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 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
13 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 99 56 58
Rank change year-on-year -43 +2 +25
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,053 1,146 1,564
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.63% 3.70% 3.51%
As % of the Vendors category 5.86% 7.99% 8.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 718 710 925
10th Percentile £241 £287 £250
25th Percentile £360 £411 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -8.00% +5.26% -1.55%
75th Percentile £550 £588 £594
90th Percentile £609 £663 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £475
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 24 87
10th Percentile £21.27 £18.13 £14.36
25th Percentile £25.15 £20.00 £23.13
Median hourly rate £65.00 £24.66 £34.00
Median % change year-on-year +163.58% -27.47% +32.24%
75th Percentile £74.26 £48.75 £50.00
90th Percentile £94.13 £74.63 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £73.13 £20.38 £39.38
% change year-on-year +258.92% -48.25% +27.02%

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 17,970 14,337 19,423
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 44.92% 46.30% 43.60%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,533 8,577 12,205
10th Percentile £300 £275 £256
25th Percentile £413 £406 £403
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £521 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.94% -0.86% -1.41%
75th Percentile £606 £625 £630
90th Percentile £700 £713 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £495 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 876 416 921
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.62 £12.99
25th Percentile £17.94 £20.84 £15.50
Median hourly rate £23.91 £29.00 £27.17
Median % change year-on-year -17.54% +6.76% -14.87%
75th Percentile £56.69 £63.75 £57.50
90th Percentile £74.26 £80.75 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.17 £26.50 £26.00
% change year-on-year -16.34% +1.92% -5.45%

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 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 13 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 13 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 -46 868 £475 -5.00% 468
UK excluding London -23 687 £475 - 404
Work from Home -36 294 £445 -13.17% 138
London -58 254 £464 -8.85% 122
South East -4 206 £500 - 139
Midlands -7 153 £378 -14.93% 60
North of England -57 152 £476 -4.75% 79
West Midlands +5 134 £380 -13.14% 41
North West -21 122 £481 -3.75% 45
Scotland +40 78 £425 +6.25% 24
South West -55 50 £550 +4.76% 45
East of England -13 35 £460 +5.14% 56
Yorkshire -87 23 £450 -10.00% 26
Wales -7 20 £170 -56.83% 9
East Midlands -34 17 £158 -65.00% 19
Northern Ireland +8 13 £475 - 3
North East -14 9 £175 -64.10% 8

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 51 (4.84%) SharePoint
2 40 (3.80%) Microsoft Exchange
3 20 (1.90%) Confluence
4 14 (1.33%) Skype for Business
5 10 (0.95%) Apache
6 7 (0.66%) Appian
6 7 (0.66%) Mattermost
7 6 (0.57%) OpenStack
8 5 (0.47%) IIS
8 5 (0.47%) SharePoint Server
9 4 (0.38%) WebLogic
10 1 (0.095%) JBoss
10 1 (0.095%) WebSphere
Applications
1 75 (7.12%) Microsoft Office
2 44 (4.18%) MS Visio
3 20 (1.90%) Microsoft Excel
4 14 (1.33%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.47%) Acrobat
5 5 (0.47%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.095%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.095%) OmniGraffle
Business Applications
1 23 (2.18%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.28%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.095%) Actimize
3 1 (0.095%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 164 (15.57%) Azure
2 147 (13.96%) AWS
3 92 (8.74%) Microsoft 365
4 44 (4.18%) GCP
5 32 (3.04%) Entra ID
