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 26 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
26 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 120 80 65
Rank change year-on-year -40 -15 -13
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,232 1,000 1,248
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.25% 3.02% 3.26%
As % of the Vendors category 5.39% 6.36% 7.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 795 633 740
10th Percentile £263 £293 £250
25th Percentile £400 £400 £399
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £490 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.96% -2.10% +8.11%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £588
90th Percentile £673 £638 £660
UK excluding London median daily rate £468 £490 £500
% change year-on-year -4.49% -2.10% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 47 43 37
10th Percentile £27.49 - £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% -39.82%
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% -21.05%

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 22,863 15,724 17,051
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.67% 47.54% 44.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,925 9,673 10,099
10th Percentile £310 £275 £285
25th Percentile £413 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £618 £613 £625
90th Percentile £705 £700 £731
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £480 £500
% change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,314 807 652
10th Percentile £13.97 £14.75 £14.50
25th Percentile £16.41 £17.79 £15.70
Median hourly rate £25.75 £25.15 £32.50
Median % change year-on-year +2.39% -22.62% -25.87%
75th Percentile £57.88 £43.21 £64.25
90th Percentile £78.69 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.30 £21.30 £30.00
% change year-on-year +18.76% -29.00% -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 26 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 26 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 26 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 -44 1,018 £500 - 1,318
UK excluding London -32 727 £468 -4.49% 939
London -37 378 £500 +0.81% 501
Work from Home -30 292 £476 +2.92% 317
North of England 0 239 £485 +1.84% 199
North West +16 160 £485 +2.11% 95
South East -77 131 £450 -10.00% 237
Midlands -39 127 £450 - 133
West Midlands -21 122 £450 -12.20% 75
Scotland +5 100 £413 -2.94% 55
Yorkshire -21 72 £500 +1.63% 69
South West -34 64 £538 -2.27% 139
East of England -9 57 £500 +3.63% 134
Wales +12 28 £376 +88.13% 26
Northern Ireland -2 9 £145 -69.47% 30
North East -34 9 £375 -31.82% 35
Channel Islands -3 3 £600 -17.24%
East Midlands -30 3 £525 +233.33% 58

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 (3.25%) SharePoint
2 36 (2.92%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (1.06%) CMS
4 12 (0.97%) Confluence
5 11 (0.89%) OpenStack
6 8 (0.65%) SAS
7 7 (0.57%) Apache
7 7 (0.57%) IIS
8 6 (0.49%) 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 (0.081%) Apache Spark
12 1 (0.081%) FactoryTalk
12 1 (0.081%) Mendix
12 1 (0.081%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 46 (3.73%) Microsoft Office
2 26 (2.11%) Microsoft Excel
3 22 (1.79%) MS Visio
4 7 (0.57%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.24%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.081%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 1 (0.081%) Monis
1 1 (0.081%) Remedy ITSM
1 1 (0.081%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 243 (19.72%) Azure
2 149 (12.09%) AWS
3 99 (8.04%) Microsoft 365
4 68 (5.52%) Entra ID
5 37 (3.00%) GitHub
6 30 (2.44%) OneDrive
7 28 (2.27%) GCP
8 20 (1.62%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 16 (1.30%) OpenShift
