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 21 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
21 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 102 66 67
Rank change year-on-year -36 +1 -5
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,107 1,045 1,295
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.29% 3.59% 3.04%
As % of the Vendors category 5.60% 7.53% 7.19%
Number of daily rates quoted 760 649 795
10th Percentile £300 £300 £247
25th Percentile £400 £413 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £571 £588 £588
90th Percentile £643 £650 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £492 £460
% change year-on-year -3.46% +6.96% +2.22%
Number of hourly rates quoted 31 21 39
10th Percentile £28.00 £18.13 £13.29
25th Percentile £44.00 £24.66 £17.25
Median hourly rate £55.00 £37.50 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year +46.67% +36.36% -45.00%
75th Percentile £73.13 £61.25 £41.25
90th Percentile £79.50 £75.00 £75.24
UK excluding London median hourly rate £55.00 £30.40 £25.00
% change year-on-year +80.92% +21.60% -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 19,765 13,886 18,000
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 40.96% 47.71% 42.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,516 8,664 11,247
10th Percentile £313 £280 £263
25th Percentile £413 £406 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £514
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% -0.29% -2.10%
75th Percentile £600 £619 £627
90th Percentile £700 £713 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £490 £500
% change year-on-year +0.41% -2.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 988 568 1,094
10th Percentile £15.25 £14.84 £12.00
25th Percentile £18.50 £17.30 £14.48
Median hourly rate £32.50 £25.50 £22.08
Median % change year-on-year +27.45% +15.52% -47.85%
75th Percentile £58.75 £56.00 £57.50
90th Percentile £75.40 £73.75 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.54 £22.72 £21.46
% change year-on-year +30.01% +5.86% -44.26%

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 21 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 21 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 21 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 -44 929 £477 -5.12% 555
UK excluding London -36 687 £475 -3.46% 555
Work from Home -23 292 £450 -10.00% 122
London -55 289 £500 - 154
North of England -42 197 £479 -4.20% 123
South East -15 196 £500 - 148
North West -3 163 £480 -4.00% 49
Midlands -23 134 £401 -10.89% 72
West Midlands -10 126 £400 -8.57% 48
Scotland +18 64 £450 +12.78% 47
South West -63 52 £519 -5.68% 77
East of England +1 42 £495 +23.75% 51
Yorkshire -77 33 £478 -4.97% 49
Wales -11 25 £468 +11.64% 25
Northern Ireland +6 9 £380 +8.57% 21
East Midlands -49 4 £458 -3.68% 23
North East -30 2 £425 +30.77% 27

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 26 (2.35%) SharePoint
2 22 (1.99%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (1.36%) Confluence
4 8 (0.72%) Apache
5 5 (0.45%) OpenStack
6 4 (0.36%) IIS
7 2 (0.18%) CloudStack
7 2 (0.18%) CMS
8 1 (0.090%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.090%) nginx
8 1 (0.090%) Skype for Business
8 1 (0.090%) Tomcat
Applications
1 39 (3.52%) Microsoft Office
2 33 (2.98%) MS Visio
3 15 (1.36%) Microsoft Excel
4 11 (0.99%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.36%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.090%) AutoCAD
Business Applications
1 12 (1.08%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.090%) Actimize
Cloud Services
1 200 (18.07%) Azure
2 147 (13.28%) AWS
3 66 (5.96%) Microsoft 365
4 33 (2.98%) Entra ID
5 24 (2.17%) GCP
6 15 (1.36%) SaaS
7 14 (1.26%) Nutanix
8 13 (1.17%) OpenShift
9 12 (1.08%) GitHub
10 11 (0.99%) Azure Sentinel
