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 3 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
3 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 97 58 58
Rank change year-on-year -39 0 +27
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,029 1,130 1,599
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.66% 3.66% 3.55%
As % of the Vendors category 5.84% 7.93% 8.10%
Number of daily rates quoted 704 688 963
10th Percentile £254 £296 £250
25th Percentile £361 £408 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £463 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -7.50% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £550 £588 £590
90th Percentile £609 £653 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £475
% change year-on-year - - +2.15%
Number of hourly rates quoted 39 24 88
10th Percentile £21.33 £18.13 £14.40
25th Percentile £25.15 £20.00 £23.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £24.66 £33.25
Median % change year-on-year +163.56% -25.83% +29.33%
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% +35.78%

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 17,621 14,255 19,744
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 45.50% 46.18% 43.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,341 8,417 12,458
10th Percentile £300 £278 £252
25th Percentile £410 £408 £402
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £520 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.85% -0.95% -2.33%
75th Percentile £609 £625 £631
90th Percentile £700 £712 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £495 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 835 417 922
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.62 £12.99
25th Percentile £17.87 £20.30 £15.75
Median hourly rate £23.83 £28.60 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year -16.70% -4.67% +3.45%
75th Percentile £53.88 £61.50 £59.50
90th Percentile £73.75 £80.30 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.72 £25.56 £27.33
% change year-on-year -15.04% -6.48% +6.15%

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 3 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 3 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 3 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 -44 844 £475 -5.00% 448
UK excluding London -23 688 £475 - 374
Work from Home -28 284 £450 -14.29% 131
London -65 241 £470 -9.62% 145
South East -5 202 £500 - 145
North of England -59 150 £476 -3.79% 70
Midlands -6 148 £380 -15.56% 58
West Midlands +8 130 £380 -14.37% 39
North West -26 119 £481 -3.27% 38
Scotland +43 84 £425 +6.25% 24
South West -47 53 £550 +15.79% 39
East of England -13 34 £445 -6.32% 38
Yorkshire -74 24 £450 +5.88% 25
Wales +4 20 £170 -49.82% 6
East Midlands -31 17 £158 -65.00% 19
Northern Ireland +11 14 £475 - 1
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 (4.86%) SharePoint
2 39 (3.79%) Microsoft Exchange
3 19 (1.85%) Confluence
4 14 (1.36%) Skype for Business
5 11 (1.07%) Apache
6 7 (0.68%) Appian
6 7 (0.68%) Mattermost
6 7 (0.68%) OpenStack
7 5 (0.49%) IIS
7 5 (0.49%) SharePoint Server
7 5 (0.49%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.097%) JBoss
8 1 (0.097%) WebSphere
Applications
1 73 (7.09%) Microsoft Office
2 45 (4.37%) MS Visio
3 23 (2.24%) Microsoft Excel
4 15 (1.46%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.49%) Acrobat
5 5 (0.49%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.097%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.097%) OmniGraffle
Business Applications
1 22 (2.14%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.29%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.097%) Actimize
