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 13 August 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
13 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 118 76 66
Rank change year-on-year -42 -10 -10
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,181 1,068 1,194
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.21% 3.24% 3.07%
As % of the Vendors category 5.32% 6.86% 7.01%
Number of daily rates quoted 771 658 738
10th Percentile £300 £300 £253
25th Percentile £400 £400 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £483 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -3.40% - +6.95%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £580
90th Percentile £643 £638 £652
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -5.00% - +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 43 38 33
10th Percentile £26.72 £25.11 £15.43
25th Percentile £38.80 £25.15 £22.40
Median hourly rate £55.00 £30.00 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year +83.33% +9.09% -43.78%
75th Percentile £69.92 £55.00 £55.00
90th Percentile £78.70 £84.99 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £55.00 £30.00 £50.00
% change year-on-year +83.33% -40.00% -9.62%

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 22,208 15,570 17,043
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.62% 47.27% 43.76%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,745 9,527 10,624
10th Percentile £313 £278 £288
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £500 £520
Median % change year-on-year +2.00% -3.85% -0.95%
75th Percentile £607 £613 £625
90th Percentile £700 £700 £730
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,140 801 840
10th Percentile £14.80 £14.54 £13.68
25th Percentile £18.25 £17.30 £15.62
Median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £29.00
Median % change year-on-year +29.22% -13.28% -28.95%
75th Percentile £65.00 £47.12 £61.60
90th Percentile £83.63 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.23 £21.29 £28.00
% change year-on-year +51.36% -23.96% -18.84%

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 13 August 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 13 August 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 13 August 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 -48 1,003 £500 - 760
UK excluding London -44 706 £475 -5.00% 615
London -49 364 £500 - 280
Work from Home -16 289 £477 -1.14% 171
North of England -22 235 £493 +3.33% 153
North West +5 172 £485 +2.11% 66
South East -44 170 £490 -6.67% 149
Midlands -34 131 £425 -18.27% 82
West Midlands -20 125 £420 -18.45% 41
Scotland +23 92 £419 -1.47% 42
Yorkshire -54 59 £500 +1.63% 60
South West -55 55 £500 -9.09% 88
East of England -16 35 £500 -9.09% 68
Wales -7 17 £468 +133.75% 28
Northern Ireland +10 7 £110 -68.71% 15
North East -43 5 £388 +19.23% 29
East Midlands -36 3 £525 -4.55% 41
Channel Islands +1 1 £550 -24.14%

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 33 (2.79%) SharePoint
2 28 (2.37%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.02%) Confluence
4 10 (0.85%) OpenStack
5 7 (0.59%) Apache
6 5 (0.42%) JBoss
7 4 (0.34%) nginx
7 4 (0.34%) SAS
8 3 (0.25%) CloudStack
8 3 (0.25%) IIS
8 3 (0.25%) Tomcat
9 2 (0.17%) CMS
10 1 (0.085%) Apache Spark
10 1 (0.085%) FactoryTalk
10 1 (0.085%) Mendix
10 1 (0.085%) SharePoint Server
10 1 (0.085%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 47 (3.98%) Microsoft Office
2 26 (2.20%) MS Visio
3 25 (2.12%) Microsoft Excel
4 10 (0.85%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.25%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.085%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 2 (0.17%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.085%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 240 (20.32%) Azure
2 146 (12.36%) AWS
3 88 (7.45%) Microsoft 365
4 62 (5.25%) Entra ID
5 27 (2.29%) OneDrive
6 26 (2.20%) GitHub
7 21 (1.78%) GCP