10 11 (0.99%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 10 (0.90%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 8 (0.72%) IaaS
12 8 (0.72%) OneDrive
13 7 (0.63%) Power Platform
14 6 (0.54%) Azure DevOps
14 6 (0.54%) Datadog
14 6 (0.54%) Microsoft Purview
15 5 (0.45%) Rubrik
16 4 (0.36%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 491 (44.35%) Firewall
2 373 (33.69%) WAN
3 286 (25.84%) LAN
4 283 (25.56%) BGP
5 245 (22.13%) VPN
6 228 (20.60%) Network Security
7 204 (18.43%) OSPF
8 160 (14.45%) DNS
9 154 (13.91%) Wireless
10 153 (13.82%) VLAN
11 152 (13.73%) SD-WAN
12 105 (9.49%) Cisco Nexus
13 99 (8.94%) MPLS
14 97 (8.76%) Wi-Fi
15 96 (8.67%) Cisco ISE
15 96 (8.67%) VXLAN
16 84 (7.59%) DHCP
17 79 (7.14%) IPsec
18 70 (6.32%) Multicast
19 67 (6.05%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (0.90%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
2 2 (0.18%) Metadata
2 2 (0.18%) MySQL
3 1 (0.090%) Apache Hive
3 1 (0.090%) Big Data
3 1 (0.090%) ClickHouse
3 1 (0.090%) Hadoop
3 1 (0.090%) NoSQL
3 1 (0.090%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 24 (2.17%) JIRA
2 15 (1.36%) Sonatype Nexus
3 10 (0.90%) Git
4 8 (0.72%) Jenkins
5 6 (0.54%) GitLab
6 2 (0.18%) Bitbucket
General
1 227 (20.51%) Social Skills
2 116 (10.48%) Finance
3 66 (5.96%) Analytical Skills
4 62 (5.60%) Public Sector
5 61 (5.51%) Telecoms
6 60 (5.42%) Documentation Skills
7 54 (4.88%) Banking
8 51 (4.61%) Legal
9 25 (2.26%) Manufacturing
10 19 (1.72%) Investment Banking
11 17 (1.54%) Organisational Skills
12 15 (1.36%) Financial Institution
12 15 (1.36%) Retail
13 14 (1.26%) Law
14 11 (0.99%) Marketing
15 9 (0.81%) Military
16 8 (0.72%) Presentation Skills
17 7 (0.63%) Police
18 5 (0.45%) Electronics
19 4 (0.36%) Aerospace
Job Titles
1 505 (45.62%) Network Engineer
2 133 (12.01%) Architect
3 117 (10.57%) Cisco Engineer
4 111 (10.03%) Cisco Network Engineer
5 108 (9.76%) Senior
6 85 (7.68%) Security Engineer
7 82 (7.41%) Network Architect
8 78 (7.05%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
9 61 (5.51%) Network Security Engineer
10 58 (5.24%) Senior Network Engineer
11 49 (4.43%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 46 (4.16%) Data Network Engineer
13 36 (3.25%) Analyst
14 35 (3.16%) Data Engineer
15 34 (3.07%) Cisco Security Engineer
16 27 (2.44%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
17 26 (2.35%) Lead
18 25 (2.26%) Solutions Architect
19 24 (2.17%) Administrator
19 24 (2.17%) Network Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 70 (6.32%) 802.1X
2 19 (1.72%) LDAP
3 16 (1.45%) Flash
4 14 (1.26%) SAML
5 8 (0.72%) REST
6 7 (0.63%) XMPP
7 6 (0.54%) Jinja
8 5 (0.45%) NETCONF
9 4 (0.36%) HTML
9 4 (0.36%) YANG
10 3 (0.27%) JSON
10 3 (0.27%) OpenConfig
10 3 (0.27%) RESTCONF
10 3 (0.27%) VML
11 2 (0.18%) Django
11 2 (0.18%) Elastic Stack
11 2 (0.18%) Kafka
11 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Graph
11 2 (0.18%) Middleware
11 2 (0.18%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 308 (27.82%) Data Centre
2 51 (4.61%) PKI
3 47 (4.25%) Replication
4 41 (3.70%) Clustering
5 34 (3.07%) Data Protection Act
6 33 (2.98%) Hybrid Cloud
7 32 (2.89%) Operational Technology
8 29 (2.62%) Onboarding
9 21 (1.90%) Linux Command Line
10 20 (1.81%) Security Posture
10 20 (1.81%) Video Conferencing
11 18 (1.63%) Cloud Native
12 16 (1.45%) SCADA
13 15 (1.36%) Driving Licence
14 14 (1.26%) EMC VMAX
14 14 (1.26%) Enterprise Storage
14 14 (1.26%) Self-Motivation
15 13 (1.17%) Virtual Team
16 12 (1.08%) Analytical Mindset
17 9 (0.81%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 207 (18.70%) Windows
2 118 (10.66%) Linux
3 67 (6.05%) Windows Server
4 21 (1.90%) Unix
5 20 (1.81%) Windows 10
6 15 (1.36%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 11 (0.99%) Ubuntu
8 10 (0.90%) Mac OS
9 8 (0.72%) Android
