Network Engineer Contract Job Trends in the South East
Network Engineer
England > South East
The median Network Engineer daily rate in the South East is £463, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 23 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 23 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 152 | 80 | 56 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -72 | -24 | +19 |
| Contract Network Engineer jobs | 79 | 98 | 154 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the South East | 1.19% | 2.68% | 3.61% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 1.31% | 3.00% | 3.92% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 53 | 87 | 89 |
| 10th Percentile | £239 | £297 | £293 |
| 25th Percentile | £363 | £431 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £463 | £500 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -7.50% | - | +17.65% |
| 75th Percentile | £538 | £563 | £588 |
| 90th Percentile | £575 | £613 | £638 |
| England median daily rate | £475 | £487 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | -2.51% | -0.56% | +8.89% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 10th Percentile | £51.21 | £29.40 | £17.80 |
| 25th Percentile | £55.66 | £45.00 | £18.06 |
| Median hourly rate | £67.88 | £77.00 | £19.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -11.85% | +305.26% | -24.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £78.75 | £86.32 | £20.95 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £88.30 | £21.82 |
| England median hourly rate | £68.75 | £34.00 | £20.38 |
| % change year-on-year | +102.21% | +66.87% | -67.40% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
South East
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 23 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title | 6,034 | 3,272 | 3,931 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.12% | 89.42% | 92.26% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 3,348 | 2,121 | 2,361 |
| 10th Percentile | £281 | £204 | £250 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £375 | £400 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £510 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -1.96% | -0.49% |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £588 | £625 |
| 90th Percentile | £725 | £663 | £688 |
| England median daily rate | £525 | £510 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | +2.94% | -2.86% | -2.78% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 877 | 309 | 231 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.99 | £13.00 | £16.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £20.43 | £15.50 | £27.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £47.50 | £20.71 | £58.05 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +129.36% | -64.32% | +12.36% |
| 75th Percentile | £71.25 | £50.00 | £73.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £88.00 | £71.00 | £75.16 |
| England median hourly rate | £41.71 | £25.15 | £42.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +65.84% | -40.82% | -7.49% |
Network Engineer Job Vacancy Trend in the South East
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Network Engineer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.
Network Engineer Daily Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Network Engineer job vacancies in the South East.
Network Engineer Daily Rate Histogram in the South East
Daily rate distribution for Network Engineer jobs in the South East over the 6 months to 23 October 2026.
Network Engineer Hourly Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Network Engineer job vacancies in the South East.
Network Engineer Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East
Hourly rate distribution for Network Engineer jobs in the South East over the 6 months to 23 October 2026.
Network Engineer 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 Network Engineer jobs within the South East region over the 6 months to 23 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thames Valley | -27 | 53 | £463 | +2.78% | 32 |
| Berkshire | -27 | 34 | £400 | -15.79% | 16 |
| Buckinghamshire | -12 | 13 | £560 | - | 10 |
| Hampshire | -69 | 13 | £525 | +5.00% | 23 |
| Oxfordshire | -23 | 6 | £490 | +15.29% | 6 |
| Surrey | -13 | 5 | £425 | -17.07% | 18 |
| East Sussex | +1 | 2 | - | - | 7 |
| West Sussex | -26 | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| Isle of Wight | - | 2 | - | - | |
| Sussex | - | 2 | £236 | - | 2 |
| Network Engineer England |
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Network Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East
For the 6 months to 23 October 2026, Network Engineer contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Network Engineer job ads across the South East region.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Security Cleared | 48.1% | 38 |
| 2 | Cisco | 45.6% | 36 |
| 3 | Firewall | 41.8% | 33 |
| 4 | LAN | 34.2% | 27 |
| 5 | Palo Alto | 30.4% | 24 |
| 6 | WAN | 29.1% | 23 |
| 7 | SC Cleared | 27.8% | 22 |
| 8 | VMware | 26.6% | 21 |
| 9 | Network Security | 25.3% | 20 |
| 10 | DNS | 24.1% | 19 |
| 11 | VPN | 20.3% | 16 |
| 12 | DHCP | 19.0% | 15 |
| 12 | DV Cleared | 19.0% | 15 |
| 12 | ITIL | 19.0% | 15 |
| 15 | BGP | 17.7% | 14 |
| 15 | Juniper | 17.7% | 14 |
| 15 | Network Monitoring | 17.7% | 14 |
| 15 | VMware Infrastructure | 17.7% | 14 |
| 19 | Cisco Certification | 16.5% | 13 |
| 20 | Cisco ASA | 15.2% | 12 |
| 20 | Fortinet | 15.2% | 12 |
| 20 | Windows | 15.2% | 12 |
| 23 | Cisco Firepower | 13.9% | 11 |
| 23 | IPsec | 13.9% | 11 |
| 23 | Linux | 13.9% | 11 |
| 23 | SolarWinds | 13.9% | 11 |
| 23 | SSL | 13.9% | 11 |
| 23 | Wireless | 13.9% | 11 |
| 29 | CheckPoint | 12.7% | 10 |
| 29 | SD-WAN | 12.7% | 10 |
Network Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC Cleared Network Engineer | 19.0% | 15 |
| 2 | DV Cleared Network Engineer | 15.2% | 12 |
| 3 | Senior Network Engineer | 13.9% | 11 |
| 4 | Network Security Engineer | 10.1% | 8 |
| 5 | Cisco Network Engineer | 8.9% | 7 |
| 6 | Network Systems Engineer | 6.3% | 5 |
| 7 | LAN Engineer | 5.1% | 4 |
| 7 | Test Engineer | 5.1% | 4 |
| 9 | Network Infrastructure Engineer | 3.8% | 3 |
| 9 | NOC Engineer | 3.8% | 3 |
| 9 | WAN Engineer | 3.8% | 3 |
| 12 | Associate Engineer | 2.5% | 2 |
| 12 | Cybersecurity Engineer | 2.5% | 2 |
| 12 | Junior Network Engineer | 2.5% | 2 |
| 12 | Network Implementation Engineer | 2.5% | 2 |
| 16 | 3rd Line Network Engineer | 1.3% | 1 |
| 16 | Data Centre Infrastructure Engineer | 1.3% | 1 |
| 16 | Data Network Engineer | 1.3% | 1 |
| 16 | Firewall Engineer | 1.3% | 1 |
| 16 | Infoblox Engineer | 1.3% | 1 |