8 20 (1.69%) OpenShift
9 18 (1.52%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 17 (1.44%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 14 (1.19%) Power Platform
12 12 (1.02%) Nutanix
13 11 (0.93%) SaaS
14 10 (0.85%) Azure DevOps
14 10 (0.85%) Azure Sentinel
15 7 (0.59%) Cloudflare
15 7 (0.59%) GitHub Actions
15 7 (0.59%) IaaS
15 7 (0.59%) Rubrik
16 6 (0.51%) Amazon EC2
Communications & Networking
1 520 (44.03%) Firewall
2 362 (30.65%) WAN
3 311 (26.33%) BGP
4 290 (24.56%) LAN
5 257 (21.76%) VPN
6 246 (20.83%) Network Security
7 212 (17.95%) OSPF
8 201 (17.02%) Wireless
9 198 (16.77%) DNS
10 175 (14.82%) VLAN
11 145 (12.28%) SD-WAN
12 128 (10.84%) MPLS
13 120 (10.16%) Wi-Fi
14 114 (9.65%) Cisco Nexus
14 114 (9.65%) DHCP
15 110 (9.31%) Cisco ISE
16 105 (8.89%) VXLAN
17 93 (7.87%) TCP/IP
18 88 (7.45%) Cisco ASA
19 82 (6.94%) Cisco IOS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (2.12%) SQL Server
2 6 (0.51%) Power BI
3 5 (0.42%) Big Data
3 5 (0.42%) Hadoop
4 4 (0.34%) Amazon RDS
5 3 (0.25%) MySQL
6 2 (0.17%) Metadata
6 2 (0.17%) NoSQL
6 2 (0.17%) PostgreSQL
7 1 (0.085%) Apache Hive
7 1 (0.085%) ClickHouse
Development Applications
1 25 (2.12%) Git
2 22 (1.86%) JIRA
3 13 (1.10%) Sonatype Nexus
4 11 (0.93%) Jenkins
5 8 (0.68%) GitLab
6 1 (0.085%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.085%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.085%) Tricentis qTest
6 1 (0.085%) Zephyr
General
1 280 (23.71%) Social Skills
2 112 (9.48%) Finance
3 103 (8.72%) Telecoms
4 94 (7.96%) Analytical Skills
5 63 (5.33%) Public Sector
6 61 (5.17%) Banking
7 55 (4.66%) Documentation Skills
8 38 (3.22%) Legal
9 22 (1.86%) Financial Institution
9 22 (1.86%) Organisational Skills
10 19 (1.61%) Investment Banking
11 17 (1.44%) Law
12 16 (1.35%) Military
12 16 (1.35%) Retail
13 11 (0.93%) Police
14 10 (0.85%) Manufacturing
15 9 (0.76%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 9 (0.76%) Influencing Skills
16 7 (0.59%) Marketing
17 5 (0.42%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 583 (49.36%) Network Engineer
2 162 (13.72%) Senior
3 138 (11.69%) Architect
4 134 (11.35%) Cisco Engineer
5 121 (10.25%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 112 (9.48%) Senior Network Engineer
7 86 (7.28%) Security Engineer
8 73 (6.18%) Network Architect
9 68 (5.76%) Network Security Engineer
10 57 (4.83%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 49 (4.15%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 40 (3.39%) Data Network Engineer
13 37 (3.13%) Field Engineer
14 34 (2.88%) Analyst
15 32 (2.71%) Cisco Security Engineer
15 32 (2.71%) Data Engineer
16 30 (2.54%) Network Specialist
17 29 (2.46%) Lead
18 28 (2.37%) Automation Engineer
18 28 (2.37%) Telecoms Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 81 (6.86%) 802.1X
2 21 (1.78%) REST
3 14 (1.19%) SAML
4 9 (0.76%) Flash
4 9 (0.76%) NETCONF
5 8 (0.68%) JSON
5 8 (0.68%) XMPP
5 8 (0.68%) YAML
6 7 (0.59%) OpenConfig
6 7 (0.59%) RESTCONF
6 7 (0.59%) YANG
7 6 (0.51%) Jinja
7 6 (0.51%) Microsoft Graph
8 4 (0.34%) LDAP
9 3 (0.25%) Elastic Stack
9 3 (0.25%) Java RMI
9 3 (0.25%) LAMP
9 3 (0.25%) LEMP Stack
9 3 (0.25%) Middleware
10 2 (0.17%) .NET Core
Miscellaneous
1 277 (23.45%) Data Centre
2 61 (5.17%) PKI
3 51 (4.32%) Hybrid Cloud
4 42 (3.56%) Clustering
5 40 (3.39%) Onboarding
6 39 (3.30%) Data Protection Act
7 33 (2.79%) Driving Licence
7 33 (2.79%) Operational Technology
8 32 (2.71%) Replication
8 32 (2.71%) Video Conferencing
9 22 (1.86%) Analytical Mindset
10 19 (1.61%) Cloud Native
11 18 (1.52%) Enterprise Storage
11 18 (1.52%) Linux Command Line
12 17 (1.44%) Public Cloud
13 16 (1.35%) SCADA
13 16 (1.35%) Self-Motivation
14 15 (1.27%) EMC VMAX
15 14 (1.19%) Security Posture
16 13 (1.10%) Management Information System
Operating Systems
1 222 (18.80%) Windows
2 124 (10.50%) Linux
3 76 (6.44%) Windows Server
4 17 (1.44%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 17 (1.44%) Windows 10
