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

6 months to
23 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 24 25 14
Rank change year-on-year +1 -11 +10
Contract jobs citing Degree 469 231 461
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.13% 6.76% 8.64%
As % of the Qualifications category 15.61% 16.92% 19.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 246 138 240
10th Percentile £193 £263 £205
25th Percentile £322 £380 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £481 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.90% -3.75% -
75th Percentile £588 £588 £608
90th Percentile £706 £650 £638
England median daily rate £500 £500 £513
% change year-on-year - -2.44% -3.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 102 34 82
10th Percentile £25.77 £22.42 £17.86
25th Percentile £35.48 £34.48 £31.31
Median hourly rate £81.50 £62.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +31.45% +8.11% -2.51%
75th Percentile £87.16 £75.00 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £88.86 £73.50
England median hourly rate £45.50 £42.50 £55.00
% change year-on-year +7.06% -22.73% +1.04%

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 3,004 1,365 2,411
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 45.68% 39.96% 45.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,044 883 1,454
10th Percentile £325 £260 £352
25th Percentile £456 £413 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £548 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +4.43% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £625 £600 £643
90th Percentile £725 £660 £725
England median daily rate £525 £525 £537
% change year-on-year - -2.32% -2.28%
Number of hourly rates quoted 314 108 214
10th Percentile £18.25 £18.87 £17.80
25th Percentile £32.00 £20.66 £26.80
Median hourly rate £65.00 £32.18 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +101.99% -43.89% -7.22%
75th Percentile £85.00 £70.00 £70.39
90th Percentile £96.00 £84.22 £87.46
England median hourly rate £54.00 £25.30 £43.00
% change year-on-year +113.44% -41.16% -23.76%

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 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 23 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 23 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 +5 244 £525 +10.53% 192
Berkshire +8 143 £475 -0.52% 101
Hampshire -4 113 £550 +7.32% 114
Surrey +1 57 £310 -15.65% 69
Oxfordshire +3 54 £525 +16.67% 50
Buckinghamshire -6 47 £568 +8.10% 43
Kent +13 15 £445 +27.14% 23
West Sussex -26 14 £400 +37.93% 14
Sussex -1 4 £275 - 3
Home Counties +1 3 - -
East Sussex -1 2 £461 - 17
Middlesex - 2 £334 - 14
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 23 (4.90%) SharePoint
2 14 (2.99%) Confluence
3 7 (1.49%) Microsoft Exchange
4 3 (0.64%) FactoryTalk
5 2 (0.43%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 2 (0.43%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.21%) Apache Pulsar
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 67 (14.29%) Microsoft Office
2 49 (10.45%) Microsoft Excel
3 29 (6.18%) Microsoft Project
4 23 (4.90%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.85%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.21%) CATIA
6 1 (0.21%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.21%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 11 (2.35%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (1.49%) Salesforce CRM
3 6 (1.28%) Primavera
4 2 (0.43%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
4 2 (0.43%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.21%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.21%) ENOVIA
5 1 (0.21%) NEC Housing
5 1 (0.21%) Payment Gateway
5 1 (0.21%) SAP Hybris
Cloud Services
1 104 (22.17%) Azure
2 52 (11.09%) AWS
3 44 (9.38%) Entra ID
4 37 (7.89%) Microsoft 365
5 21 (4.48%) GCP
5 21 (4.48%) Power Platform
6 17 (3.62%) SaaS
7 14 (2.99%) Azure DevOps
8 12 (2.56%) OneDrive
9 7 (1.49%) IaaS
9 7 (1.49%) Serverless
10 6 (1.28%) Power Automate
11 5 (1.07%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