3 1 (0.097%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 158 (15.35%) Azure
2 142 (13.80%) AWS
3 90 (8.75%) Microsoft 365
4 40 (3.89%) GCP
5 31 (3.01%) Entra ID
6 19 (1.85%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 14 (1.36%) Datadog
8 11 (1.07%) AWS CloudFormation
8 11 (1.07%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 10 (0.97%) AWS Lambda
9 10 (0.97%) OpenShift
9 10 (0.97%) SaaS
9 10 (0.97%) Serverless
10 9 (0.87%) Azure Sentinel
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
1 389 (37.80%) Firewall
2 281 (27.31%) WAN
3 209 (20.31%) VPN
4 203 (19.73%) LAN
5 183 (17.78%) BGP
6 165 (16.03%) Network Security
7 153 (14.87%) Wireless
8 130 (12.63%) OSPF
9 129 (12.54%) SD-WAN
10 103 (10.01%) DNS
11 96 (9.33%) MPLS
12 89 (8.65%) VLAN
13 87 (8.45%) Cisco ISE
14 76 (7.39%) Wi-Fi
15 68 (6.61%) Cisco IOS
15 68 (6.61%) IPsec
16 67 (6.51%) Cisco Nexus
17 65 (6.32%) Cisco ASA
18 62 (6.03%) TCP/IP
19 51 (4.96%) DHCP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (0.97%) SQL Server
2 5 (0.49%) DynamoDB
2 5 (0.49%) 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 18 (1.75%) JIRA
2 16 (1.55%) GitLab
3 12 (1.17%) Sonatype Nexus
4 8 (0.78%) Jenkins
4 8 (0.78%) Robot Framework
5 7 (0.68%) Cucumber
5 7 (0.68%) Selenium
5 7 (0.68%) SonarQube
6 4 (0.39%) Git
7 2 (0.19%) Bitbucket
7 2 (0.19%) Rational DOORS
General
1 227 (22.06%) Social Skills
2 173 (16.81%) Public Sector
3 150 (14.58%) Finance
4 117 (11.37%) Telecoms
5 76 (7.39%) Analytical Skills
6 65 (6.32%) Manufacturing
7 57 (5.54%) Documentation Skills
8 47 (4.57%) Legal
9 45 (4.37%) Electronics
9 45 (4.37%) Marketing
10 44 (4.28%) Banking
11 15 (1.46%) Presentation Skills
12 14 (1.36%) Investment Banking
13 12 (1.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 11 (1.07%) Organisational Skills
15 10 (0.97%) Aerospace
16 8 (0.78%) Law
16 8 (0.78%) Retail
17 7 (0.68%) Financial Institution
17 7 (0.68%) Military
Job Titles
1 366 (35.57%) Network Engineer
2 112 (10.88%) Architect
3 79 (7.68%) Cisco Engineer
4 73 (7.09%) Network Architect
5 66 (6.41%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 62 (6.03%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
7 61 (5.93%) Senior
8 59 (5.73%) Analyst
9 54 (5.25%) Consultant
10 53 (5.15%) Security Engineer
11 51 (4.96%) IT Support
12 47 (4.57%) Network Consultant
13 42 (4.08%) Support Engineer
14 37 (3.60%) Desktop Support
14 37 (3.60%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
15 32 (3.11%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 32 (3.11%) Network Security Engineer
16 31 (3.01%) Solutions Architect
17 27 (2.62%) Senior Network Engineer
18 26 (2.53%) 2nd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (3.40%) 802.1X
2 17 (1.65%) Flash
3 15 (1.46%) LDAP
3 15 (1.46%) XMPP
4 11 (1.07%) JSON
4 11 (1.07%) NETCONF
4 11 (1.07%) YANG
5 9 (0.87%) Jinja
5 9 (0.87%) XML
6 7 (0.68%) SAML
7 6 (0.58%) RFC 2544
8 5 (0.49%) 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
1 260 (25.27%) Data Centre
2 42 (4.08%) PKI
3 33 (3.21%) Linux Command Line
4 32 (3.11%) Replication
5 29 (2.82%) Hybrid Cloud
6 28 (2.72%) Data Protection Act
6 28 (2.72%) Onboarding
7 27 (2.62%) Cloud Native
8 25 (2.43%) Driving Licence
9 21 (2.04%) Operational Technology
10 17 (1.65%) Security Posture
10 17 (1.65%) Self-Motivation
11 15 (1.46%) Video Conferencing
12 13 (1.26%) NHS
13 12 (1.17%) Product Ownership
14 11 (1.07%) CMDB
15 10 (0.97%) Clustering
15 10 (0.97%) Public Cloud
16 9 (0.87%) Enterprise Software
16 9 (0.87%) Fibre Optics
Operating Systems
1 175 (17.01%) Windows
2 111 (10.79%) Linux
3 77 (7.48%) Windows Server
4 54 (5.25%) Mac OS
