Linux Contract Job Trends in the South East

Linux
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South East requiring Linux skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 14 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 41 26 29
Rank change year-on-year -15 +3 -11
Contract jobs citing Linux 331 239 293
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 5.02% 6.67% 6.87%
As % of the Operating Systems category 43.38% 37.34% 38.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 230 172 180
10th Percentile £275 £204 £341
25th Percentile £450 £363 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £537 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +12.99% -5.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £610 £551 £608
90th Percentile £650 £600 £651
England median daily rate £525 £520 £550
% change year-on-year +0.99% -5.48% -1.79%
Number of hourly rates quoted 28 8 18
10th Percentile £44.55 - £46.11
25th Percentile £59.94 £12.50 £63.63
Median hourly rate £60.00 £13.00 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +361.54% -81.43% +4.07%
75th Percentile £67.47 £25.19 -
90th Percentile £70.78 £76.23 £71.13
England median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £67.50
% change year-on-year - -3.70% +8.00%

All Operating Systems
South East

Linux falls under the Operating Systems category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring operating system skills in the South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for operating system skills 763 640 764
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 11.56% 17.86% 17.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 498 454 504
10th Percentile £204 £190 £200
25th Percentile £307 £219 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £480 £438 £450
Median % change year-on-year +9.71% -2.78% +5.88%
75th Percentile £579 £538 £583
90th Percentile £638 £602 £650
England median daily rate £465 £450 £475
% change year-on-year +3.33% -5.26% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 79 54 33
10th Percentile £16.00 £12.50 £23.05
25th Percentile £21.04 £15.50 £35.58
Median hourly rate £32.50 £18.87 £58.49
Median % change year-on-year +72.23% -67.74% +1.72%
75th Percentile £60.00 £25.15 £70.00
90th Percentile £67.47 £76.18 -
England median hourly rate £32.29 £24.00 £61.97
% change year-on-year +34.54% -61.27% +28.03%

Linux
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Linux relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Linux job vacancy trend in the South East

Linux
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Linux.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Linux

Linux
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Linux in the South East over the 6 months to 14 October 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Linux in the South East

Linux
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Linux.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Linux

Linux
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Linux in the South East over the 6 months to 14 October 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Linux in the South East

Linux
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 Linux within the South East region over the 6 months to 14 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 -8 159 £536 +12.93% 137
Hampshire -5 116 £550 +7.32% 89
Berkshire -24 72 £500 +14.29% 67
Buckinghamshire +11 55 £580 +5.45% 23
Surrey -22 37 £455 +119.28% 46
Oxfordshire +2 32 £525 +37.70% 51
West Sussex -19 11 £425 -15.00% 24
Middlesex -16 6 £198 -
Sussex -3 2 - - 3
Home Counties - 1 £600 -
Linux
England

