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

6 months to
10 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 20 28 25
Rank change year-on-year +8 -3 -10
Contract jobs citing Degree 464 228 306
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.12% 6.38% 7.07%
As % of the Qualifications category 16.34% 16.16% 17.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 241 126 198
10th Percentile £189 £206 £202
25th Percentile £305 £328 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £450 £453
Median % change year-on-year +16.67% -0.55% -9.50%
75th Percentile £588 £572 £589
90th Percentile £700 £638 £632
England median daily rate £513 £500 £500
% change year-on-year +2.50% - -5.66%
Number of hourly rates quoted 91 31 22
10th Percentile £20.13 £21.50 £22.73
25th Percentile £31.25 £23.83 £31.94
Median hourly rate £52.50 £29.61 £51.44
Median % change year-on-year +77.30% -42.44% -8.55%
75th Percentile £70.00 £81.00 £75.00
90th Percentile £82.37 £89.63 £91.80
England median hourly rate £38.72 £34.75 £50.00
% change year-on-year +11.42% -30.50% +4.17%

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 2,839 1,411 1,782
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.56% 39.51% 41.18%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,851 918 1,133
10th Percentile £330 £204 £313
25th Percentile £463 £400 £415
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £500 £538
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -6.98% +0.33%
75th Percentile £638 £588 £638
90th Percentile £738 £650 £700
England median daily rate £535 £525 £525
% change year-on-year +1.90% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 332 131 110
10th Percentile £18.25 - £22.39
25th Percentile £33.70 £18.87 £35.00
Median hourly rate £62.25 £25.15 £60.83
Median % change year-on-year +147.51% -58.66% +1.38%
75th Percentile £85.06 £54.38 £73.75
90th Percentile £100.76 £81.00 £92.04
England median hourly rate £49.50 £25.15 £52.50
% change year-on-year +96.82% -52.10% -2.36%

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 October 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 October 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 October 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 +10 253 £550 +22.22% 783
Berkshire +10 161 £550 +22.22% 361
Hampshire -1 97 £550 +13.17% 377
Surrey +14 69 £450 +109.30% 194
Oxfordshire -1 52 £405 -10.00% 256
Buckinghamshire -10 40 £531 +67.32% 170
Kent +11 17 £250 - 73
West Sussex -23 15 £305 +5.90% 134
Sussex +1 3 £275 - 22
Middlesex - 3 £334 - 11
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 28 (6.03%) SharePoint
2 14 (3.02%) Confluence
3 5 (1.08%) IIS
3 5 (1.08%) Microsoft Exchange
4 4 (0.86%) FactoryTalk
5 2 (0.43%) Apache Airflow
6 1 (0.22%) Adobe Experience Manager
6 1 (0.22%) CMS
6 1 (0.22%) Headless CMS
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle Service Bus
6 1 (0.22%) WebLogic
Applications
1 59 (12.72%) Microsoft Office
2 55 (11.85%) Microsoft Excel
3 27 (5.82%) Microsoft Project
4 25 (5.39%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.86%) MS Visio
6 3 (0.65%) Revit
7 2 (0.43%) AutoCAD
7 2 (0.43%) MicroStation
8 1 (0.22%) CATIA
8 1 (0.22%) Chatbot
8 1 (0.22%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 6 (1.29%) Salesforce CRM
2 5 (1.08%) SAP S/4HANA
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%) SAP CAR
6 1 (0.22%) SAP CRM
6 1 (0.22%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 108 (23.28%) Azure
2 43 (9.27%) AWS
2 43 (9.27%) Entra ID
3 39 (8.41%) Microsoft 365
4 25 (5.39%) GCP
5 23 (4.96%) SaaS
6 19 (4.09%) Azure DevOps
6 19 (4.09%) Power Platform
7 13 (2.80%) OneDrive
8 11 (2.37%) Serverless
9 9 (1.94%) IaaS
10 6 (1.29%) Power Automate
11 5 (1.08%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 5 (1.08%) Azure Functions
