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 18 May 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
18 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 104 66 68
Rank change year-on-year -38 +2 -4
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,095 1,052 1,290
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.28% 3.58% 3.03%
As % of the Vendors category 5.55% 7.51% 7.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 748 653 793
10th Percentile £300 £304 £246
25th Percentile £400 £408 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £569 £588 £588
90th Percentile £643 £650 £689
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £492 £464
% change year-on-year -3.46% +6.03% +3.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 35 22 39
10th Percentile £31.30 £15.51 £13.29
25th Percentile £44.00 £20.04 £17.25
Median hourly rate £55.00 £37.07 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year +48.36% +34.81% -45.00%
75th Percentile £74.26 £57.81 £41.25
90th Percentile £89.00 £74.88 £75.24
UK excluding London median hourly rate £63.14 £27.70 £25.00
% change year-on-year +127.92% +10.80% -47.37%

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 19,721 13,999 18,047
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.12% 47.64% 42.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,479 8,754 11,225
10th Percentile £313 £280 £263
25th Percentile £413 £406 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £515
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% -0.49% -1.90%
75th Percentile £600 £615 £630
90th Percentile £700 £712 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £492 £500
% change year-on-year - -1.60% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 999 569 1,095
10th Percentile £15.25 £14.84 £12.00
25th Percentile £18.50 £17.35 £14.45
Median hourly rate £32.50 £25.50 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year +27.45% +15.91% -48.24%
75th Percentile £58.84 £56.00 £57.50
90th Percentile £77.71 £74.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.00 £22.94 £21.42
% change year-on-year +26.43% +7.11% -44.38%

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 18 May 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 18 May 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 18 May 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 -43 917 £477 -5.54% 543
UK excluding London -36 677 £475 -3.46% 523
Work from Home -18 293 £450 -10.00% 132
London -61 284 £500 -0.10% 161
South East -18 195 £500 - 141
North of England -41 194 £478 -4.40% 121
North West -10 160 £479 -3.28% 56
Midlands -21 132 £402 -10.67% 68
West Midlands -11 124 £397 -9.29% 48
Scotland +16 61 £450 +12.78% 46
South West -59 49 £511 -7.05% 68
East of England -2 44 £495 +23.75% 52
Yorkshire -83 34 £464 -7.75% 44
Wales -12 25 £468 +11.64% 23
Northern Ireland +9 9 £380 +8.57% 11
East Midlands -50 4 £458 -3.68% 20
North East -28 1 - - 23

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 25 (2.28%) SharePoint
2 21 (1.92%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (1.28%) Confluence
4 8 (0.73%) Apache
5 5 (0.46%) IIS
5 5 (0.46%) OpenStack
6 2 (0.18%) CloudStack
6 2 (0.18%) CMS
7 1 (0.091%) JBoss
7 1 (0.091%) Skype for Business
7 1 (0.091%) WebSphere
Applications
1 36 (3.29%) Microsoft Office
2 33 (3.01%) MS Visio
3 13 (1.19%) Microsoft Excel
4 11 (1.00%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.37%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.091%) AutoCAD
Business Applications
1 14 (1.28%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.091%) Actimize
Cloud Services
1 197 (17.99%) Azure
2 147 (13.42%) AWS
3 64 (5.84%) Microsoft 365
4 31 (2.83%) Entra ID
5 24 (2.19%) GCP
6 15 (1.37%) Nutanix
6 15 (1.37%) SaaS
7 13 (1.19%) OpenShift
8 11 (1.00%) Azure Sentinel
8 11 (1.00%) GitHub