5 52 (5.05%) Android
6 35 (3.40%) Windows 10
7 23 (2.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 15 (1.46%) Unix
9 6 (0.58%) Windows Server 2012
9 6 (0.58%) Windows Server 2016
10 5 (0.49%) 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
1 136 (13.22%) Migration
2 124 (12.05%) Problem-Solving
3 92 (8.94%) Agile
4 85 (8.26%) Network Design
5 80 (7.77%) Roadmaps
6 76 (7.39%) Project Delivery
7 74 (7.19%) ITSM
8 73 (7.09%) Cybersecurity
8 73 (7.09%) ITIL
9 69 (6.71%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 66 (6.41%) High Availability
11 62 (6.03%) Network Architecture
12 60 (5.83%) Service Management
13 59 (5.73%) Change Management
14 57 (5.54%) Collaborative Working
14 57 (5.54%) Load Balancing
15 55 (5.34%) Business Intelligence
16 53 (5.15%) Disaster Recovery
17 52 (5.05%) Stakeholder Management
18 51 (4.96%) Network Monitoring
Programming Languages
1 123 (11.95%) Python
2 64 (6.22%) PowerShell
3 38 (3.69%) Bash
4 23 (2.24%) Perl
4 23 (2.24%) SQL
5 15 (1.46%) JavaScript
6 8 (0.78%) Lisp
7 5 (0.49%) C++
7 5 (0.49%) Kusto Query Language
8 4 (0.39%) C
9 3 (0.29%) PHP
10 2 (0.19%) Korn
11 1 (0.097%) Java
11 1 (0.097%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 433 (42.08%) Security Cleared
2 343 (33.33%) SC Cleared
3 258 (25.07%) Cisco Certification
4 214 (20.80%) CCNP
5 105 (10.20%) DV Cleared
6 98 (9.52%) CCNA
7 76 (7.39%) Degree
8 74 (7.19%) CCIE
9 24 (2.33%) BPSS Clearance
9 24 (2.33%) ITIL Certification
10 23 (2.24%) Microsoft Certification
11 18 (1.75%) Azure Certification
12 17 (1.65%) JNCIS
13 16 (1.55%) AWS Certification
14 15 (1.46%) CISSP
14 15 (1.46%) MCSE
15 14 (1.36%) JNCIE
16 13 (1.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
17 12 (1.17%) CCDP
17 12 (1.17%) JNCIA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (3.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 27 (2.62%) SLA
3 24 (2.33%) NIST
4 19 (1.85%) Cyber Essentials
5 18 (1.75%) GDPR
6 16 (1.55%) PMO
7 15 (1.46%) PCI DSS
8 8 (0.78%) NCSC
9 5 (0.49%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 5 (0.49%) 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%) Accessibility
11 1 (0.097%) Actionable Recommendations
11 1 (0.097%) Data Quality
11 1 (0.097%) Def Stans
11 1 (0.097%) GRC
11 1 (0.097%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 153 (14.87%) VMware Infrastructure
2 118 (11.47%) Active Directory
3 80 (7.77%) VMware NSX
4 58 (5.64%) vSphere
5 37 (3.60%) VMware ESXi
6 21 (2.04%) Virtual Machines
7 18 (1.75%) Docker
8 17 (1.65%) Firmware
8 17 (1.65%) GPFS
8 17 (1.65%) NFS
9 14 (1.36%) Hyper-V
10 5 (0.49%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 5 (0.49%) Snort
10 5 (0.49%) 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 94 (9.14%) Ansible
2 67 (6.51%) FortiGate
3 56 (5.44%) vCenter Server
4 44 (4.28%) Terraform
5 36 (3.50%) vRealize
6 26 (2.53%) SCCM
7 17 (1.65%) Kubernetes
7 17 (1.65%) Microsoft Intune
8 15 (1.46%) VxRail
9 13 (1.26%) Cisco CUCM
10 12 (1.17%) SCOM
11 11 (1.07%) WSUS
12 10 (0.97%) Active Directory Federation Services
12 10 (0.97%) Nessus
13 9 (0.87%) Cisco Prime
13 9 (0.87%) EMC NetWorker
13 9 (0.87%) Single Sign-On
14 8 (0.78%) Grafana
15 7 (0.68%) EMC VPLEX
15 7 (0.68%) HP SiteScope
Vendors
1 243 (23.62%) Palo Alto
2 187 (18.17%) Microsoft
2 187 (18.17%) VMware
3 158 (15.35%) Juniper
4 117 (11.37%) Aruba
5 112 (10.88%) SolarWinds
6 105 (10.20%) Fortinet
7 104 (10.11%) F5
8 101 (9.82%) CheckPoint
8 101 (9.82%) Meraki
9 73 (7.09%) Dell
10 70 (6.80%) ServiceNow
11 61 (5.93%) HP
12 45 (4.37%) IBM
13 44 (4.28%) SAP
14 43 (4.18%) Apple
15 42 (4.08%) Splunk
16 35 (3.40%) Zscaler
17 34 (3.30%) Remedy
18 29 (2.82%) Oracle