6 18 (1.71%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 14 (1.33%) Datadog
8 12 (1.14%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 12 (1.14%) Azure Sentinel
9 11 (1.04%) AWS CloudFormation
9 11 (1.04%) Nutanix
10 10 (0.95%) AWS Lambda
10 10 (0.95%) OpenShift
10 10 (0.95%) SaaS
10 10 (0.95%) Serverless
11 7 (0.66%) IaaS
11 7 (0.66%) Mimecast
11 7 (0.66%) OneDrive
11 7 (0.66%) PaaS
11 7 (0.66%) Tricentis Tosca
Communications & Networking
1 400 (37.99%) Firewall
2 290 (27.54%) WAN
3 222 (21.08%) VPN
4 210 (19.94%) LAN
5 199 (18.90%) BGP
6 172 (16.33%) Network Security
7 159 (15.10%) Wireless
8 141 (13.39%) OSPF
9 130 (12.35%) SD-WAN
10 109 (10.35%) DNS
11 103 (9.78%) MPLS
12 97 (9.21%) VLAN
13 85 (8.07%) Cisco ISE
14 74 (7.03%) Wi-Fi
15 73 (6.93%) IPsec
16 72 (6.84%) Cisco Nexus
17 68 (6.46%) Cisco IOS
18 67 (6.36%) Cisco ASA
19 60 (5.70%) TCP/IP
20 53 (5.03%) DHCP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (0.95%) SQL Server
2 5 (0.47%) DynamoDB
2 5 (0.47%) Power BI
3 3 (0.28%) Amazon Athena
4 2 (0.19%) MariaDB
5 1 (0.095%) Metadata
5 1 (0.095%) MySQL
5 1 (0.095%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.095%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 21 (1.99%) JIRA
2 16 (1.52%) GitLab
3 14 (1.33%) Sonatype Nexus
4 8 (0.76%) Jenkins
4 8 (0.76%) Robot Framework
5 7 (0.66%) Cucumber
5 7 (0.66%) Selenium
5 7 (0.66%) SonarQube
6 4 (0.38%) Git
7 2 (0.19%) Bitbucket
7 2 (0.19%) Rational DOORS
General
1 236 (22.41%) Social Skills
2 167 (15.86%) Public Sector
3 152 (14.43%) Finance
4 118 (11.21%) Telecoms
5 76 (7.22%) Analytical Skills
6 65 (6.17%) Manufacturing
7 58 (5.51%) Documentation Skills
8 48 (4.56%) Legal
9 46 (4.37%) Banking
10 45 (4.27%) Electronics
10 45 (4.27%) Marketing
11 15 (1.42%) Presentation Skills
12 14 (1.33%) Investment Banking
13 12 (1.14%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 12 (1.14%) Organisational Skills
14 10 (0.95%) Aerospace
15 8 (0.76%) Financial Institution
15 8 (0.76%) Influencing Skills
15 8 (0.76%) Law
15 8 (0.76%) Retail
Job Titles
1 378 (35.90%) Network Engineer
2 115 (10.92%) Architect
3 85 (8.07%) Cisco Engineer
4 75 (7.12%) Network Architect
5 72 (6.84%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 62 (5.89%) Analyst
7 60 (5.70%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
8 59 (5.60%) Security Engineer
8 59 (5.60%) Senior
9 54 (5.13%) Consultant
10 50 (4.75%) IT Support
11 47 (4.46%) Network Consultant
12 40 (3.80%) Support Engineer
13 37 (3.51%) Desktop Support
14 36 (3.42%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
14 36 (3.42%) Network Security Engineer
15 34 (3.23%) Infrastructure Engineer
16 32 (3.04%) Solutions Architect
17 26 (2.47%) 2nd Line Support
17 26 (2.47%) Infrastructure Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (3.13%) 802.1X
2 16 (1.52%) Flash
2 16 (1.52%) LDAP
2 16 (1.52%) XMPP
3 11 (1.04%) JSON
3 11 (1.04%) NETCONF
3 11 (1.04%) YANG
4 9 (0.85%) XML
5 8 (0.76%) Jinja
6 7 (0.66%) RFC 2544
6 7 (0.66%) SAML
7 5 (0.47%) Node.js
8 4 (0.38%) HTML
8 4 (0.38%) VML
9 3 (0.28%) OpenConfig
9 3 (0.28%) REST
10 2 (0.19%) ARM Templates
10 2 (0.19%) CSS
10 2 (0.19%) Microsoft Graph
10 2 (0.19%) RESTCONF
Miscellaneous
1 267 (25.36%) Data Centre
2 43 (4.08%) PKI
3 33 (3.13%) Linux Command Line
4 32 (3.04%) Replication
5 29 (2.75%) Hybrid Cloud
6 28 (2.66%) Data Protection Act
7 26 (2.47%) Cloud Native
7 26 (2.47%) Onboarding
8 25 (2.37%) Driving Licence
9 23 (2.18%) Operational Technology
10 18 (1.71%) Self-Motivation
11 17 (1.61%) Security Posture
12 15 (1.42%) Video Conferencing
13 13 (1.23%) NHS
13 13 (1.23%) Product Ownership
14 11 (1.04%) CMDB
15 10 (0.95%) Clustering
15 10 (0.95%) Fibre Optics
16 9 (0.85%) Enterprise Software
16 9 (0.85%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 169 (16.05%) Windows
2 114 (10.83%) Linux
3 74 (7.03%) Windows Server
4 52 (4.94%) Mac OS
5 50 (4.75%) Android
