Cisco Contract Job Trends

Cisco
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of Cisco products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Cisco over the 6 months leading up to 6 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

The figures below represent the IT contractor job market in general and are not representative of contractor rates within Cisco Systems, Inc.

6 months to
6 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 98 57 56
Rank change year-on-year -41 -1 +27
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,035 1,140 1,584
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.64% 3.66% 3.54%
As % of the Vendors category 5.84% 7.92% 8.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 708 702 950
10th Percentile £250 £286 £250
25th Percentile £361 £408 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -8.00% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £550 £588 £594
90th Percentile £608 £660 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £475
% change year-on-year - - +1.06%
Number of hourly rates quoted 39 24 87
10th Percentile £21.33 £18.13 £14.36
25th Percentile £25.15 £20.00 £23.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £24.66 £34.00
Median % change year-on-year +163.56% -27.47% +32.24%
75th Percentile £74.26 £48.75 £50.00
90th Percentile £94.00 £74.63 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £72.00 £20.38 £39.38
% change year-on-year +253.37% -48.25% +27.02%

All Vendors
UK

Cisco falls under the Vendor Products and Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of all vendor products and services.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 17,731 14,389 19,590
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 45.28% 46.18% 43.75%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,409 8,554 12,376
10th Percentile £300 £275 £255
25th Percentile £411 £408 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £523 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.31% -0.48% -2.33%
75th Percentile £608 £625 £631
90th Percentile £700 £713 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.60% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 849 421 919
10th Percentile £14.99 £15.62 £12.96
25th Percentile £17.87 £20.30 £15.50
Median hourly rate £23.83 £28.60 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year -16.70% -4.67% +5.26%
75th Percentile £55.00 £62.50 £59.71
90th Percentile £73.75 £80.10 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £26.13 £26.66
% change year-on-year -15.79% -2.01% +3.29%

Cisco
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Cisco relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Cisco job vacancy trend in the UK

Cisco
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Cisco.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Cisco

Cisco
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Cisco over the 6 months to 6 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Cisco in the UK

Cisco
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Cisco.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Cisco

Cisco
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Cisco over the 6 months to 6 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Cisco in the UK

Cisco
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Cisco within the UK over the 6 months to 6 February 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
England -43 850 £475 -5.00% 454
UK excluding London -22 692 £475 - 370
Work from Home -37 288 £450 -14.29% 136
London -74 241 £464 -10.82% 153
South East -2 206 £500 - 129
Midlands -2 150 £380 -13.14% 63
North of England -59 150 £481 -2.78% 72
West Midlands +12 132 £380 -13.14% 42
North West -18 120 £481 -3.27% 41
Scotland +43 84 £425 +6.25% 25
South West -49 51 £550 +15.79% 38
East of England -19 35 £460 -3.16% 42
Yorkshire -81 23 £450 +5.88% 24
Wales -2 20 £170 -49.82% 6
East Midlands -30 17 £158 -65.00% 21
Northern Ireland +7 14 £475 - 3
North East -14 9 £175 -64.10% 7

