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 9 June 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
9 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 108 66 67
Rank change year-on-year -42 +1 -8
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,127 1,081 1,311
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.27% 3.69% 3.03%
As % of the Vendors category 5.58% 7.75% 7.16%
Number of daily rates quoted 782 664 808
10th Percentile £300 £300 £250
25th Percentile £402 £400 £373
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £573 £588 £588
90th Percentile £643 £649 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £475
% change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 31 26 36
10th Percentile £25.77 £17.96 £13.29
25th Percentile £44.00 £24.75 £16.00
Median hourly rate £55.00 £32.70 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year +68.20% +30.80% -50.00%
75th Percentile £74.26 £44.56 £41.25
90th Percentile £78.75 £65.00 £55.70
UK excluding London median hourly rate £55.00 £30.00 £17.38
% change year-on-year +83.33% +72.66% -63.67%

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 20,204 13,941 18,318
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 40.67% 47.62% 42.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,713 8,584 11,394
10th Percentile £313 £280 £267
25th Percentile £413 £404 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £501 £514
Median % change year-on-year -0.10% -2.63% -2.10%
75th Percentile £600 £613 £625
90th Percentile £700 £713 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £481 £500
% change year-on-year +3.95% -3.80% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,037 620 1,132
10th Percentile £15.29 £14.84 £12.13
25th Percentile £18.50 £17.34 £14.48
Median hourly rate £32.50 £26.45 £23.22
Median % change year-on-year +22.87% +13.93% -45.70%
75th Percentile £60.00 £55.06 £58.49
90th Percentile £78.63 £70.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.27 £22.94 £21.75
% change year-on-year +31.97% +5.46% -45.04%

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 9 June 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 9 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Cisco in the UK

Cisco
Top 18 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 9 June 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 -47 950 £476 -4.80% 577
UK excluding London -33 696 £475 -5.00% 579
London -61 303 £500 - 137
Work from Home -36 294 £450 -10.00% 127
North of England -39 207 £478 -4.40% 140
South East -24 195 £500 - 147
North West -5 167 £480 -4.00% 60
Midlands -33 133 £402 -10.67% 67
West Midlands -21 125 £401 +0.25% 37
Scotland +15 72 £450 +12.78% 47
South West -67 50 £518 -5.91% 78
East of England -13 41 £495 +4.21% 69
Yorkshire -79 39 £477 -5.27% 54
Wales -19 21 £468 +16.88% 23
Northern Ireland +10 10 £175 -50.00% 19
East Midlands -49 4 £458 -16.82% 30
North East -32 2 £425 +30.77% 28
Channel Islands -1 1 £550 +22.22%

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 28 (2.48%) SharePoint
2 18 (1.60%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.06%) Confluence
4 9 (0.80%) Apache
5 7 (0.62%) OpenStack
6 6 (0.53%) IIS
7 3 (0.27%) nginx
7 3 (0.27%) Tomcat
8 2 (0.18%) CloudStack
8 2 (0.18%) CMS
9 1 (0.089%) Apache Spark
9 1 (0.089%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 43 (3.82%) Microsoft Office
2 28 (2.48%) MS Visio
3 22 (1.95%) Microsoft Excel
4 9 (0.80%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.35%) Acrobat
Business Applications
1 8 (0.71%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 212 (18.81%) Azure
2 145 (12.87%) AWS
3 68 (6.03%) Microsoft 365
4 36 (3.19%) Entra ID
5 20 (1.77%) GCP
6 16 (1.42%) OpenShift
6 16 (1.42%) SaaS
7 14 (1.24%) Nutanix
8 12 (1.06%) Azure Sentinel
8 12 (1.06%) GitHub
8 12 (1.06%) OneDrive
