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 24 September 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
24 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 115 81 67
Rank change year-on-year -34 -14 -14
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,246 1,001 1,224
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.27% 3.04% 3.21%
As % of the Vendors category 5.44% 6.39% 7.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 807 632 724
10th Percentile £267 £300 £250
25th Percentile £400 £400 £384
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £490 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.96% -2.10% +8.11%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £584
90th Percentile £668 £649 £650
UK excluding London median daily rate £465 £490 £500
% change year-on-year -5.01% -2.10% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 43 37
10th Percentile £27.36 - £19.40
25th Percentile £44.00 £25.15 £20.50
Median hourly rate £55.00 £30.00 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year +83.33% +9.09% -42.11%
75th Percentile £68.75 £50.38 £55.00
90th Percentile £78.75 £80.15 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £55.00 £32.50 £37.50
% change year-on-year +69.23% -13.33% -21.33%

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 22,905 15,664 16,910
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.72% 47.52% 44.37%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,978 9,611 10,062
10th Percentile £310 £275 £288
25th Percentile £413 £403 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £615 £613 £625
90th Percentile £704 £700 £730
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £480 £500
% change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,303 808 647
10th Percentile £13.97 £14.75 £14.50
25th Percentile £16.50 £17.69 £15.62
Median hourly rate £25.75 £25.15 £31.50
Median % change year-on-year +2.39% -20.16% -28.18%
75th Percentile £60.00 £43.20 £64.25
90th Percentile £78.71 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.75 £21.25 £30.00
% change year-on-year +21.18% -29.17% -29.41%

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 24 September 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 24 September 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 24 September 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 -40 1,028 £497 -0.64% 1,285
UK excluding London -33 732 £465 -5.01% 940
London -32 382 £500 - 465
Work from Home -34 294 £475 +2.70% 319
North of England +3 243 £484 +1.89% 199
North West +11 164 £483 +1.68% 98
South East -73 131 £450 -10.00% 238
Midlands -38 129 £450 -2.70% 127
West Midlands -20 123 £450 -8.86% 71
Scotland +7 100 £413 -2.94% 59
Yorkshire -13 72 £500 +1.63% 67
South West -33 66 £525 -4.55% 138
East of England -9 53 £500 +3.63% 138
Wales +12 29 £390 +95.00% 26
Northern Ireland +2 9 £145 -69.47% 29
North East -39 9 £375 -31.82% 34
East Midlands -30 4 £525 +83.73% 56
Channel Islands -4 3 £600 -17.24%

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 40 (3.21%) SharePoint
2 37 (2.97%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (1.04%) CMS
4 12 (0.96%) Confluence
5 11 (0.88%) OpenStack
6 8 (0.64%) SAS
7 7 (0.56%) Apache
7 7 (0.56%) IIS
8 6 (0.48%) JBoss
9 4 (0.32%) nginx
10 3 (0.24%) CloudStack
10 3 (0.24%) Tomcat
11 2 (0.16%) Skype for Business
12 1 (0.080%) Apache Spark
12 1 (0.080%) FactoryTalk
12 1 (0.080%) Mendix
12 1 (0.080%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 49 (3.93%) Microsoft Office
2 26 (2.09%) Microsoft Excel
3 22 (1.77%) MS Visio
4 7 (0.56%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.24%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.080%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 1 (0.080%) Monis
1 1 (0.080%) Remedy ITSM
1 1 (0.080%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 252 (20.22%) Azure
2 157 (12.60%) AWS
3 101 (8.11%) Microsoft 365
4 67 (5.38%) Entra ID
5 39 (3.13%) GitHub
6 30 (2.41%) OneDrive