Linux
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 9 (2.72%) Apache
2 8 (2.42%) nginx
3 7 (2.11%) Confluence
3 7 (2.11%) IIS
4 6 (1.81%) Apache Airflow
4 6 (1.81%) OpenStack
5 4 (1.21%) Tomcat
6 2 (0.60%) JBoss
6 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Exchange
6 2 (0.60%) SharePoint
6 2 (0.60%) WebSphere
6 2 (0.60%) WebSphere Application Server
7 1 (0.30%) Oracle Service Bus
7 1 (0.30%) SAS
7 1 (0.30%) WebLogic
Applications
1 3 (0.91%) Houdini
1 3 (0.91%) NUKE
2 2 (0.60%) Adobe Creative Suite
3 1 (0.30%) CINEMA 4D
3 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Excel
3 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Office
3 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Project
3 1 (0.30%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 1 (0.30%) Oracle ERP
Cloud Services
1 111 (33.53%) Azure
2 70 (21.15%) AWS
3 43 (12.99%) Entra ID
4 27 (8.16%) OpenShift
5 21 (6.34%) Azure Monitor
6 20 (6.04%) Microsoft 365
7 18 (5.44%) Azure Sentinel
7 18 (5.44%) GCP
8 9 (2.72%) Azure DevOps
8 9 (2.72%) IaaS
9 8 (2.42%) GitHub
9 8 (2.42%) SaaS
10 7 (2.11%) GitHub Actions
10 7 (2.11%) PaaS
11 6 (1.81%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 4 (1.21%) Cloudflare
12 4 (1.21%) Serverless
13 3 (0.91%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 3 (0.91%) Amazon EKS
13 3 (0.91%) Sauce Labs
Communications & Networking
1 49 (14.80%) DNS
2 44 (13.29%) Firewall
3 40 (12.08%) DHCP
4 33 (9.97%) VPN
5 24 (7.25%) TCP/IP
6 21 (6.34%) Network Security
7 12 (3.63%) LAN
7 12 (3.63%) SSH
8 10 (3.02%) Software-Defined Radio
8 10 (3.02%) WAN
8 10 (3.02%) Wireless
9 8 (2.42%) Cisco ASA
9 8 (2.42%) Cisco Firepower
9 8 (2.42%) SSL
10 7 (2.11%) LTE
11 6 (1.81%) 5G
11 6 (1.81%) Diameter Protocol
11 6 (1.81%) Radio Access Network
11 6 (1.81%) VoWiFi
11 6 (1.81%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (5.44%) Oracle Database
2 15 (4.53%) SQL Server
3 10 (3.02%) MySQL
4 8 (2.42%) DataStage
5 5 (1.51%) Relational Database
6 4 (1.21%) Elasticsearch
6 4 (1.21%) Oracle Database 11g
7 3 (0.91%) Oracle Database 12c
8 2 (0.60%) Data Warehouse
8 2 (0.60%) Oracle Database 10g
8 2 (0.60%) PostgreSQL
9 1 (0.30%) Amazon RDS
9 1 (0.30%) Amazon Redshift
9 1 (0.30%) Azure SQL Database
9 1 (0.30%) IBM InfoSphere
9 1 (0.30%) MongoDB
9 1 (0.30%) Oracle ODI
9 1 (0.30%) Pentaho
9 1 (0.30%) SQLite
9 1 (0.30%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 24 (7.25%) GitLab
1 24 (7.25%) JIRA
2 21 (6.34%) Git
3 18 (5.44%) Jenkins
4 6 (1.81%) MLflow
5 5 (1.51%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 5 (1.51%) Bitbucket
6 4 (1.21%) SonarQube
7 3 (0.91%) Android Studio
7 3 (0.91%) Browser DevTools
7 3 (0.91%) Eclipse
7 3 (0.91%) Xcode
8 1 (0.30%) Jaeger
8 1 (0.30%) MSI
8 1 (0.30%) Octopus Deploy
8 1 (0.30%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.30%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 62 (18.73%) Social Skills
2 33 (9.97%) Analytical Skills
3 20 (6.04%) Public Sector
4 13 (3.93%) Documentation Skills
5 11 (3.32%) Aerospace