9 11 (0.98%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 11 (0.98%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 8 (0.71%) IaaS
11 7 (0.62%) Microsoft Purview
11 7 (0.62%) Power Platform
12 5 (0.44%) Azure DevOps
12 5 (0.44%) GitHub Actions
12 5 (0.44%) Rubrik
13 4 (0.35%) Cloudflare
Communications & Networking
1 492 (43.66%) Firewall
2 373 (33.10%) WAN
3 286 (25.38%) LAN
4 285 (25.29%) BGP
5 243 (21.56%) VPN
6 236 (20.94%) Network Security
7 203 (18.01%) OSPF
8 170 (15.08%) DNS
9 169 (15.00%) VLAN
10 163 (14.46%) Wireless
11 158 (14.02%) SD-WAN
12 105 (9.32%) MPLS
13 103 (9.14%) Cisco Nexus
14 102 (9.05%) VXLAN
15 100 (8.87%) Wi-Fi
16 97 (8.61%) Cisco ISE
17 94 (8.34%) DHCP
18 75 (6.65%) IPsec
19 73 (6.48%) Multicast
20 72 (6.39%) Cisco IOS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 15 (1.33%) SQL Server
2 3 (0.27%) MySQL
2 3 (0.27%) NoSQL
3 2 (0.18%) PostgreSQL
4 1 (0.089%) Apache Hive
4 1 (0.089%) Big Data
4 1 (0.089%) ClickHouse
4 1 (0.089%) Hadoop
4 1 (0.089%) MariaDB
4 1 (0.089%) Metadata
4 1 (0.089%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 24 (2.13%) JIRA
2 14 (1.24%) Sonatype Nexus
3 11 (0.98%) Git
4 8 (0.71%) Jenkins
5 5 (0.44%) GitLab
6 2 (0.18%) Bitbucket
General
1 246 (21.83%) Social Skills
2 118 (10.47%) Finance
3 70 (6.21%) Analytical Skills
4 64 (5.68%) Telecoms
5 62 (5.50%) Public Sector
6 57 (5.06%) Documentation Skills
7 56 (4.97%) Legal
8 53 (4.70%) Banking
9 21 (1.86%) Investment Banking
10 20 (1.77%) Manufacturing
11 17 (1.51%) Financial Institution
11 17 (1.51%) Organisational Skills
12 16 (1.42%) Law
13 15 (1.33%) Retail
14 9 (0.80%) Marketing
14 9 (0.80%) Military
15 7 (0.62%) Police
15 7 (0.62%) Presentation Skills
16 4 (0.35%) Front Office
16 4 (0.35%) Inclusion and Diversity
Job Titles
1 515 (45.70%) Network Engineer
2 140 (12.42%) Architect
3 123 (10.91%) Cisco Engineer
4 116 (10.29%) Senior
5 115 (10.20%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 87 (7.72%) Security Engineer
7 82 (7.28%) Network Architect
8 71 (6.30%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
9 65 (5.77%) Senior Network Engineer
10 64 (5.68%) Network Security Engineer
11 50 (4.44%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 48 (4.26%) Data Network Engineer
13 35 (3.11%) Data Engineer
14 34 (3.02%) Cisco Security Engineer
15 31 (2.75%) Analyst
16 28 (2.48%) Network Specialist
17 27 (2.40%) Solutions Architect
18 25 (2.22%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
19 24 (2.13%) Lead
20 23 (2.04%) Automation Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 73 (6.48%) 802.1X
2 15 (1.33%) LDAP
3 14 (1.24%) Flash
4 12 (1.06%) REST
4 12 (1.06%) SAML
5 7 (0.62%) XMPP
6 6 (0.53%) Jinja
7 3 (0.27%) LAMP
7 3 (0.27%) LEMP Stack
7 3 (0.27%) NETCONF
7 3 (0.27%) YAML
8 2 (0.18%) .NET
8 2 (0.18%) ADO
8 2 (0.18%) ASP.NET
8 2 (0.18%) CSS
8 2 (0.18%) Django
8 2 (0.18%) HTML
8 2 (0.18%) Middleware
8 2 (0.18%) RESTCONF
8 2 (0.18%) YANG
Miscellaneous
1 312 (27.68%) Data Centre
2 57 (5.06%) PKI
3 49 (4.35%) Replication
4 43 (3.82%) Clustering
5 36 (3.19%) Data Protection Act
6 34 (3.02%) Hybrid Cloud
6 34 (3.02%) Onboarding
7 29 (2.57%) Operational Technology
8 21 (1.86%) Video Conferencing
9 20 (1.77%) Security Posture
10 19 (1.69%) Driving Licence
10 19 (1.69%) Enterprise Storage
11 18 (1.60%) Cloud Native
12 17 (1.51%) EMC VMAX
12 17 (1.51%) Linux Command Line
13 15 (1.33%) Analytical Mindset
13 15 (1.33%) SCADA
14 13 (1.15%) Self-Motivation
14 13 (1.15%) Virtual Team
15 10 (0.89%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 219 (19.43%) Windows
2 120 (10.65%) Linux
3 73 (6.48%) Windows Server
4 21 (1.86%) Unix
5 15 (1.33%) Windows 10
6 13 (1.15%) Ubuntu
7 12 (1.06%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 8 (0.71%) Windows Server 2019
9 7 (0.62%) Android
9 7 (0.62%) Mac OS
10 6 (0.53%) Windows Server 2012