12 4 (0.85%) GitHub
12 4 (0.85%) PaaS
12 4 (0.85%) PowerApps
12 4 (0.85%) Smartsheet
12 4 (0.85%) Virtual Private Cloud
13 3 (0.64%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 3 (0.64%) Lucidchart
Communications & Networking
1 25 (5.33%) TCP/IP
2 24 (5.12%) Firewall
3 22 (4.69%) DNS
4 18 (3.84%) Network Security
5 17 (3.62%) DHCP
6 11 (2.35%) LAN
7 10 (2.13%) WAN
8 8 (1.71%) SSH
8 8 (1.71%) VPN
9 7 (1.49%) BGP
9 7 (1.49%) OSPF
10 6 (1.28%) HTTP
10 6 (1.28%) VLAN
11 5 (1.07%) IPsec
12 4 (0.85%) Cisco Nexus
12 4 (0.85%) MQTT
12 4 (0.85%) RSVP
12 4 (0.85%) SD-WAN
13 3 (0.64%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
13 3 (0.64%) Radio Access Network
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (4.05%) Power BI
1 19 (4.05%) SQL Server
2 9 (1.92%) Relational Database
3 8 (1.71%) MySQL
4 6 (1.28%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (1.07%) Tableau
6 4 (0.85%) Elasticsearch
7 3 (0.64%) Data Warehouse
7 3 (0.64%) Metadata
7 3 (0.64%) Oracle Database
8 2 (0.43%) Big Data
8 2 (0.43%) Hadoop
9 1 (0.21%) BigQuery
9 1 (0.21%) Data Mining
9 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 10g
9 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 11g
9 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 12c
9 1 (0.21%) SQLite
9 1 (0.21%) Tableau Desktop
9 1 (0.21%) Tableau Server
Development Applications
1 31 (6.61%) Rational DOORS
2 29 (6.18%) JIRA
3 11 (2.35%) Git
4 8 (1.71%) GitLab
5 4 (0.85%) Gradle
5 4 (0.85%) Jenkins
5 4 (0.85%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.64%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.64%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.64%) CircleCI
6 3 (0.64%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.64%) JUnit
6 3 (0.64%) Xcode
7 2 (0.43%) Balsamiq
7 2 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.21%) Burp Suite
8 1 (0.21%) Metasploit
8 1 (0.21%) Selenium
8 1 (0.21%) TestNG
8 1 (0.21%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 198 (42.22%) Social Skills
2 98 (20.90%) Analytical Skills
3 70 (14.93%) Finance
4 62 (13.22%) Aerospace
5 59 (12.58%) Public Sector
6 27 (5.76%) Documentation Skills
7 23 (4.90%) Organisational Skills
8 20 (4.26%) Manufacturing
9 17 (3.62%) Marketing
10 16 (3.41%) Influencing Skills
11 14 (2.99%) Law
11 14 (2.99%) Military
11 14 (2.99%) Presentation Skills
12 13 (2.77%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 13 (2.77%) Telecoms
13 9 (1.92%) Legal
13 9 (1.92%) Retail
14 8 (1.71%) French Language
15 7 (1.49%) Aviation
16 6 (1.28%) Games
Job Titles
1 65 (13.86%) Analyst
2 55 (11.73%) Senior
3 39 (8.32%) Lead
4 32 (6.82%) Product Manager
5 30 (6.40%) IT Manager
6 29 (6.18%) Delivery Manager
7 28 (5.97%) Product Delivery Manager
8 26 (5.54%) Project Manager
9 25 (5.33%) Architect
10 24 (5.12%) Senior Manager
11 22 (4.69%) Systems Delivery Manager
11 22 (4.69%) Systems Manager
12 17 (3.62%) Business Analyst
12 17 (3.62%) Category Manager
12 17 (3.62%) IT Support
13 16 (3.41%) Senior IT Manager
14 15 (3.20%) Data Analyst
14 15 (3.20%) IT Services Manager
14 15 (3.20%) Senior Service Manager
14 15 (3.20%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (4.48%) OAuth
2 19 (4.05%) OpenID
3 18 (3.84%) LDAP
3 18 (3.84%) SAML
4 16 (3.41%) SailPoint
5 15 (3.20%) Oracle Fusion
6 14 (2.99%) OAuth2
7 12 (2.56%) Web Services
8 11 (2.35%) React
9 8 (1.71%) REST
10 7 (1.49%) .NET
10 7 (1.49%) CSS
10 7 (1.49%) RESTful
11 6 (1.28%) Kafka
12 5 (1.07%) AngularJS
12 5 (1.07%) GraphQL
12 5 (1.07%) gRPC
13 4 (0.85%) ADO
13 4 (0.85%) Keycloak
13 4 (0.85%) Protocol Buffers
Miscellaneous
1 57 (12.15%) Product Ownership
2 52 (11.09%) Management Information System
3 35 (7.46%) Onboarding
4 26 (5.54%) Data Centre
4 26 (5.54%) Data Structures
5 15 (3.20%) Virtual Team
6 13 (2.77%) Operational Technology
7 12 (2.56%) Self-Motivation
8 11 (2.35%) Hybrid Cloud
9 10 (2.13%) Cloud Native
9 10 (2.13%) SCADA
10 9 (1.92%) PMI
10 9 (1.92%) Security Posture
11 8 (1.71%) Data Protection Act
11 8 (1.71%) Life Science
11 8 (1.71%) Robotics
12 7 (1.49%) CCTV
12 7 (1.49%) Mobile App
13 6 (1.28%) BYOD