6 36 (3.42%) Windows 10
7 23 (2.18%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 16 (1.52%) Unix
9 6 (0.57%) Ubuntu
9 6 (0.57%) Windows Server 2012
9 6 (0.57%) Windows Server 2016
10 4 (0.38%) CatOS
10 4 (0.38%) Solaris
10 4 (0.38%) Windows Server 2019
11 3 (0.28%) VMS
12 1 (0.095%) CentOS
12 1 (0.095%) Oracle Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 147 (13.96%) Migration
2 123 (11.68%) Problem-Solving
3 92 (8.74%) Agile
4 84 (7.98%) Network Design
5 80 (7.60%) Roadmaps
6 76 (7.22%) Project Delivery
7 75 (7.12%) Cybersecurity
7 75 (7.12%) ITIL
8 74 (7.03%) ITSM
9 69 (6.55%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 66 (6.27%) High Availability
11 63 (5.98%) Change Management
12 62 (5.89%) Load Balancing
13 60 (5.70%) Network Architecture
14 59 (5.60%) Collaborative Working
14 59 (5.60%) Service Management
15 54 (5.13%) Business Intelligence
15 54 (5.13%) Disaster Recovery
16 53 (5.03%) Stakeholder Management
17 52 (4.94%) Zero Trust
Programming Languages
1 125 (11.87%) Python
2 62 (5.89%) PowerShell
3 35 (3.32%) Bash
4 22 (2.09%) Perl
4 22 (2.09%) SQL
5 15 (1.42%) JavaScript
6 8 (0.76%) Lisp
7 5 (0.47%) C++
7 5 (0.47%) Kusto Query Language
8 4 (0.38%) C
8 4 (0.38%) PHP
9 2 (0.19%) Korn
10 1 (0.095%) Java
10 1 (0.095%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 435 (41.31%) Security Cleared
2 345 (32.76%) SC Cleared
3 270 (25.64%) Cisco Certification
4 226 (21.46%) CCNP
5 109 (10.35%) DV Cleared
6 103 (9.78%) CCNA
7 80 (7.60%) Degree
8 72 (6.84%) CCIE
9 25 (2.37%) BPSS Clearance
10 24 (2.28%) ITIL Certification
10 24 (2.28%) Microsoft Certification
11 18 (1.71%) Azure Certification
11 18 (1.71%) JNCIS
12 17 (1.61%) AWS Certification
13 15 (1.42%) CISSP
13 15 (1.42%) MCSE
14 13 (1.23%) JNCIE
15 12 (1.14%) CCDP
15 12 (1.14%) JNCIA
15 12 (1.14%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 41 (3.89%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 28 (2.66%) NIST
3 25 (2.37%) SLA
4 22 (2.09%) Cyber Essentials
5 18 (1.71%) GDPR
6 16 (1.52%) PMO
7 15 (1.42%) PCI DSS
8 11 (1.04%) NCSC
9 6 (0.57%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 5 (0.47%) QA
11 3 (0.28%) Disclosure Scotland
11 3 (0.28%) HIPAA
11 3 (0.28%) JSP 440
11 3 (0.28%) RMADS
12 2 (0.19%) HMG Security Policy Framework
13 1 (0.095%) Actionable Recommendations
13 1 (0.095%) Data Quality
13 1 (0.095%) Def Stans
13 1 (0.095%) ISO 22301
13 1 (0.095%) ISO/IEC 20000
System Software
1 153 (14.53%) VMware Infrastructure
2 118 (11.21%) Active Directory
3 77 (7.31%) VMware NSX
4 59 (5.60%) vSphere
5 40 (3.80%) VMware ESXi
6 21 (1.99%) Virtual Machines
7 18 (1.71%) Docker
8 16 (1.52%) Firmware
8 16 (1.52%) GPFS
8 16 (1.52%) NFS
9 15 (1.42%) Hyper-V
10 5 (0.47%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 5 (0.47%) Snort
10 5 (0.47%) Virtual Servers
11 4 (0.38%) KVM
11 4 (0.38%) Squid
11 4 (0.38%) vCloud
11 4 (0.38%) Virtual Desktop
12 3 (0.28%) SRDF
13 1 (0.095%) RHEV
Systems Management
1 97 (9.21%) Ansible
2 67 (6.36%) FortiGate
3 56 (5.32%) vCenter Server
4 46 (4.37%) Terraform
5 36 (3.42%) vRealize
6 26 (2.47%) SCCM
7 17 (1.61%) Kubernetes
7 17 (1.61%) Microsoft Intune
7 17 (1.61%) VxRail
8 14 (1.33%) Grafana
9 12 (1.14%) Cisco CUCM
9 12 (1.14%) SCOM
10 11 (1.04%) WSUS
11 10 (0.95%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 10 (0.95%) Nessus
12 9 (0.85%) Cisco Prime
12 9 (0.85%) EMC NetWorker
12 9 (0.85%) Prometheus
12 9 (0.85%) Single Sign-On
13 7 (0.66%) Nagios
Vendors
1 256 (24.31%) Palo Alto
2 187 (17.76%) VMware
3 186 (17.66%) Microsoft
4 165 (15.67%) Juniper
5 127 (12.06%) Aruba
6 113 (10.73%) F5
7 110 (10.45%) SolarWinds
8 109 (10.35%) CheckPoint
9 108 (10.26%) Fortinet
10 100 (9.50%) Meraki
11 75 (7.12%) Dell
11 75 (7.12%) ServiceNow
12 61 (5.79%) HP
13 44 (4.18%) IBM
13 44 (4.18%) SAP
13 44 (4.18%) Splunk
14 41 (3.89%) Apple
15 37 (3.51%) Arista
16 36 (3.42%) Zscaler
17 35 (3.32%) Remedy