10 15 (1.22%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 14 (1.14%) Power Platform
12 13 (1.06%) Nutanix
13 12 (0.97%) SaaS
14 10 (0.81%) AWS Direct Connect
15 8 (0.65%) Azure DevOps
15 8 (0.65%) Azure Sentinel
15 8 (0.65%) GitHub Actions
16 7 (0.57%) Rubrik
17 6 (0.49%) Cloudflare
17 6 (0.49%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 502 (40.75%) Firewall
2 364 (29.55%) WAN
3 300 (24.35%) BGP
4 280 (22.73%) LAN
5 265 (21.51%) VPN
6 262 (21.27%) Network Security
7 212 (17.21%) Wireless
8 188 (15.26%) OSPF
9 182 (14.77%) DNS
10 181 (14.69%) VLAN
11 153 (12.42%) SD-WAN
12 138 (11.20%) Wi-Fi
13 133 (10.80%) MPLS
14 114 (9.25%) Cisco Nexus
15 107 (8.69%) DHCP
16 103 (8.36%) TCP/IP
17 94 (7.63%) Cisco ISE
18 90 (7.31%) Cisco IOS
19 87 (7.06%) VXLAN
20 84 (6.82%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 27 (2.19%) SQL Server
2 7 (0.57%) Power BI
3 6 (0.49%) Hadoop
4 5 (0.41%) 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 (0.081%) Apache Hive
8 1 (0.081%) ClickHouse
Development Applications
1 37 (3.00%) Git
2 15 (1.22%) GitLab
2 15 (1.22%) JIRA
3 11 (0.89%) Sonatype Nexus
4 8 (0.65%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.16%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.081%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.081%) Tricentis qTest
6 1 (0.081%) Zephyr
General
1 281 (22.81%) Social Skills
2 128 (10.39%) Finance
2 128 (10.39%) Telecoms
3 104 (8.44%) Analytical Skills
4 67 (5.44%) Banking
5 62 (5.03%) Documentation Skills
5 62 (5.03%) Public Sector
6 46 (3.73%) Legal
7 21 (1.70%) Investment Banking
7 21 (1.70%) Organisational Skills
8 19 (1.54%) Retail
9 17 (1.38%) Financial Institution
10 15 (1.22%) Law
11 14 (1.14%) Military
12 11 (0.89%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 10 (0.81%) Manufacturing
14 9 (0.73%) Influencing Skills
14 9 (0.73%) Police
15 6 (0.49%) Marketing
15 6 (0.49%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 613 (49.76%) Network Engineer
2 184 (14.94%) Senior
3 148 (12.01%) Architect
4 146 (11.85%) Cisco Engineer
5 134 (10.88%) Senior Network Engineer
6 125 (10.15%) Cisco Network Engineer
7 87 (7.06%) Security Engineer
8 79 (6.41%) Network Architect
9 68 (5.52%) Network Security Engineer
10 63 (5.11%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 53 (4.30%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 45 (3.65%) Lead
13 43 (3.49%) Field Engineer
14 40 (3.25%) Support Engineer
15 39 (3.17%) Analyst
16 35 (2.84%) Solutions Architect
16 35 (2.84%) Telecoms Engineer
17 31 (2.52%) Data Network Engineer
18 29 (2.35%) Consultant
19 27 (2.19%) Automation Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 87 (7.06%) Terraform
2 56 (4.55%) 802.1X
3 33 (2.68%) REST
4 21 (1.70%) YAML
5 19 (1.54%) JSON
6 18 (1.46%) XMPP
7 13 (1.06%) NETCONF
8 12 (0.97%) SAML
9 9 (0.73%) YANG
10 7 (0.57%) Microsoft Graph
10 7 (0.57%) RESTCONF
11 6 (0.49%) Flash
12 5 (0.41%) OpenConfig
13 3 (0.24%) Elastic Stack
13 3 (0.24%) Java RMI
13 3 (0.24%) LAMP
13 3 (0.24%) LDAP
13 3 (0.24%) LEMP Stack
13 3 (0.24%) OpenID
13 3 (0.24%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 294 (23.86%) Data Centre
2 55 (4.46%) Hybrid Cloud
3 50 (4.06%) Onboarding
4 47 (3.81%) Driving Licence
5 46 (3.73%) Video Conferencing
6 42 (3.41%) PKI
7 37 (3.00%) Operational Technology
8 36 (2.92%) Data Protection Act
9 25 (2.03%) Management Information System
9 25 (2.03%) Replication
10 24 (1.95%) Self-Motivation
11 22 (1.79%) Clustering
12 21 (1.70%) Cloud Native
12 21 (1.70%) Public Cloud
13 19 (1.54%) Analytical Mindset
14 17 (1.38%) Private Cloud
15 16 (1.30%) Enterprise Storage
15 16 (1.30%) Linux Command Line
16 14 (1.14%) IoT
17 13 (1.06%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 240 (19.48%) Windows
2 127 (10.31%) Linux
3 97 (7.87%) Windows Server
4 25 (2.03%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 24 (1.95%) Mac OS
