2.49%) Git
4 8 (1.66%) GitLab
5 4 (0.83%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.62%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.62%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.62%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.62%) Gradle
6 3 (0.62%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.62%) Xcode
7 2 (0.42%) Balsamiq
7 2 (0.42%) CircleCI
7 2 (0.42%) JUnit
7 2 (0.42%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.21%) Burp Suite
8 1 (0.21%) Maven
8 1 (0.21%) MSI
8 1 (0.21%) Octopus Deploy
8 1 (0.21%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 206 (42.83%) Social Skills
2 102 (21.21%) Analytical Skills
3 73 (15.18%) Aerospace
4 67 (13.93%) Finance
5 60 (12.47%) Public Sector
6 25 (5.20%) Documentation Skills
7 24 (4.99%) Manufacturing
8 23 (4.78%) Organisational Skills
9 18 (3.74%) Marketing
10 16 (3.33%) Military
11 14 (2.91%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 14 (2.91%) Influencing Skills
11 14 (2.91%) Law
11 14 (2.91%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (2.49%) Telecoms
13 9 (1.87%) French Language
13 9 (1.87%) Legal
13 9 (1.87%) Pharmaceutical
14 8 (1.66%) Games
15 7 (1.46%) Retail
Job Titles
1 64 (13.31%) Analyst
2 55 (11.43%) Senior
3 42 (8.73%) Lead
4 37 (7.69%) Product Manager
5 33 (6.86%) Delivery Manager
5 33 (6.86%) Product Delivery Manager
6 28 (5.82%) IT Manager
7 25 (5.20%) Systems Manager
8 24 (4.99%) Architect
8 24 (4.99%) Senior Manager
9 23 (4.78%) Project Manager
10 22 (4.57%) Systems Delivery Manager
11 19 (3.95%) IT Support
12 17 (3.53%) Business Analyst
13 16 (3.33%) Senior IT Manager
14 15 (3.12%) Category Manager
14 15 (3.12%) Data Analyst
14 15 (3.12%) IT Services Manager
14 15 (3.12%) Senior Category Manager
14 15 (3.12%) Senior Service Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (4.57%) OAuth
2 21 (4.37%) OpenID
3 19 (3.95%) LDAP
3 19 (3.95%) SAML
4 17 (3.53%) SailPoint
5 15 (3.12%) OAuth2
5 15 (3.12%) Oracle Fusion
6 13 (2.70%) Web Services
7 9 (1.87%) .NET
7 9 (1.87%) CSS
7 9 (1.87%) React
7 9 (1.87%) RESTful
8 7 (1.46%) REST
9 6 (1.25%) HTML
9 6 (1.25%) Middleware
10 5 (1.04%) AngularJS
10 5 (1.04%) GraphQL
10 5 (1.04%) gRPC
10 5 (1.04%) Kafka
11 4 (0.83%) Keycloak
Miscellaneous
1 60 (12.47%) Product Ownership
2 57 (11.85%) Management Information System
3 33 (6.86%) Onboarding
4 29 (6.03%) Data Structures
5 23 (4.78%) Data Centre
6 14 (2.91%) Operational Technology
6 14 (2.91%) Self-Motivation
7 13 (2.70%) Virtual Team
8 12 (2.49%) Hybrid Cloud
8 12 (2.49%) SCADA
9 11 (2.29%) Cloud Native
9 11 (2.29%) Life Science
10 10 (2.08%) PMI
10 10 (2.08%) Security Posture
11 8 (1.66%) Animation
11 8 (1.66%) Graphic Design
11 8 (1.66%) Interactive Media
11 8 (1.66%) Robotics
12 7 (1.46%) CCTV
12 7 (1.46%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 70 (14.55%) Windows
2 48 (9.98%) Linux
3 29 (6.03%) Unix
4 21 (4.37%) Windows Server
5 14 (2.91%) Apple iOS
6 11 (2.29%) Mac OS
7 9 (1.87%) Android
7 9 (1.87%) Windows 10
8 4 (0.83%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.42%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.42%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.42%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.21%) Solaris
10 1 (0.21%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 188 (39.09%) Computer Science
2 138 (28.69%) Agile
3 122 (25.36%) Continuous Improvement
4 109 (22.66%) Problem-Solving