5 16 (1.35%) Ubuntu
6 13 (1.10%) Unix
7 10 (0.85%) Mac OS
7 10 (0.85%) Windows Server 2019
8 9 (0.76%) AIX
8 9 (0.76%) Android
9 7 (0.59%) Windows Server 2012
10 5 (0.42%) Data ONTAP
11 4 (0.34%) CentOS
11 4 (0.34%) VMS
11 4 (0.34%) Windows Server 2016
12 1 (0.085%) CatOS
12 1 (0.085%) Check Point GAiA
12 1 (0.085%) Debian
12 1 (0.085%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 180 (15.24%) Migration
2 139 (11.77%) ITIL
2 139 (11.77%) Problem-Solving
3 135 (11.43%) Project Delivery
4 133 (11.26%) Load Balancing
5 126 (10.67%) High Availability
6 97 (8.21%) Change Management
7 90 (7.62%) Network Design
8 85 (7.20%) Continuous Improvement
9 84 (7.11%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 82 (6.94%) ITSM
11 78 (6.60%) Stakeholder Management
12 72 (6.10%) Infrastructure as Code
13 67 (5.67%) CI/CD
14 66 (5.59%) Technical Leadership
15 64 (5.42%) Network Monitoring
16 63 (5.33%) Validation
17 59 (5.00%) Stakeholder Engagement
18 57 (4.83%) Data Protection
18 57 (4.83%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 137 (11.60%) Python
2 59 (5.00%) PowerShell
3 30 (2.54%) Bash
4 24 (2.03%) SQL
5 5 (0.42%) Shell Script
6 4 (0.34%) C
6 4 (0.34%) Java
7 3 (0.25%) C++
7 3 (0.25%) Lisp
8 2 (0.17%) ActionScript
8 2 (0.17%) Perl
9 1 (0.085%) Bicep
9 1 (0.085%) Ladder Logic
Qualifications
1 333 (28.20%) Cisco Certification
2 305 (25.83%) Security Cleared
3 229 (19.39%) CCNP
4 209 (17.70%) SC Cleared
5 135 (11.43%) CCNA
6 91 (7.71%) DV Cleared
7 71 (6.01%) Degree
8 63 (5.33%) CCIE
9 26 (2.20%) Microsoft Certification
10 23 (1.95%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 21 (1.78%) Network+ Certification
12 19 (1.61%) MCSE
13 17 (1.44%) Azure Certification
14 16 (1.35%) Server+ Certification
15 15 (1.27%) BPSS Clearance
16 13 (1.10%) Computer Science Degree
16 13 (1.10%) JNCIP
16 13 (1.10%) JNCIS
17 11 (0.93%) CCSE
18 10 (0.85%) JNCIA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (3.98%) SLA
2 28 (2.37%) NIST
3 22 (1.86%) QA
4 17 (1.44%) Cyber Essentials
4 17 (1.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 14 (1.19%) NCSC
6 6 (0.51%) Disclosure Scotland
6 6 (0.51%) PMO
7 5 (0.42%) GDPR
7 5 (0.42%) JSP 440
7 5 (0.42%) PCI DSS
8 4 (0.34%) Data Quality
9 3 (0.25%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 3 (0.25%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 3 (0.25%) NIST 800
10 2 (0.17%) Accessibility
10 2 (0.17%) Government Security Classifications
10 2 (0.17%) ISA99
11 1 (0.085%) GRC
11 1 (0.085%) ISO/IEC 20000
System Software
1 143 (12.11%) VMware Infrastructure
2 110 (9.31%) Active Directory
3 43 (3.64%) VMware NSX
4 41 (3.47%) vSphere
5 40 (3.39%) VMware ESXi
6 32 (2.71%) Firmware
7 29 (2.46%) Virtual Machines
8 28 (2.37%) Hyper-V
9 15 (1.27%) Docker
10 13 (1.10%) NFS
11 9 (0.76%) GPFS
11 9 (0.76%) SRDF
12 6 (0.51%) EMC RecoverPoint
13 5 (0.42%) Virtual Desktop
13 5 (0.42%) Virtual Servers
14 3 (0.25%) Dovecot
14 3 (0.25%) FreeRADIUS
14 3 (0.25%) Postfix
15 2 (0.17%) Snort
15 2 (0.17%) UAG
Systems Management
1 138 (11.69%) Ansible
2 99 (8.38%) FortiGate
3 70 (5.93%) Terraform
4 31 (2.62%) Kubernetes
5 29 (2.46%) Microsoft Intune
6 21 (1.78%) Cisco CUCM
6 21 (1.78%) SCCM
7 18 (1.52%) Cisco Prime
7 18 (1.52%) vCenter Server
8 17 (1.44%) Grafana
9 15 (1.27%) Prometheus
10 10 (0.85%) Single Sign-On
11 9 (0.76%) Puppet
11 9 (0.76%) vRealize
12 8 (0.68%) WMI
12 8 (0.68%) WSUS
13 7 (0.59%) EMC VPLEX
13 7 (0.59%) Failover Clustering
13 7 (0.59%) Nagios
14 6 (0.51%) VxRail
Vendors
1 255 (21.59%) Palo Alto
2 228 (19.31%) F5
3 219 (18.54%) Microsoft
4 204 (17.27%) Fortinet
5 201 (17.02%) VMware
6 154 (13.04%) Juniper
7 100 (8.47%) CheckPoint
8 98 (8.30%) ServiceNow
8 98 (8.30%) SolarWinds
9 96 (8.13%) Meraki
10 91 (7.71%) Aruba
11 70 (5.93%) Arista
12 61 (5.17%) Splunk
13 53 (4.49%) Zscaler
14 35 (2.96%) Dell
15 34 (2.88%) Red Hat
16 27 (2.29%) Extreme Networks
17 26 (2.20%) Infoblox
18 23 (1.95%) Nokia
19 22 (1.86%) EMC