10 6 (0.54%) Windows Server 2019
11 5 (0.45%) CatOS
12 4 (0.36%) AIX
12 4 (0.36%) Solaris
12 4 (0.36%) Windows Server 2012
13 3 (0.27%) Data ONTAP
13 3 (0.27%) VMS
14 2 (0.18%) CentOS
14 2 (0.18%) Windows Server 2016
15 1 (0.090%) Windows 7
15 1 (0.090%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 158 (14.27%) Migration
2 127 (11.47%) Problem-Solving
3 124 (11.20%) Load Balancing
4 116 (10.48%) High Availability
5 95 (8.58%) ITIL
5 95 (8.58%) Network Design
6 82 (7.41%) ITSM
7 73 (6.59%) Agile
7 73 (6.59%) Project Delivery
8 69 (6.23%) Change Management
9 67 (6.05%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 65 (5.87%) Technical Leadership
11 61 (5.51%) Continuous Improvement
12 60 (5.42%) Disaster Recovery
12 60 (5.42%) Network Monitoring
13 58 (5.24%) Cybersecurity
14 55 (4.97%) Infrastructure as Code
15 53 (4.79%) Validation
15 53 (4.79%) Zero Trust
16 47 (4.25%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 114 (10.30%) Python
2 52 (4.70%) PowerShell
3 24 (2.17%) SQL
4 22 (1.99%) Bash
5 8 (0.72%) C
6 4 (0.36%) 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 (0.090%) Bicep
9 1 (0.090%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.090%) Ladder Logic
9 1 (0.090%) Lisp
9 1 (0.090%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 368 (33.24%) Security Cleared
2 331 (29.90%) Cisco Certification
3 276 (24.93%) SC Cleared
4 254 (22.94%) CCNP
5 122 (11.02%) CCNA
6 107 (9.67%) DV Cleared
7 78 (7.05%) Degree
8 64 (5.78%) CCIE
9 30 (2.71%) Microsoft Certification
10 25 (2.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 22 (1.99%) MCSE
12 21 (1.90%) Network+ Certification
13 18 (1.63%) JNCIS
14 16 (1.45%) Azure Certification
14 16 (1.45%) BPSS Clearance
14 16 (1.45%) VCAP
15 15 (1.36%) CCSE
15 15 (1.36%) MCSA
16 14 (1.26%) JNCIP
16 14 (1.26%) Server+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 30 (2.71%) NIST
1 30 (2.71%) SLA
2 28 (2.53%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 24 (2.17%) Cyber Essentials
4 17 (1.54%) NCSC
5 16 (1.45%) QA
6 11 (0.99%) PMO
7 7 (0.63%) Disclosure Scotland
7 7 (0.63%) GDPR
7 7 (0.63%) JSP 440
8 4 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 3 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 3 (0.27%) NIST 800
9 3 (0.27%) RMADS
10 2 (0.18%) Accessibility
10 2 (0.18%) Data Quality
10 2 (0.18%) GRC
10 2 (0.18%) ISA99
10 2 (0.18%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 2 (0.18%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 146 (13.19%) VMware Infrastructure
2 80 (7.23%) Active Directory
3 62 (5.60%) vSphere
4 59 (5.33%) VMware ESXi
5 51 (4.61%) VMware NSX
6 31 (2.80%) Virtual Machines
7 25 (2.26%) Firmware
8 19 (1.72%) NFS
9 16 (1.45%) GPFS
9 16 (1.45%) Hyper-V
10 9 (0.81%) SRDF
11 7 (0.63%) Docker
12 5 (0.45%) Virtual Desktop
13 4 (0.36%) vCloud
13 4 (0.36%) 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 (0.090%) Squid
Systems Management
1 129 (11.65%) Ansible
2 100 (9.03%) FortiGate
3 51 (4.61%) Terraform
4 33 (2.98%) vCenter Server
5 27 (2.44%) Grafana
6 25 (2.26%) vRealize
7 20 (1.81%) Prometheus
8 18 (1.63%) Kubernetes
8 18 (1.63%) Microsoft Intune
9 15 (1.36%) SCCM
10 14 (1.26%) Cisco Prime
11 13 (1.17%) Single Sign-On
11 13 (1.17%) VxRail
12 11 (0.99%) Cisco CUCM
13 10 (0.90%) Nagios
14 7 (0.63%) SCOM
15 6 (0.54%) EMC TimeFinder
15 6 (0.54%) EMC VPLEX
15 6 (0.54%) WMI
15 6 (0.54%) WSUS
Vendors
1 300 (27.10%) Palo Alto
2 213 (19.24%) F5
3 187 (16.89%) VMware
4 184 (16.62%) Microsoft
5 159 (14.36%) Juniper
6 155 (14.00%) Fortinet
7 124 (11.20%) Aruba
8 123 (11.11%) CheckPoint
9 101 (9.12%) ServiceNow
10 89 (8.04%) Meraki
11 86 (7.77%) SolarWinds
12 71 (6.41%) Arista
13 56 (5.06%) Splunk
14 49 (4.43%) Zscaler
15 43 (3.88%) Dell
16 35 (3.16%) IBM
17 28 (2.53%) EMC
17 28 (2.53%) Extreme Networks
18 26 (2.35%) Brocade
19 23 (2.08%) Infoblox