11 5 (1.08%) Azure Logic Apps
11 5 (1.08%) Azure Monitor
11 5 (1.08%) Dynamics 365
11 5 (1.08%) PowerApps
11 5 (1.08%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
12 4 (0.86%) Smartsheet
Communications & Networking
1 28 (6.03%) TCP/IP
2 24 (5.17%) DNS
3 20 (4.31%) DHCP
4 18 (3.88%) Firewall
5 12 (2.59%) Network Security
5 12 (2.59%) VPN
6 7 (1.51%) SSH
6 7 (1.51%) VLAN
7 6 (1.29%) LAN
8 4 (0.86%) BGP
8 4 (0.86%) MQTT
8 4 (0.86%) OSPF
8 4 (0.86%) Software-Defined Networking
8 4 (0.86%) WAN
8 4 (0.86%) Wi-Fi
8 4 (0.86%) Wireshark
9 3 (0.65%) Cisco Firepower
9 3 (0.65%) Cisco Nexus
9 3 (0.65%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
9 3 (0.65%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (4.31%) Metadata
2 17 (3.66%) Power BI
3 13 (2.80%) Relational Database
4 8 (1.72%) SQL Server
5 7 (1.51%) PostgreSQL
6 6 (1.29%) MySQL
6 6 (1.29%) Tableau
7 5 (1.08%) GIS
8 4 (0.86%) Data Warehouse
8 4 (0.86%) Elasticsearch
9 1 (0.22%) Amazon RDS
9 1 (0.22%) BigQuery
9 1 (0.22%) Data Mining
9 1 (0.22%) DynamoDB
9 1 (0.22%) NoSQL
9 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database
9 1 (0.22%) Oracle Database 12c
9 1 (0.22%) Redis
9 1 (0.22%) Tableau Desktop
9 1 (0.22%) Tableau Server
Development Applications
1 23 (4.96%) JIRA
2 13 (2.80%) Git
3 6 (1.29%) GitLab
4 5 (1.08%) Rational DOORS
5 4 (0.86%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.65%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.65%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.65%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.65%) Xcode
7 2 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.22%) CircleCI
8 1 (0.22%) MSI
8 1 (0.22%) Octopus Deploy
8 1 (0.22%) Visual Studio Code
8 1 (0.22%) XCTest
8 1 (0.22%) XCUITest
General
1 211 (45.47%) Social Skills
2 102 (21.98%) Analytical Skills
3 69 (14.87%) Aerospace
4 54 (11.64%) Public Sector
5 53 (11.42%) Finance
6 37 (7.97%) Manufacturing
7 24 (5.17%) Organisational Skills
8 20 (4.31%) Documentation Skills
9 17 (3.66%) Influencing Skills
10 15 (3.23%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 15 (3.23%) Marketing
11 14 (3.02%) Pharmaceutical
12 13 (2.80%) Military
13 11 (2.37%) Law
13 11 (2.37%) Telecoms
14 10 (2.16%) Automotive
15 9 (1.94%) French Language
15 9 (1.94%) Games
16 8 (1.72%) Presentation Skills
16 8 (1.72%) Retail
Job Titles
1 53 (11.42%) Analyst
1 53 (11.42%) Senior
2 34 (7.33%) Lead
3 30 (6.47%) Delivery Manager
4 22 (4.74%) Architect
5 21 (4.53%) IT Manager
5 21 (4.53%) Senior Manager
6 20 (4.31%) Project Manager
7 19 (4.09%) IT Support
7 19 (4.09%) Product Delivery Manager
7 19 (4.09%) Product Manager
8 16 (3.45%) Senior IT Manager
9 15 (3.23%) Category Manager
9 15 (3.23%) IT Services Manager
9 15 (3.23%) Senior Category Manager
9 15 (3.23%) Senior Service Manager
9 15 (3.23%) Test Manager
10 14 (3.02%) Business Analyst
10 14 (3.02%) Data Analyst
11 11 (2.37%) Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (5.17%) OAuth
2 23 (4.96%) OpenID
3 19 (4.09%) SAML
4 18 (3.88%) LDAP
4 18 (3.88%) SailPoint
5 17 (3.66%) OAuth2
6 15 (3.23%) Oracle Fusion
6 15 (3.23%) Terraform
7 13 (2.80%) Web Services
8 11 (2.37%) CSS
8 11 (2.37%) Middleware
8 11 (2.37%) React
8 11 (2.37%) RESTful
9 10 (2.16%) .NET
10 8 (1.72%) HTML
11 7 (1.51%) ARM Templates
12 6 (1.29%) Django
12 6 (1.29%) REST
13 5 (1.08%) XML
14 4 (0.86%) Kafka
Miscellaneous
1 58 (12.50%) Management Information System
2 34 (7.33%) Product Ownership
3 28 (6.03%) Onboarding
4 21 (4.53%) Data Centre
5 19 (4.09%) SCADA
6 18 (3.88%) Operational Technology
7 16 (3.45%) Self-Motivation
8 15 (3.23%) Cloud Native
9 14 (3.02%) Hybrid Cloud
9 14 (3.02%) Life Science
10 12 (2.59%) Virtual Team
11 9 (1.94%) Animation
11 9 (1.94%) Data Structures
11 9 (1.94%) Interactive Media
11 9 (1.94%) PMI