9 10 (0.91%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 9 (0.82%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 7 (0.64%) IaaS
11 7 (0.64%) OneDrive
12 6 (0.55%) Azure DevOps
12 6 (0.55%) Datadog
12 6 (0.55%) Microsoft Purview
12 6 (0.55%) Mimecast
12 6 (0.55%) Power Platform
13 4 (0.37%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 485 (44.29%) Firewall
2 365 (33.33%) WAN
3 281 (25.66%) BGP
4 280 (25.57%) LAN
5 243 (22.19%) VPN
6 222 (20.27%) Network Security
7 202 (18.45%) OSPF
8 159 (14.52%) DNS
9 150 (13.70%) Wireless
10 149 (13.61%) SD-WAN
10 149 (13.61%) VLAN
11 106 (9.68%) Cisco Nexus
12 97 (8.86%) Wi-Fi
13 96 (8.77%) MPLS
14 95 (8.68%) Cisco ISE
15 92 (8.40%) VXLAN
16 84 (7.67%) DHCP
17 77 (7.03%) IPsec
18 69 (6.30%) Multicast
19 67 (6.12%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 9 (0.82%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
3 1 (0.091%) Big Data
3 1 (0.091%) ClickHouse
3 1 (0.091%) Metadata
3 1 (0.091%) MySQL
3 1 (0.091%) NoSQL
3 1 (0.091%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 23 (2.10%) JIRA
2 15 (1.37%) Sonatype Nexus
3 9 (0.82%) Git
4 8 (0.73%) Jenkins
5 6 (0.55%) GitLab
6 1 (0.091%) Bitbucket
General
1 225 (20.55%) Social Skills
2 116 (10.59%) Finance
3 67 (6.12%) Analytical Skills
4 65 (5.94%) Public Sector
5 62 (5.66%) Telecoms
6 59 (5.39%) Documentation Skills
7 56 (5.11%) Banking
8 50 (4.57%) Legal
9 24 (2.19%) Manufacturing
10 19 (1.74%) Investment Banking
11 17 (1.55%) Organisational Skills
12 16 (1.46%) Retail
13 14 (1.28%) Financial Institution
13 14 (1.28%) Law
14 11 (1.00%) Marketing
15 9 (0.82%) Military
16 8 (0.73%) Presentation Skills
17 6 (0.55%) Aerospace
17 6 (0.55%) Police
18 5 (0.46%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 500 (45.66%) Network Engineer
2 134 (12.24%) Architect
3 115 (10.50%) Cisco Engineer
4 109 (9.95%) Cisco Network Engineer
5 105 (9.59%) Senior
6 83 (7.58%) Security Engineer
7 79 (7.21%) Network Architect
8 76 (6.94%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
9 59 (5.39%) Network Security Engineer
10 56 (5.11%) Senior Network Engineer
11 50 (4.57%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 46 (4.20%) Data Network Engineer
13 36 (3.29%) Analyst
14 35 (3.20%) Data Engineer
15 34 (3.11%) Cisco Security Engineer
16 27 (2.47%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
17 25 (2.28%) Lead
18 24 (2.19%) Administrator
18 24 (2.19%) Network Specialist
18 24 (2.19%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 68 (6.21%) 802.1X
2 19 (1.74%) LDAP
3 17 (1.55%) Flash
4 13 (1.19%) SAML
5 8 (0.73%) REST
6 7 (0.64%) XMPP
7 6 (0.55%) Jinja
8 5 (0.46%) NETCONF
9 4 (0.37%) HTML
9 4 (0.37%) VML
9 4 (0.37%) YANG
10 3 (0.27%) JSON
10 3 (0.27%) OpenConfig
10 3 (0.27%) RESTCONF
11 2 (0.18%) ADO
11 2 (0.18%) CSS
11 2 (0.18%) Django
11 2 (0.18%) Elastic Stack
11 2 (0.18%) Middleware
11 2 (0.18%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 303 (27.67%) Data Centre
2 51 (4.66%) PKI
3 48 (4.38%) Replication
4 41 (3.74%) Clustering
5 36 (3.29%) Data Protection Act
6 32 (2.92%) Hybrid Cloud
7 31 (2.83%) Operational Technology
8 27 (2.47%) Onboarding
9 25 (2.28%) Cloud Native
10 22 (2.01%) Linux Command Line
11 18 (1.64%) Security Posture
11 18 (1.64%) Video Conferencing
12 17 (1.55%) Self-Motivation
13 16 (1.46%) Driving Licence
13 16 (1.46%) Enterprise Storage
13 16 (1.46%) SCADA
14 14 (1.28%) EMC VMAX
15 12 (1.10%) Analytical Mindset
16 11 (1.00%) Virtual Team
17 9 (0.82%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 205 (18.72%) Windows
2 117 (10.68%) Linux
3 67 (6.12%) Windows Server
4 22 (2.01%) Windows 10
5 21 (1.92%) Unix
6 15 (1.37%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 11 (1.00%) Mac OS
8 10 (0.91%) Ubuntu
9 8 (0.73%) Android
10 6 (0.55%) Windows Server 2019
11 5 (0.46%) CatOS
12 4 (0.37%) AIX
12 4 (0.37%) Solaris
12 4 (0.37%) Windows Server 2012
13 3 (0.27%) Data ONTAP
13 3 (0.27%) VMS