Cisco
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 50 (4.83%) SharePoint
2 39 (3.77%) Microsoft Exchange
3 19 (1.84%) Confluence
4 14 (1.35%) Skype for Business
5 10 (0.97%) Apache
6 7 (0.68%) Appian
6 7 (0.68%) Mattermost
6 7 (0.68%) OpenStack
7 5 (0.48%) IIS
7 5 (0.48%) SharePoint Server
8 4 (0.39%) WebLogic
9 1 (0.097%) JBoss
9 1 (0.097%) WebSphere
Applications
1 74 (7.15%) Microsoft Office
2 45 (4.35%) MS Visio
3 21 (2.03%) Microsoft Excel
4 15 (1.45%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.48%) Acrobat
5 5 (0.48%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.097%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.097%) OmniGraffle
Business Applications
1 22 (2.13%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.29%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.097%) Actimize
3 1 (0.097%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 160 (15.46%) Azure
2 143 (13.82%) AWS
3 91 (8.79%) Microsoft 365
4 41 (3.96%) GCP
5 31 (3.00%) Entra ID
6 19 (1.84%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 14 (1.35%) Datadog
8 11 (1.06%) AWS CloudFormation
8 11 (1.06%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 10 (0.97%) AWS Lambda
9 10 (0.97%) Azure Sentinel
9 10 (0.97%) OpenShift
9 10 (0.97%) SaaS
9 10 (0.97%) Serverless
10 9 (0.87%) Nutanix
11 7 (0.68%) Mimecast
11 7 (0.68%) OneDrive
11 7 (0.68%) PaaS
11 7 (0.68%) Tricentis Tosca
12 6 (0.58%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 397 (38.36%) Firewall
2 283 (27.34%) WAN
3 211 (20.39%) VPN
4 207 (20.00%) LAN
5 188 (18.16%) BGP
6 167 (16.14%) Network Security
7 156 (15.07%) Wireless
8 134 (12.95%) OSPF
9 128 (12.37%) SD-WAN
10 104 (10.05%) DNS
11 96 (9.28%) MPLS
12 91 (8.79%) VLAN
13 87 (8.41%) Cisco ISE
14 75 (7.25%) Wi-Fi
15 70 (6.76%) Cisco Nexus
16 69 (6.67%) IPsec
17 67 (6.47%) Cisco IOS
18 64 (6.18%) Cisco ASA
19 60 (5.80%) TCP/IP
20 51 (4.93%) DHCP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (0.97%) SQL Server
2 5 (0.48%) DynamoDB
2 5 (0.48%) Power BI
3 3 (0.29%) Amazon Athena
4 2 (0.19%) MariaDB
5 1 (0.097%) Metadata
5 1 (0.097%) MySQL
5 1 (0.097%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.097%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 19 (1.84%) JIRA
2 16 (1.55%) GitLab
3 13 (1.26%) Sonatype Nexus
4 8 (0.77%) Jenkins
4 8 (0.77%) Robot Framework
5 7 (0.68%) Cucumber
5 7 (0.68%) Selenium
5 7 (0.68%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.29%) Git
7 2 (0.19%) Bitbucket
7 2 (0.19%) Rational DOORS
General
1 230 (22.22%) Social Skills
2 171 (16.52%) Public Sector
3 150 (14.49%) Finance
4 120 (11.59%) Telecoms
5 77 (7.44%) Analytical Skills
6 65 (6.28%) Manufacturing
7 58 (5.60%) Documentation Skills
8 48 (4.64%) Legal
9 45 (4.35%) Banking
9 45 (4.35%) Electronics
9 45 (4.35%) Marketing
10 15 (1.45%) Presentation Skills
11 13 (1.26%) Investment Banking
12 12 (1.16%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 11 (1.06%) Organisational Skills
14 10 (0.97%) Aerospace
15 8 (0.77%) Influencing Skills
15 8 (0.77%) Law
15 8 (0.77%) Retail
16 7 (0.68%) Military
Job Titles
1 366 (35.36%) Network Engineer
2 113 (10.92%) Architect
3 81 (7.83%) Cisco Engineer
4 74 (7.15%) Network Architect
5 68 (6.57%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 61 (5.89%) Analyst
6 61 (5.89%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
7 59 (5.70%) Senior
8 55 (5.31%) Security Engineer
9 54 (5.22%) Consultant
10 51 (4.93%) IT Support
11 47 (4.54%) Network Consultant
12 42 (4.06%) Support Engineer
13 37 (3.57%) Desktop Support
13 37 (3.57%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
14 34 (3.29%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 33 (3.19%) Network Security Engineer
16 31 (3.00%) Solutions Architect
17 26 (2.51%) 2nd Line Support
17 26 (2.51%) Infrastructure Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (3.38%) 802.1X
2 17 (1.64%) Flash
3 15 (1.45%) LDAP
3 15 (1.45%) XMPP
4 11 (1.06%) JSON
4 11 (1.06%) NETCONF
4 11 (1.06%) YANG
5 9 (0.87%) XML
6 8 (0.77%) Jinja
7 7 (0.68%) RFC 2544
7 7 (0.68%) SAML
8 5 (0.48%) Node.js
9 4 (0.39%) HTML
9 4 (0.39%) VML
10 3 (0.29%) OpenConfig
10 3 (0.29%) REST
11 2 (0.19%) ARM Templates
11 2 (0.19%) Django
11 2 (0.19%) Microsoft Graph
11 2 (0.19%) RESTCONF
Miscellaneous
1 266 (25.70%) Data Centre
2 42 (4.06%) PKI
3 34 (3.29%) Linux Command Line
4 32 (3.09%) Replication
5 29 (2.80%) Hybrid Cloud
6 28 (2.71%) Data Protection Act
6 28 (2.71%) Onboarding
7 27 (2.61%) Cloud Native