13 6 (1.28%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 72 (15.35%) Windows
2 49 (10.45%) Linux
3 32 (6.82%) Unix
4 20 (4.26%) Windows Server
5 14 (2.99%) Apple iOS
6 11 (2.35%) Mac OS
7 10 (2.13%) Android
7 10 (2.13%) Windows 10
8 4 (0.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.43%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.43%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.43%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.21%) Solaris
10 1 (0.21%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 186 (39.66%) Computer Science
2 133 (28.36%) Agile
3 109 (23.24%) Problem-Solving
4 107 (22.81%) Continuous Improvement
5 88 (18.76%) Stakeholder Management
6 78 (16.63%) Cybersecurity
6 78 (16.63%) ITIL
7 71 (15.14%) ITSM
8 64 (13.65%) Decision-Making
9 63 (13.43%) Change Control
10 61 (13.01%) Project Management
11 59 (12.58%) PRINCE2
12 57 (12.15%) AI
12 57 (12.15%) Information Security
13 53 (11.30%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 47 (10.02%) Systems Engineering
15 42 (8.96%) CI/CD
16 40 (8.53%) Scaled Agile Framework
17 39 (8.32%) Roadmaps
18 38 (8.10%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 63 (13.43%) Python
2 45 (9.59%) PowerShell
3 21 (4.48%) SQL
4 19 (4.05%) Java
5 15 (3.20%) JavaScript
6 8 (1.71%) Bash
6 8 (1.71%) Shell Script
7 6 (1.28%) C
7 6 (1.28%) Perl
8 5 (1.07%) Kotlin
9 4 (0.85%) Bicep
9 4 (0.85%) Rust
10 3 (0.64%) Apex Code
10 3 (0.64%) C#
10 3 (0.64%) C++
10 3 (0.64%) Korn
10 3 (0.64%) Lua
11 2 (0.43%) Ada
11 2 (0.43%) PL/SQL
11 2 (0.43%) X++
Qualifications
1 192 (40.94%) Security Cleared
2 114 (24.31%) SC Cleared
3 61 (13.01%) Computer Science Degree
4 29 (6.18%) PMI Certification
5 26 (5.54%) CISSP
5 26 (5.54%) DV Cleared
6 25 (5.33%) PMP
7 24 (5.12%) BPSS Clearance
8 22 (4.69%) Master's Degree
8 22 (4.69%) Microsoft Certification
9 19 (4.05%) Cisco Certification
10 14 (2.99%) CISM
11 11 (2.35%) Azure Certification
11 11 (2.35%) CCNP
12 10 (2.13%) ACCA
12 10 (2.13%) CIMA
13 9 (1.92%) CESG Certified Professional
13 9 (1.92%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
14 8 (1.71%) AWS Certification
15 6 (1.28%) (ISC)2 CCSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 55 (11.73%) NIST
2 54 (11.51%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (4.26%) Data Quality
4 17 (3.62%) NCSC
5 15 (3.20%) PMO
6 14 (2.99%) GDPR
7 13 (2.77%) QA
8 9 (1.92%) SLA
9 8 (1.71%) NIST 800
9 8 (1.71%) PCI DSS
9 8 (1.71%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 7 (1.49%) Cyber Essentials
11 6 (1.28%) ISO/IEC 20000
12 5 (1.07%) Government Security Classifications
12 5 (1.07%) ISO 31000
13 4 (0.85%) Accessibility
13 4 (0.85%) GRC
13 4 (0.85%) GxP
14 3 (0.64%) 21 CFR Part 11
14 3 (0.64%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 59 (12.58%) Active Directory
2 18 (3.84%) Docker
3 15 (3.20%) VMware Infrastructure
4 6 (1.28%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.07%) Firmware
6 4 (0.85%) Embedded Firmware
7 3 (0.64%) OpenAM
7 3 (0.64%) Oracle RAC
8 2 (0.43%) Hyper-V
9 1 (0.21%) Citrix Hypervisor
9 1 (0.21%) UAG
9 1 (0.21%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 18 (3.84%) Microsoft Intune
2 15 (3.20%) Kubernetes
3 13 (2.77%) Terraform
4 10 (2.13%) Jamf Pro
5 9 (1.92%) Ansible
6 7 (1.49%) Grafana
6 7 (1.49%) Prometheus
6 7 (1.49%) Single Sign-On
7 6 (1.28%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 4 (0.85%) Podman
8 4 (0.85%) Puppet
8 4 (0.85%) SCCM
9 3 (0.64%) Oracle RMAN
10 2 (0.43%) Nessus
10 2 (0.43%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
10 2 (0.43%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.21%) CASB
11 1 (0.21%) HP ALM
11 1 (0.21%) Kubeflow
11 1 (0.21%) linkerd
Vendors
1 120 (25.59%) Microsoft
2 44 (9.38%) Oracle
3 34 (7.25%) ServiceNow
4 31 (6.61%) SAP
5 28 (5.97%) IBM
6 19 (4.05%) VMware
7 17 (3.62%) BeyondTrust
7 17 (3.62%) CyberArk
8 15 (3.20%) Ariba
9 12 (2.56%) Cisco
9 12 (2.56%) Salesforce
10 9 (1.92%) Google
11 8 (1.71%) Palo Alto
12 6 (1.28%) Tenable
13 5 (1.07%) CheckPoint
13 5 (1.07%) Dell
13 5 (1.07%) Splunk
13 5 (1.07%) Workday
14 4 (0.85%) Adobe
14 4 (0.85%) NVIDIA