11 5 (0.44%) AIX
11 5 (0.44%) Data ONTAP
11 5 (0.44%) VMS
12 4 (0.35%) CentOS
12 4 (0.35%) Solaris
13 3 (0.27%) CatOS
14 2 (0.18%) Windows Server 2016
15 1 (0.089%) Windows 7
15 1 (0.089%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 173 (15.35%) Migration
2 130 (11.54%) High Availability
3 125 (11.09%) Load Balancing
4 124 (11.00%) Problem-Solving
5 96 (8.52%) ITIL
6 93 (8.25%) Network Design
7 90 (7.99%) ITSM
8 85 (7.54%) Project Delivery
9 69 (6.12%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 67 (5.94%) Disaster Recovery
11 66 (5.86%) Agile
11 66 (5.86%) Technical Leadership
12 65 (5.77%) Change Management
12 65 (5.77%) Network Monitoring
13 64 (5.68%) Continuous Improvement
14 58 (5.15%) Infrastructure as Code
15 56 (4.97%) Cybersecurity
16 54 (4.79%) Network Segmentation
17 51 (4.53%) CI/CD
17 51 (4.53%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 121 (10.74%) Python
2 59 (5.24%) PowerShell
3 24 (2.13%) SQL
4 22 (1.95%) Bash
5 6 (0.53%) C
6 4 (0.35%) PHP
7 3 (0.27%) C++
7 3 (0.27%) Java
7 3 (0.27%) Lisp
7 3 (0.27%) Perl
8 2 (0.18%) ActionScript
8 2 (0.18%) JavaScript
8 2 (0.18%) Korn
8 2 (0.18%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.089%) Bicep
9 1 (0.089%) Ladder Logic
Qualifications
1 356 (31.59%) Security Cleared
2 336 (29.81%) Cisco Certification
3 266 (23.60%) SC Cleared
4 256 (22.72%) CCNP
5 123 (10.91%) CCNA
6 102 (9.05%) DV Cleared
7 73 (6.48%) Degree
8 63 (5.59%) CCIE
9 32 (2.84%) Microsoft Certification
10 27 (2.40%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 26 (2.31%) Network+ Certification
12 23 (2.04%) MCSE
13 18 (1.60%) CCSE
14 17 (1.51%) Azure Certification
14 17 (1.51%) Server+ Certification
14 17 (1.51%) VCAP
15 16 (1.42%) MCSA
16 15 (1.33%) JNCIS
17 14 (1.24%) JNCIP
18 12 (1.06%) BPSS Clearance
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 38 (3.37%) SLA
2 33 (2.93%) NIST
3 29 (2.57%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 26 (2.31%) Cyber Essentials
5 21 (1.86%) QA
6 17 (1.51%) NCSC
7 10 (0.89%) PMO
8 7 (0.62%) Disclosure Scotland
8 7 (0.62%) GDPR
9 6 (0.53%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 6 (0.53%) JSP 440
10 5 (0.44%) PCI DSS
11 3 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 3 (0.27%) NIST 800
11 3 (0.27%) RMADS
12 2 (0.18%) Accessibility
12 2 (0.18%) Government Security Classifications
12 2 (0.18%) GRC
12 2 (0.18%) ISA99
12 2 (0.18%) ISO/IEC 20000
System Software
1 151 (13.40%) VMware Infrastructure
2 88 (7.81%) Active Directory
3 59 (5.24%) VMware ESXi
4 58 (5.15%) vSphere
5 47 (4.17%) VMware NSX
6 37 (3.28%) Virtual Machines
7 26 (2.31%) Firmware
8 19 (1.69%) Hyper-V
9 18 (1.60%) NFS
10 14 (1.24%) GPFS
11 12 (1.06%) SRDF
12 6 (0.53%) Virtual Desktop
13 5 (0.44%) Docker
13 5 (0.44%) EMC RecoverPoint
14 4 (0.35%) vCloud
14 4 (0.35%) Virtual Servers
15 3 (0.27%) Dovecot
15 3 (0.27%) Postfix
15 3 (0.27%) UAG
16 2 (0.18%) Snort
Systems Management
1 137 (12.16%) Ansible
2 103 (9.14%) FortiGate
3 51 (4.53%) Terraform
4 33 (2.93%) vCenter Server
5 28 (2.48%) Grafana
6 23 (2.04%) Microsoft Intune
7 21 (1.86%) Kubernetes
7 21 (1.86%) Prometheus
8 18 (1.60%) vRealize
9 16 (1.42%) SCCM
10 14 (1.24%) Cisco Prime
11 13 (1.15%) Cisco CUCM
12 12 (1.06%) Single Sign-On
13 9 (0.80%) Nagios
13 9 (0.80%) VxRail
14 7 (0.62%) WMI
15 6 (0.53%) EMC TimeFinder
15 6 (0.53%) EMC VPLEX
15 6 (0.53%) HAProxy
15 6 (0.53%) SCOM
Vendors
1 292 (25.91%) Palo Alto
2 214 (18.99%) F5
3 193 (17.13%) Microsoft
4 188 (16.68%) VMware
5 175 (15.53%) Fortinet
6 160 (14.20%) Juniper
7 123 (10.91%) Aruba
8 114 (10.12%) CheckPoint
9 103 (9.14%) ServiceNow
10 85 (7.54%) SolarWinds
11 84 (7.45%) Meraki
12 78 (6.92%) Arista
13 56 (4.97%) Splunk
14 49 (4.35%) Zscaler
15 42 (3.73%) Dell
16 32 (2.84%) EMC
17 30 (2.66%) IBM
18 29 (2.57%) Extreme Networks
19 27 (2.40%) Brocade
20 23 (2.04%) Infoblox