6 18 (1.46%) Ubuntu
6 18 (1.46%) Windows 10
7 11 (0.89%) Android
8 10 (0.81%) Unix
9 9 (0.73%) Windows Server 2012
10 8 (0.65%) Windows Server 2019
11 7 (0.57%) AIX
11 7 (0.57%) Data ONTAP
12 6 (0.49%) CentOS
13 4 (0.32%) VMS
13 4 (0.32%) Windows Server 2016
14 1 (0.081%) Debian
14 1 (0.081%) Oracle Linux
14 1 (0.081%) Windows 7
14 1 (0.081%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 195 (15.83%) Migration
2 161 (13.07%) Project Delivery
3 146 (11.85%) Problem-Solving
4 127 (10.31%) ITIL
5 107 (8.69%) High Availability
6 106 (8.60%) Stakeholder Management
7 104 (8.44%) Load Balancing
8 102 (8.28%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 93 (7.55%) Change Management
9 93 (7.55%) Network Design
10 90 (7.31%) Continuous Improvement
10 90 (7.31%) Infrastructure as Code
11 88 (7.14%) Validation
12 75 (6.09%) Technical Leadership
13 73 (5.93%) Zero Trust
14 71 (5.76%) Data Protection
15 63 (5.11%) CI/CD
15 63 (5.11%) Cybersecurity
15 63 (5.11%) ITSM
15 63 (5.11%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 146 (11.85%) Python
2 58 (4.71%) PowerShell
3 32 (2.60%) Bash
4 26 (2.11%) SQL
5 5 (0.41%) 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 (0.081%) Bicep
9 1 (0.081%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.081%) Ladder Logic
9 1 (0.081%) R
Qualifications
1 331 (26.87%) Cisco Certification
2 302 (24.51%) Security Cleared
3 236 (19.16%) CCNP
4 222 (18.02%) SC Cleared
5 129 (10.47%) CCNA
6 76 (6.17%) DV Cleared
7 70 (5.68%) Degree
8 65 (5.28%) CCIE
9 25 (2.03%) Microsoft Certification
10 22 (1.79%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 19 (1.54%) CISSP
12 17 (1.38%) MCSE
13 15 (1.22%) AWS Certification
14 14 (1.14%) Azure Certification
14 14 (1.14%) Network+ Certification
15 13 (1.06%) CCSE
15 13 (1.06%) Computer Science Degree
16 12 (0.97%) BPSS Clearance
17 11 (0.89%) ISTQB
17 11 (0.89%) Server+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (3.25%) SLA
2 28 (2.27%) NIST
3 22 (1.79%) QA
4 19 (1.54%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 13 (1.06%) Cyber Essentials
6 12 (0.97%) PCI DSS
7 8 (0.65%) GDPR
8 7 (0.57%) NCSC
9 5 (0.41%) Data Quality
9 5 (0.41%) Disclosure Scotland
9 5 (0.41%) GRC
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
10 4 (0.32%) PMO
11 3 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 2 (0.16%) Accessibility
12 2 (0.16%) Government Security Classifications
System Software
1 156 (12.66%) VMware Infrastructure
2 133 (10.80%) Active Directory
3 53 (4.30%) vSphere
4 43 (3.49%) VMware NSX
5 38 (3.08%) VMware ESXi
6 35 (2.84%) Hyper-V
7 30 (2.44%) Firmware
8 28 (2.27%) Virtual Machines
9 18 (1.46%) Docker
10 10 (0.81%) NFS
11 6 (0.49%) GPFS
12 5 (0.41%) FreeRADIUS
12 5 (0.41%) Virtual Desktop
13 4 (0.32%) EMC RecoverPoint
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
1 146 (11.85%) Ansible
2 74 (6.01%) FortiGate
3 33 (2.68%) Cisco CUCM
4 32 (2.60%) Kubernetes
5 30 (2.44%) Microsoft Intune
6 21 (1.70%) SCCM
6 21 (1.70%) vCenter Server
7 18 (1.46%) Cisco Prime
8 12 (0.97%) Nagios
9 9 (0.73%) Grafana
9 9 (0.73%) WMI
10 8 (0.65%) Failover Clustering
10 8 (0.65%) Prometheus
10 8 (0.65%) Puppet
10 8 (0.65%) WSUS
11 7 (0.57%) Single Sign-On
12 6 (0.49%) Red Hat Satellite
12 6 (0.49%) vRealize
13 5 (0.41%) EMC VPLEX
13 5 (0.41%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 260 (21.10%) Palo Alto
2 245 (19.89%) Microsoft
3 215 (17.45%) VMware
4 211 (17.13%) Fortinet
5 180 (14.61%) F5
6 131 (10.63%) Meraki
7 125 (10.15%) Juniper
8 106 (8.60%) CheckPoint
9 91 (7.39%) Aruba
10 85 (6.90%) SolarWinds
11 80 (6.49%) ServiceNow
12 73 (5.93%) Arista
13 57 (4.63%) Zscaler
14 39 (3.17%) Red Hat
15 36 (2.92%) Splunk
16 33 (2.68%) Dell
17 30 (2.44%) NetApp
18 29 (2.35%) Nokia
19 24 (1.95%) Infoblox
20 21 (1.70%) EMC