6 6 (1.81%) Finance
6 6 (1.81%) Military
7 5 (1.51%) Retail
8 4 (1.21%) Organisational Skills
9 3 (0.91%) Manufacturing
9 3 (0.91%) Telecoms
10 2 (0.60%) Electronics
11 1 (0.30%) Automotive
11 1 (0.30%) Banking
11 1 (0.30%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 1 (0.30%) Legal
Job Titles
1 47 (14.20%) Senior
2 44 (13.29%) Infrastructure Engineer
3 42 (12.69%) Linux Engineer
4 24 (7.25%) Architect
5 23 (6.95%) Platform Engineer
5 23 (6.95%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
6 19 (5.74%) Support Engineer
7 18 (5.44%) Developer
8 17 (5.14%) Embedded Engineer
9 16 (4.83%) Software Engineer
10 15 (4.53%) Analyst
10 15 (4.53%) Cloud Engineer
11 12 (3.63%) DevSecOps Engineer
11 12 (3.63%) Linux Infrastructure Engineer
11 12 (3.63%) Systems Engineer
12 11 (3.32%) Embedded Software Engineer
12 11 (3.32%) Technical Engineer
12 11 (3.32%) Technical Support
12 11 (3.32%) Technical Support Engineer
13 10 (3.02%) Network Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 76 (22.96%) Terraform
2 18 (5.44%) ARM Templates
3 15 (4.53%) LDAP
4 10 (3.02%) Kafka
4 10 (3.02%) YAML
4 10 (3.02%) Yocto
5 9 (2.72%) OpenTofu
6 5 (1.51%) 802.1X
6 5 (1.51%) GraphQL
6 5 (1.51%) REST
7 4 (1.21%) gRPC
7 4 (1.21%) Keycloak
7 4 (1.21%) Middleware
7 4 (1.21%) Protocol Buffers
7 4 (1.21%) RESTful
8 3 (0.91%) Ajax
8 3 (0.91%) CSS
8 3 (0.91%) LAMP
8 3 (0.91%) React
8 3 (0.91%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 45 (13.60%) Onboarding
2 26 (7.85%) Hybrid Cloud
3 20 (6.04%) Management Information System
4 18 (5.44%) Embedded Systems
4 18 (5.44%) PKI
4 18 (5.44%) Product Ownership
5 14 (4.23%) Cloud Native
6 13 (3.93%) Data Centre
6 13 (3.93%) Device Driver
6 13 (3.93%) Operational Technology
6 13 (3.93%) Public Cloud
7 12 (3.63%) SCADA
8 11 (3.32%) ARM Cortex
9 10 (3.02%) Enterprise Cloud
10 9 (2.72%) MicroBlaze
10 9 (2.72%) RISC-V
11 6 (1.81%) Cyber Defence
12 5 (1.51%) Social Media
13 4 (1.21%) Mobile Payment
13 4 (1.21%) Smartcard
Operating Systems
1 165 (49.85%) Windows
2 56 (16.92%) Windows Server
3 55 (16.62%) Unix
4 52 (15.71%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 23 (6.95%) Ubuntu
6 18 (5.44%) CentOS
7 17 (5.14%) Embedded Linux
7 17 (5.14%) Windows 10
8 8 (2.42%) Debian
9 7 (2.11%) Oracle Linux
10 6 (1.81%) macOS
10 6 (1.81%) Rocky
11 3 (0.91%) Android
11 3 (0.91%) Solaris
12 2 (0.60%) AIX
12 2 (0.60%) HPUX
12 2 (0.60%) Windows Server 2012
12 2 (0.60%) Windows Server 2019
13 1 (0.30%) Data ONTAP
Processes & Methodologies
1 75 (22.66%) CI/CD
2 61 (18.43%) Infrastructure Engineering
3 60 (18.13%) DevOps
4 56 (16.92%) Infrastructure as Code
5 51 (15.41%) Cybersecurity
6 49 (14.80%) Agile
6 49 (14.80%) ITIL
7 44 (13.29%) Problem-Solving
8 43 (12.99%) Platform Engineering
9 41 (12.39%) Containerisation
10 39 (11.78%) Continuous Improvement
11 37 (11.18%) Software Engineering
12 35 (10.57%) SIEM
13 32 (9.67%) DevSecOps
14 31 (9.37%) ITSM
15 28 (8.46%) Computer Science
16 27 (8.16%) Disaster Recovery
16 27 (8.16%) High Availability
16 27 (8.16%) Migration