14 2 (0.18%) Windows Server 2016
15 1 (0.091%) CentOS
15 1 (0.091%) Windows 7
15 1 (0.091%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 153 (13.97%) Migration
2 130 (11.87%) Problem-Solving
3 124 (11.32%) Load Balancing
4 113 (10.32%) High Availability
5 96 (8.77%) ITIL
6 94 (8.58%) Network Design
7 81 (7.40%) ITSM
8 75 (6.85%) Agile
9 68 (6.21%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 67 (6.12%) Change Management
11 66 (6.03%) Project Delivery
12 63 (5.75%) Cybersecurity
13 60 (5.48%) Disaster Recovery
14 59 (5.39%) Continuous Improvement
14 59 (5.39%) Network Monitoring
14 59 (5.39%) Technical Leadership
15 50 (4.57%) Infrastructure as Code
15 50 (4.57%) Validation
15 50 (4.57%) Zero Trust
16 48 (4.38%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 113 (10.32%) Python
2 49 (4.47%) PowerShell
3 23 (2.10%) SQL
4 22 (2.01%) Bash
5 8 (0.73%) C
6 4 (0.37%) PHP
7 3 (0.27%) C++
7 3 (0.27%) Java
7 3 (0.27%) JavaScript
7 3 (0.27%) Perl
8 2 (0.18%) ActionScript
8 2 (0.18%) Korn
8 2 (0.18%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.091%) Bicep
9 1 (0.091%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.091%) Ladder Logic
9 1 (0.091%) Lisp
9 1 (0.091%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 367 (33.52%) Security Cleared
2 324 (29.59%) Cisco Certification
3 276 (25.21%) SC Cleared
4 249 (22.74%) CCNP
5 117 (10.68%) CCNA
6 104 (9.50%) DV Cleared
7 76 (6.94%) Degree
8 66 (6.03%) CCIE
9 29 (2.65%) Microsoft Certification
10 24 (2.19%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 22 (2.01%) MCSE
12 20 (1.83%) Azure Certification
12 20 (1.83%) Network+ Certification
13 18 (1.64%) JNCIS
14 17 (1.55%) BPSS Clearance
15 16 (1.46%) VCAP
16 15 (1.37%) CCSE
16 15 (1.37%) MCSA
17 14 (1.28%) AWS Certification
17 14 (1.28%) JNCIP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 29 (2.65%) NIST
1 29 (2.65%) SLA
2 28 (2.56%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 24 (2.19%) Cyber Essentials
4 17 (1.55%) NCSC
5 15 (1.37%) QA
6 11 (1.00%) PMO
7 7 (0.64%) Disclosure Scotland
7 7 (0.64%) JSP 440
8 6 (0.55%) GDPR
9 4 (0.37%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 3 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
10 3 (0.27%) NIST 800
10 3 (0.27%) RMADS
11 2 (0.18%) Accessibility
11 2 (0.18%) GRC
11 2 (0.18%) ISA99
11 2 (0.18%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 2 (0.18%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.091%) JTAG
System Software
1 146 (13.33%) VMware Infrastructure
2 78 (7.12%) Active Directory
3 60 (5.48%) vSphere
4 58 (5.30%) VMware ESXi
5 50 (4.57%) VMware NSX
6 30 (2.74%) Virtual Machines
7 25 (2.28%) Firmware
8 20 (1.83%) NFS
9 17 (1.55%) GPFS
9 17 (1.55%) Hyper-V
10 9 (0.82%) SRDF
11 7 (0.64%) Docker
12 5 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
13 4 (0.37%) vCloud
13 4 (0.37%) Virtual Servers
14 3 (0.27%) EMC RecoverPoint
14 3 (0.27%) Snort
14 3 (0.27%) UAG
15 2 (0.18%) KVM
16 1 (0.091%) RHEV
Systems Management
1 127 (11.60%) Ansible
2 100 (9.13%) FortiGate
3 47 (4.29%) Terraform
4 33 (3.01%) vCenter Server
5 27 (2.47%) Grafana
6 26 (2.37%) vRealize
7 20 (1.83%) Prometheus
8 18 (1.64%) Kubernetes
9 16 (1.46%) Microsoft Intune
10 14 (1.28%) Cisco Prime
10 14 (1.28%) SCCM
11 13 (1.19%) VxRail
12 12 (1.10%) Single Sign-On
13 10 (0.91%) Nagios
14 9 (0.82%) Cisco CUCM
15 7 (0.64%) SCOM
16 6 (0.55%) EMC TimeFinder
16 6 (0.55%) EMC VPLEX
16 6 (0.55%) WMI
16 6 (0.55%) WSUS
Vendors
1 298 (27.21%) Palo Alto
2 211 (19.27%) F5
3 188 (17.17%) VMware
4 174 (15.89%) Microsoft
5 153 (13.97%) Juniper
6 152 (13.88%) Fortinet
7 125 (11.42%) CheckPoint
8 118 (10.78%) Aruba
9 101 (9.22%) ServiceNow
10 92 (8.40%) Meraki
11 86 (7.85%) SolarWinds
12 69 (6.30%) Arista
13 55 (5.02%) Splunk
14 49 (4.47%) Zscaler
15 44 (4.02%) Dell
16 37 (3.38%) IBM
17 29 (2.65%) EMC
17 29 (2.65%) Extreme Networks
18 26 (2.37%) Brocade
19 24 (2.19%) HP