7 29 (2.33%) GCP
8 21 (1.69%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 19 (1.52%) OpenShift
10 16 (1.28%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 14 (1.12%) Power Platform
12 13 (1.04%) Nutanix
13 12 (0.96%) SaaS
14 10 (0.80%) AWS Direct Connect
15 8 (0.64%) Azure DevOps
15 8 (0.64%) Azure Sentinel
15 8 (0.64%) GitHub Actions
16 6 (0.48%) Cloudflare
16 6 (0.48%) IaaS
16 6 (0.48%) Rubrik
Communications & Networking
1 508 (40.77%) Firewall
2 366 (29.37%) WAN
3 306 (24.56%) BGP
4 278 (22.31%) LAN
5 267 (21.43%) VPN
6 264 (21.19%) Network Security
7 215 (17.26%) Wireless
8 192 (15.41%) OSPF
9 185 (14.85%) VLAN
10 182 (14.61%) DNS
11 153 (12.28%) SD-WAN
12 136 (10.91%) Wi-Fi
13 134 (10.75%) MPLS
14 116 (9.31%) Cisco Nexus
15 107 (8.59%) DHCP
16 102 (8.19%) TCP/IP
17 96 (7.70%) Cisco ISE
18 90 (7.22%) Cisco IOS
19 89 (7.14%) VXLAN
20 85 (6.82%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 27 (2.17%) SQL Server
2 7 (0.56%) Power BI
3 6 (0.48%) Hadoop
4 5 (0.40%) Big Data
5 4 (0.32%) Amazon RDS
6 3 (0.24%) Metadata
6 3 (0.24%) MySQL
7 2 (0.16%) NoSQL
7 2 (0.16%) PostgreSQL
8 1 (0.080%) Apache Hive
8 1 (0.080%) ClickHouse
Development Applications
1 37 (2.97%) Git
2 18 (1.44%) JIRA
3 15 (1.20%) GitLab
4 13 (1.04%) Sonatype Nexus
5 8 (0.64%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.16%) Robot Framework
7 1 (0.080%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.080%) Tricentis qTest
7 1 (0.080%) Zephyr
General
1 286 (22.95%) Social Skills
2 129 (10.35%) Telecoms
3 128 (10.27%) Finance
4 105 (8.43%) Analytical Skills
5 67 (5.38%) Banking
6 62 (4.98%) Documentation Skills
6 62 (4.98%) Public Sector
7 47 (3.77%) Legal
8 21 (1.69%) Investment Banking
8 21 (1.69%) Organisational Skills
9 20 (1.61%) Retail
10 17 (1.36%) Financial Institution
11 15 (1.20%) Law
12 14 (1.12%) Military
13 11 (0.88%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 10 (0.80%) Manufacturing
15 9 (0.72%) Influencing Skills
15 9 (0.72%) Police
16 6 (0.48%) Marketing
16 6 (0.48%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 617 (49.52%) Network Engineer
2 183 (14.69%) Senior
3 150 (12.04%) Architect
4 148 (11.88%) Cisco Engineer
5 133 (10.67%) Senior Network Engineer
6 127 (10.19%) Cisco Network Engineer
7 87 (6.98%) Security Engineer
8 79 (6.34%) Network Architect
9 68 (5.46%) Network Security Engineer
10 64 (5.14%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 52 (4.17%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 45 (3.61%) Lead
13 43 (3.45%) Field Engineer
14 40 (3.21%) Analyst
14 40 (3.21%) Support Engineer
15 36 (2.89%) Solutions Architect
16 35 (2.81%) Telecoms Engineer
17 33 (2.65%) Data Network Engineer
18 30 (2.41%) Consultant
19 27 (2.17%) Automation Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 90 (7.22%) Terraform
2 56 (4.49%) 802.1X
3 35 (2.81%) REST
4 21 (1.69%) YAML
5 19 (1.52%) JSON
6 18 (1.44%) XMPP
7 13 (1.04%) NETCONF
8 12 (0.96%) SAML
9 9 (0.72%) YANG
10 7 (0.56%) Microsoft Graph
10 7 (0.56%) RESTCONF
11 6 (0.48%) Flash
12 5 (0.40%) OpenConfig
13 3 (0.24%) Elastic Stack
13 3 (0.24%) LAMP
13 3 (0.24%) LDAP
13 3 (0.24%) LEMP Stack
13 3 (0.24%) Middleware
13 3 (0.24%) OpenID
13 3 (0.24%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 299 (24.00%) Data Centre
2 56 (4.49%) Hybrid Cloud
3 50 (4.01%) Onboarding
4 48 (3.85%) Driving Licence
5 44 (3.53%) Video Conferencing
6 42 (3.37%) PKI
7 37 (2.97%) Operational Technology
8 36 (2.89%) Data Protection Act
9 25 (2.01%) Management Information System
9 25 (2.01%) Replication
10 23 (1.85%) Self-Motivation
11 22 (1.77%) Clustering
12 21 (1.69%) Cloud Native
12 21 (1.69%) Public Cloud
13 20 (1.61%) Analytical Mindset
14 18 (1.44%) Private Cloud
15 16 (1.28%) Enterprise Storage
15 16 (1.28%) Linux Command Line
16 14 (1.12%) IoT
17 13 (1.04%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 240 (19.26%) Windows
2 125 (10.03%) Linux
3 97 (7.78%) Windows Server
4 23 (1.85%) Mac OS