8 26 (2.51%) Driving Licence
9 21 (2.03%) Operational Technology
10 18 (1.74%) Self-Motivation
11 17 (1.64%) Security Posture
12 15 (1.45%) Video Conferencing
13 13 (1.26%) NHS
14 12 (1.16%) Product Ownership
15 11 (1.06%) CMDB
16 10 (0.97%) Clustering
16 10 (0.97%) Fibre Optics
16 10 (0.97%) Public Cloud
17 9 (0.87%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 173 (16.71%) Windows
2 112 (10.82%) Linux
3 77 (7.44%) Windows Server
4 54 (5.22%) Mac OS
5 52 (5.02%) Android
6 35 (3.38%) Windows 10
7 23 (2.22%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 14 (1.35%) Unix
9 6 (0.58%) Windows Server 2012
9 6 (0.58%) Windows Server 2016
10 5 (0.48%) Ubuntu
11 4 (0.39%) CatOS
11 4 (0.39%) Solaris
11 4 (0.39%) Windows Server 2019
12 2 (0.19%) VMS
13 1 (0.097%) CentOS
13 1 (0.097%) Oracle Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 138 (13.33%) Migration
2 124 (11.98%) Problem-Solving
3 92 (8.89%) Agile
4 87 (8.41%) Network Design
5 80 (7.73%) Roadmaps
6 75 (7.25%) Project Delivery
7 74 (7.15%) ITIL
7 74 (7.15%) ITSM
8 73 (7.05%) Cybersecurity
9 69 (6.67%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 66 (6.38%) High Availability
11 63 (6.09%) Network Architecture
12 61 (5.89%) Change Management
13 60 (5.80%) Service Management
14 59 (5.70%) Load Balancing
15 56 (5.41%) Collaborative Working
16 54 (5.22%) Business Intelligence
16 54 (5.22%) Disaster Recovery
17 53 (5.12%) Stakeholder Management
18 51 (4.93%) Infrastructure Engineering
Programming Languages
1 120 (11.59%) Python
2 63 (6.09%) PowerShell
3 36 (3.48%) Bash
4 23 (2.22%) Perl
5 22 (2.13%) SQL
6 15 (1.45%) JavaScript
7 8 (0.77%) Lisp
8 5 (0.48%) C++
8 5 (0.48%) Kusto Query Language
9 4 (0.39%) C
10 3 (0.29%) PHP
11 2 (0.19%) Korn
12 1 (0.097%) Java
12 1 (0.097%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 435 (42.03%) Security Cleared
2 346 (33.43%) SC Cleared
3 261 (25.22%) Cisco Certification
4 216 (20.87%) CCNP
5 107 (10.34%) DV Cleared
6 100 (9.66%) CCNA
7 76 (7.34%) Degree
8 75 (7.25%) CCIE
9 24 (2.32%) BPSS Clearance
9 24 (2.32%) ITIL Certification
10 23 (2.22%) Microsoft Certification
11 18 (1.74%) Azure Certification
11 18 (1.74%) JNCIS
12 16 (1.55%) AWS Certification
13 15 (1.45%) CISSP
13 15 (1.45%) MCSE
14 14 (1.35%) JNCIE
15 13 (1.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
16 12 (1.16%) CCDP
16 12 (1.16%) JNCIA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (3.48%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 27 (2.61%) SLA
3 25 (2.42%) NIST
4 20 (1.93%) Cyber Essentials
5 18 (1.74%) GDPR
6 16 (1.55%) PMO
7 15 (1.45%) PCI DSS
8 9 (0.87%) NCSC
9 5 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 5 (0.48%) QA
10 3 (0.29%) Disclosure Scotland
10 3 (0.29%) HIPAA
10 3 (0.29%) JSP 440
10 3 (0.29%) RMADS
11 1 (0.097%) Actionable Recommendations
11 1 (0.097%) Def Stans
11 1 (0.097%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.097%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 1 (0.097%) JTAG
11 1 (0.097%) MiFID
System Software
1 155 (14.98%) VMware Infrastructure
2 118 (11.40%) Active Directory
3 81 (7.83%) VMware NSX
4 60 (5.80%) vSphere
5 39 (3.77%) VMware ESXi
6 21 (2.03%) Virtual Machines
7 18 (1.74%) Docker
8 17 (1.64%) Firmware
8 17 (1.64%) GPFS
8 17 (1.64%) NFS
9 14 (1.35%) Hyper-V
10 5 (0.48%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 5 (0.48%) Snort
10 5 (0.48%) Virtual Servers
11 4 (0.39%) KVM
11 4 (0.39%) Squid
11 4 (0.39%) vCloud
11 4 (0.39%) Virtual Desktop
12 1 (0.097%) Xen
12 1 (0.097%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 93 (8.99%) Ansible
2 67 (6.47%) FortiGate
3 58 (5.60%) vCenter Server
4 45 (4.35%) Terraform
5 37 (3.57%) vRealize
6 26 (2.51%) SCCM
7 17 (1.64%) Kubernetes
7 17 (1.64%) Microsoft Intune
7 17 (1.64%) VxRail
8 13 (1.26%) Cisco CUCM
9 12 (1.16%) SCOM
10 11 (1.06%) WSUS
11 10 (0.97%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 10 (0.97%) Nessus
12 9 (0.87%) Cisco Prime
12 9 (0.87%) EMC NetWorker
12 9 (0.87%) Single Sign-On
13 8 (0.77%) Grafana
14 7 (0.68%) EMC VPLEX
14 7 (0.68%) HP SiteScope
Vendors
1 244 (23.57%) Palo Alto
2 191 (18.45%) VMware
3 185 (17.87%) Microsoft
4 161 (15.56%) Juniper
5 118 (11.40%) Aruba
6 112 (10.82%) SolarWinds
7 106 (10.24%) Fortinet
8 105 (10.14%) F5
9 101 (9.76%) CheckPoint
10 100 (9.66%) Meraki
11 75 (7.25%) Dell
12 70 (6.76%) ServiceNow
13 61 (5.89%) HP
14 45 (4.35%) IBM
15 44 (4.25%) SAP
16 43 (4.15%) Apple
17 41 (3.96%) Splunk
18 35 (3.38%) Zscaler
19 34 (3.29%) Remedy
20 29 (2.80%) Arista