17 26 (7.85%) Security Hardening
Programming Languages
1 98 (29.61%) Python
2 85 (25.68%) PowerShell
3 75 (22.66%) Bash
4 29 (8.76%) C
5 19 (5.74%) SQL
6 18 (5.44%) Bicep
7 17 (5.14%) C++
7 17 (5.14%) Shell Script
8 11 (3.32%) JavaScript
9 10 (3.02%) Java
10 8 (2.42%) Perl
11 7 (2.11%) PL/SQL
12 4 (1.21%) Embedded C++
12 4 (1.21%) Rust
13 3 (0.91%) Embedded C
14 2 (0.60%) Scala
14 2 (0.60%) TypeScript
14 2 (0.60%) VBScript
15 1 (0.30%) Ada
15 1 (0.30%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 195 (58.91%) Security Cleared
2 114 (34.44%) SC Cleared
3 92 (27.79%) DV Cleared
4 45 (13.60%) Degree
5 15 (4.53%) Cisco Certification
6 13 (3.93%) CISM
6 13 (3.93%) CISSP
7 11 (3.32%) Computer Science Degree
8 10 (3.02%) (ISC)2 CCSP
8 10 (3.02%) RHCE
9 8 (2.42%) BPSS Clearance
9 8 (2.42%) GIAC
9 8 (2.42%) ISTQB
9 8 (2.42%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
10 6 (1.81%) CESG Certified Professional
10 6 (1.81%) CRISC
11 5 (1.51%) AWS Certification
11 5 (1.51%) Azure Certification
11 5 (1.51%) RHCSA
11 5 (1.51%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (10.57%) NIST
2 29 (8.76%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 11 (3.32%) Cyber Essentials
3 11 (3.32%) SLA
4 10 (3.02%) ISO 31000
5 6 (1.81%) GDPR
5 6 (1.81%) GRC
5 6 (1.81%) NCSC
6 5 (1.51%) PCI DSS
7 4 (1.21%) ISO 9001
7 4 (1.21%) ISO/IEC 27005
8 3 (0.91%) JSP 440
8 3 (0.91%) QA
9 2 (0.60%) Data Quality
9 2 (0.60%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.30%) NIST 800
10 1 (0.30%) OpenSCAP
System Software
1 86 (25.98%) Active Directory
2 39 (11.78%) Docker
3 38 (11.48%) VMware Infrastructure
4 17 (5.14%) Hyper-V
4 17 (5.14%) VMware ESXi
5 16 (4.83%) VMware NSX
6 14 (4.23%) Firmware
7 10 (3.02%) Embedded Firmware
8 6 (1.81%) Virtual Machines
9 5 (1.51%) Oracle RAC
9 5 (1.51%) vSphere
10 4 (1.21%) ISA Server
10 4 (1.21%) KVM
10 4 (1.21%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 4 (1.21%) Virtual Servers
11 3 (0.91%) Dovecot
11 3 (0.91%) Postfix
12 2 (0.60%) Virtual Desktop
13 1 (0.30%) Corosync
13 1 (0.30%) UAG
Systems Management
1 69 (20.85%) Ansible
1 69 (20.85%) Kubernetes
2 16 (4.83%) Grafana
2 16 (4.83%) Prometheus
2 16 (4.83%) SCCM
3 14 (4.23%) Puppet
4 12 (3.63%) Microsoft Intune
5 10 (3.02%) vCenter Server
6 9 (2.72%) Red Hat Satellite
7 8 (2.42%) Progress Chef
8 7 (2.11%) Oracle RMAN
8 7 (2.11%) Podman
9 6 (1.81%) Packer
10 5 (1.51%) Data Guard
10 5 (1.51%) SCOM
11 4 (1.21%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 4 (1.21%) CASB
11 4 (1.21%) Istio
11 4 (1.21%) NetBackup
11 4 (1.21%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 86 (25.98%) Microsoft
2 66 (19.94%) VMware
3 41 (12.39%) Oracle
3 41 (12.39%) Red Hat
4 22 (6.65%) ServiceNow
5 20 (6.04%) Cisco
6 18 (5.44%) CyberArk
7 17 (5.14%) CrowdStrike
8 16 (4.83%) Citrix
9 15 (4.53%) Splunk
10 14 (4.23%) BeyondTrust
11 13 (3.93%) Google
11 13 (3.93%) Palo Alto
12 11 (3.32%) IBM
13 10 (3.02%) SolarWinds
14 8 (2.42%) F5
15 7 (2.11%) Nokia
15 7 (2.11%) Tenable
16 6 (1.81%) Ericsson
16 6 (1.81%) Huawei