5 97 (20.17%) Stakeholder Management
6 86 (17.88%) ITIL
7 80 (16.63%) Cybersecurity
8 77 (16.01%) ITSM
9 67 (13.93%) Project Management
10 66 (13.72%) PRINCE2
11 65 (13.51%) Decision-Making
12 64 (13.31%) Change Control
13 56 (11.64%) AI
13 56 (11.64%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 55 (11.43%) Information Security
15 49 (10.19%) Systems Engineering
16 47 (9.77%) Roadmaps
17 45 (9.36%) Service Management
18 42 (8.73%) CI/CD
18 42 (8.73%) Scaled Agile Framework
Programming Languages
1 65 (13.51%) Python
2 47 (9.77%) PowerShell
3 24 (4.99%) SQL
4 16 (3.33%) Java
5 15 (3.12%) JavaScript
6 9 (1.87%) Bash
7 8 (1.66%) Shell Script
8 6 (1.25%) C#
9 5 (1.04%) C
9 5 (1.04%) Perl
10 4 (0.83%) Bicep
10 4 (0.83%) Kotlin
10 4 (0.83%) Rust
11 3 (0.62%) Apex Code
11 3 (0.62%) C++
11 3 (0.62%) Korn
11 3 (0.62%) Lua
11 3 (0.62%) X++
12 2 (0.42%) Ada
12 2 (0.42%) R
Qualifications
1 201 (41.79%) Security Cleared
2 117 (24.32%) SC Cleared
3 62 (12.89%) Computer Science Degree
4 31 (6.44%) PMI Certification
5 28 (5.82%) DV Cleared
6 27 (5.61%) CISSP
6 27 (5.61%) Microsoft Certification
6 27 (5.61%) PMP
7 21 (4.37%) BPSS Clearance
7 21 (4.37%) Master's Degree
8 16 (3.33%) Cisco Certification
9 15 (3.12%) Azure Certification
9 15 (3.12%) CISM
10 12 (2.49%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
11 10 (2.08%) ACCA
11 10 (2.08%) CIMA
12 9 (1.87%) CESG Certified Professional
13 8 (1.66%) AWS Certification
13 8 (1.66%) CCNP
14 6 (1.25%) (ISC)2 CCSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 55 (11.43%) NIST
2 53 (11.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 25 (5.20%) Data Quality
4 17 (3.53%) NCSC
4 17 (3.53%) PMO
5 14 (2.91%) GDPR
5 14 (2.91%) QA
6 8 (1.66%) NIST 800
6 8 (1.66%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 8 (1.66%) SLA
7 7 (1.46%) Cyber Essentials
7 7 (1.46%) PCI DSS
8 6 (1.25%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 5 (1.04%) Accessibility
9 5 (1.04%) Government Security Classifications
9 5 (1.04%) GxP
9 5 (1.04%) ISO 31000
10 4 (0.83%) 21 CFR Part 11
10 4 (0.83%) GRC
10 4 (0.83%) IEC 61508
System Software
1 59 (12.27%) Active Directory
2 17 (3.53%) VMware Infrastructure
3 16 (3.33%) Docker
4 6 (1.25%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.04%) Firmware
6 4 (0.83%) Embedded Firmware
7 3 (0.62%) Hyper-V
7 3 (0.62%) OpenAM
7 3 (0.62%) Oracle RAC
8 1 (0.21%) Citrix Hypervisor
8 1 (0.21%) UAG
8 1 (0.21%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 18 (3.74%) Microsoft Intune
2 14 (2.91%) Kubernetes
3 11 (2.29%) Terraform
4 10 (2.08%) Ansible
4 10 (2.08%) Jamf Pro
5 8 (1.66%) Single Sign-On
6 6 (1.25%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 5 (1.04%) Grafana
7 5 (1.04%) Prometheus
8 4 (0.83%) Podman
8 4 (0.83%) Puppet
8 4 (0.83%) SCCM
9 3 (0.62%) Oracle RMAN
10 2 (0.42%) Nessus
10 2 (0.42%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
10 2 (0.42%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.21%) Argo
11 1 (0.21%) CASB
11 1 (0.21%) Istio
11 1 (0.21%) Nmap
Vendors
1 129 (26.82%) Microsoft
2 41 (8.52%) Oracle
3 37 (7.69%) ServiceNow
4 30 (6.24%) SAP
5 29 (6.03%) IBM
6 23 (4.78%) VMware
7 15 (3.12%) Ariba
7 15 (3.12%) BeyondTrust
7 15 (3.12%) CyberArk
8 14 (2.91%) Salesforce
9 10 (2.08%) Google
10 8 (1.66%) Cisco
11 6 (1.25%) Tenable
12 5 (1.04%) Dell
12 5 (1.04%) Palo Alto
12 5 (1.04%) Workday
13 4 (0.83%) F5
13 4 (0.83%) Red Hat
13 4 (0.83%) Rockwell
13 4 (0.83%) Splunk