12 8 (1.72%) Embedded Systems
12 8 (1.72%) Graphic Design
12 8 (1.72%) Security Posture
13 7 (1.51%) Enterprise Software
14 6 (1.29%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 63 (13.58%) Windows
2 44 (9.48%) Linux
3 22 (4.74%) Unix
4 21 (4.53%) Windows Server
5 14 (3.02%) Apple iOS
5 14 (3.02%) Mac OS
6 8 (1.72%) Windows 10
7 6 (1.29%) Android
8 1 (0.22%) Solaris
8 1 (0.22%) VMS
8 1 (0.22%) Windows 7
8 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 153 (32.97%) Computer Science
2 121 (26.08%) Stakeholder Management
3 119 (25.65%) Problem-Solving
4 118 (25.43%) Agile
4 118 (25.43%) Continuous Improvement
5 97 (20.91%) ITIL
6 75 (16.16%) Project Management
7 72 (15.52%) PRINCE2
8 68 (14.66%) ITSM
9 67 (14.44%) Roadmaps
10 63 (13.58%) Decision-Making
11 59 (12.72%) Service Management
12 58 (12.50%) Cybersecurity
13 52 (11.21%) AI
13 52 (11.21%) Change Management
13 52 (11.21%) DevOps
14 50 (10.78%) Project Delivery
15 49 (10.56%) Analytics
15 49 (10.56%) CI/CD
16 43 (9.27%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 67 (14.44%) Python
2 43 (9.27%) PowerShell
3 25 (5.39%) SQL
4 18 (3.88%) JavaScript
5 12 (2.59%) Java
6 9 (1.94%) Bash
7 7 (1.51%) Bicep
7 7 (1.51%) C#
8 6 (1.29%) Shell Script
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 1 (0.22%) C++
12 1 (0.22%) Objective-C
12 1 (0.22%) PL/SQL
12 1 (0.22%) Swift
12 1 (0.22%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 185 (39.87%) Security Cleared
2 133 (28.66%) SC Cleared
3 67 (14.44%) Computer Science Degree
4 39 (8.41%) DV Cleared
5 30 (6.47%) Microsoft Certification
6 29 (6.25%) PMI Certification
7 28 (6.03%) Master's Degree
8 25 (5.39%) Azure Certification
8 25 (5.39%) CISSP
9 23 (4.96%) PMP
10 22 (4.74%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
11 19 (4.09%) BPSS Clearance
12 17 (3.66%) Cisco Certification
13 16 (3.45%) ISTQB
14 14 (3.02%) CISM
15 11 (2.37%) AWS Certification
16 10 (2.16%) (ISC)2 CCSP
16 10 (2.16%) PhD
17 7 (1.51%) CISA
17 7 (1.51%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (7.76%) NIST
2 34 (7.33%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 26 (5.60%) QA
4 24 (5.17%) Data Quality
5 15 (3.23%) GDPR
6 14 (3.02%) PMO
7 10 (2.16%) ISO 31000
8 9 (1.94%) NCSC
9 8 (1.72%) Accessibility
10 7 (1.51%) GRC
10 7 (1.51%) ISO 9001
10 7 (1.51%) SLA
11 5 (1.08%) Cyber Essentials
11 5 (1.08%) ISO/IEC 27005
11 5 (1.08%) PCI DSS
12 4 (0.86%) 21 CFR Part 11
12 4 (0.86%) GxP
13 2 (0.43%) DO-254
13 2 (0.43%) ISO 19650
13 2 (0.43%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 50 (10.78%) Active Directory
2 21 (4.53%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (3.66%) Docker
4 7 (1.51%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.08%) Firmware
5 5 (1.08%) Hyper-V
6 4 (0.86%) ISA Server
7 3 (0.65%) Embedded Firmware
7 3 (0.65%) OpenAM
7 3 (0.65%) vSphere
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle RAC
8 1 (0.22%) UAG
8 1 (0.22%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 20 (4.31%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (3.45%) Kubernetes
3 12 (2.59%) Ansible
4 10 (2.16%) Jamf Pro
5 7 (1.51%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.08%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 5 (1.08%) CASB
6 5 (1.08%) SCCM
7 4 (0.86%) Grafana
7 4 (0.86%) Podman
7 4 (0.86%) Prometheus
7 4 (0.86%) Puppet
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
1 142 (30.60%) Microsoft
2 35 (7.54%) Oracle
3 31 (6.68%) ServiceNow
4 27 (5.82%) SAP
5 25 (5.39%) VMware
6 15 (3.23%) Ariba
6 15 (3.23%) Cisco
6 15 (3.23%) Google
7 14 (3.02%) Salesforce
8 10 (2.16%) CyberArk
9 9 (1.94%) BeyondTrust
10 8 (1.72%) CrowdStrike
11 7 (1.51%) F5
11 7 (1.51%) Splunk
12 5 (1.08%) Workday
13 4 (0.86%) Centrify
13 4 (0.86%) IBM
13 4 (0.86%) NVIDIA
13 4 (0.86%) Palo Alto
13 4 (0.86%) Rockwell