5 22 (1.77%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 18 (1.44%) Ubuntu
6 18 (1.44%) Windows 10
7 11 (0.88%) Android
8 10 (0.80%) Unix
9 9 (0.72%) Windows Server 2012
10 8 (0.64%) Windows Server 2019
11 7 (0.56%) AIX
11 7 (0.56%) Data ONTAP
12 6 (0.48%) CentOS
13 4 (0.32%) VMS
13 4 (0.32%) Windows Server 2016
14 1 (0.080%) Debian
14 1 (0.080%) Oracle Linux
14 1 (0.080%) Windows 7
14 1 (0.080%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 201 (16.13%) Migration
2 162 (13.00%) Project Delivery
3 147 (11.80%) Problem-Solving
4 132 (10.59%) ITIL
5 108 (8.67%) High Availability
6 106 (8.51%) Stakeholder Management
7 103 (8.27%) Infrastructure Engineering
7 103 (8.27%) Load Balancing
8 95 (7.62%) Change Management
9 93 (7.46%) Network Design
10 91 (7.30%) Infrastructure as Code
10 91 (7.30%) Validation
11 90 (7.22%) Continuous Improvement
12 75 (6.02%) Technical Leadership
13 74 (5.94%) Zero Trust
14 72 (5.78%) Data Protection
15 67 (5.38%) ITSM
16 64 (5.14%) Stakeholder Engagement
17 63 (5.06%) CI/CD
17 63 (5.06%) Cybersecurity
Programming Languages
1 149 (11.96%) Python
2 59 (4.74%) PowerShell
3 33 (2.65%) Bash
4 27 (2.17%) SQL
5 5 (0.40%) Java
6 4 (0.32%) C
6 4 (0.32%) C++
7 3 (0.24%) Lisp
7 3 (0.24%) Shell Script
8 2 (0.16%) Go
8 2 (0.16%) Perl
9 1 (0.080%) Bicep
9 1 (0.080%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.080%) Ladder Logic
9 1 (0.080%) R
Qualifications
1 336 (26.97%) Cisco Certification
2 304 (24.40%) Security Cleared
3 239 (19.18%) CCNP
4 226 (18.14%) SC Cleared
5 132 (10.59%) CCNA
6 75 (6.02%) Degree
6 75 (6.02%) DV Cleared
7 65 (5.22%) CCIE
8 27 (2.17%) Microsoft Certification
9 23 (1.85%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
10 19 (1.52%) CISSP
10 19 (1.52%) MCSE
11 15 (1.20%) AWS Certification
12 14 (1.12%) Azure Certification
12 14 (1.12%) Computer Science Degree
12 14 (1.12%) Network+ Certification
13 13 (1.04%) CCSE
14 12 (0.96%) BPSS Clearance
15 11 (0.88%) ISTQB
15 11 (0.88%) Server+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (3.21%) SLA
2 28 (2.25%) NIST
3 22 (1.77%) QA
4 21 (1.69%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 14 (1.12%) Cyber Essentials
6 12 (0.96%) PCI DSS
7 8 (0.64%) GDPR
8 7 (0.56%) NCSC
9 5 (0.40%) Data Quality
9 5 (0.40%) Disclosure Scotland
9 5 (0.40%) GRC
9 5 (0.40%) PMO
10 4 (0.32%) ISO 31000
10 4 (0.32%) ISO 9001
10 4 (0.32%) ISO/IEC 27005
10 4 (0.32%) JSP 440
10 4 (0.32%) NIST 800
11 3 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 2 (0.16%) Accessibility
12 2 (0.16%) Government Security Classifications
System Software
1 153 (12.28%) VMware Infrastructure
2 132 (10.59%) Active Directory
3 50 (4.01%) vSphere
4 43 (3.45%) VMware NSX
5 38 (3.05%) VMware ESXi
6 36 (2.89%) Hyper-V
7 30 (2.41%) Firmware
8 29 (2.33%) Virtual Machines
9 19 (1.52%) Docker
10 10 (0.80%) NFS
11 6 (0.48%) EMC RecoverPoint
11 6 (0.48%) GPFS
12 5 (0.40%) FreeRADIUS
12 5 (0.40%) Virtual Desktop
13 4 (0.32%) ISA Server
13 4 (0.32%) SRDF
13 4 (0.32%) Virtual Servers
14 3 (0.24%) Dovecot
14 3 (0.24%) Postfix
15 2 (0.16%) IAG
Systems Management
1 154 (12.36%) Ansible
2 78 (6.26%) FortiGate
3 33 (2.65%) Cisco CUCM
3 33 (2.65%) Kubernetes
4 30 (2.41%) Microsoft Intune
5 21 (1.69%) Cisco Prime
5 21 (1.69%) SCCM
5 21 (1.69%) vCenter Server
6 10 (0.80%) Grafana
6 10 (0.80%) Nagios
7 9 (0.72%) Prometheus
7 9 (0.72%) WMI
8 8 (0.64%) Failover Clustering
8 8 (0.64%) Puppet
8 8 (0.64%) WSUS
9 7 (0.56%) EMC VPLEX
9 7 (0.56%) Single Sign-On
10 6 (0.48%) Red Hat Satellite
10 6 (0.48%) vRealize
11 5 (0.40%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 263 (21.11%) Palo Alto
2 243 (19.50%) Microsoft
3 213 (17.09%) Fortinet
3 213 (17.09%) VMware
4 183 (14.69%) F5
5 128 (10.27%) Juniper
5 128 (10.27%) Meraki
6 107 (8.59%) CheckPoint
7 90 (7.22%) Aruba
8 84 (6.74%) ServiceNow
9 82 (6.58%) SolarWinds
10 75 (6.02%) Arista
11 58 (4.65%) Zscaler
12 41 (3.29%) Red Hat
13 39 (3.13%) Splunk
14 36 (2.89%) Dell
15 31 (2.49%) NetApp
16 30 (2.41%) Nokia
17 24 (1.93%) Infoblox
18 22 (1.77%) EMC