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 20 January 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
20 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 95 58 56
Rank change year-on-year -37 -2 +36
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,009 1,119 1,551
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.71% 3.58% 3.58%
As % of the Vendors category 5.89% 7.81% 8.11%
Number of daily rates quoted 688 679 935
10th Percentile £263 £300 £252
25th Percentile £356 £406 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £472 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.68% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £550 £581 £600
90th Percentile £616 £650 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £475
% change year-on-year - - +2.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 41 25 87
10th Percentile £21.46 £16.38 £14.16
25th Percentile £25.15 £20.00 £23.00
Median hourly rate £61.00 £24.66 £32.50
Median % change year-on-year +147.36% -24.12% +26.41%
75th Percentile £74.26 £60.00 £53.75
90th Percentile £93.75 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £72.00 £20.38 £34.22
% change year-on-year +253.37% -40.46% +34.14%

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 17,123 14,324 19,122
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 45.93% 45.80% 44.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,055 8,461 12,056
10th Percentile £300 £285 £253
25th Percentile £410 £409 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -2.78%
75th Percentile £613 £625 £638
90th Percentile £700 £713 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £500
Number of hourly rates quoted 803 423 782
10th Percentile £15.22 £15.62 £13.25
25th Percentile £17.96 £20.00 £16.64
Median hourly rate £24.00 £27.50 £35.98
Median % change year-on-year -12.73% -23.56% +18.93%
75th Percentile £48.75 £61.50 £60.36
90th Percentile £73.75 £80.00 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.97 £25.30 £36.25
% change year-on-year -13.17% -30.21% +42.05%

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 20 January 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 20 January 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 20 January 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 -40 836 £481 -3.75% 512
UK excluding London -14 681 £475 - 488
Work from Home -20 276 £445 -15.24% 140
London -68 238 £475 -8.65% 116
South East 0 201 £500 - 167
Midlands +7 160 £380 -13.14% 72
North of England -58 142 £475 -3.06% 101
West Midlands +18 139 £385 -13.97% 36
North West -19 111 £481 -2.28% 46
Scotland +42 78 £425 +9.68% 33
South West -40 49 £550 +16.09% 46
East of England -10 34 £445 +1.71% 57
Yorkshire -77 24 £450 +5.88% 43
East Midlands -26 20 £158 -58.00% 35
Wales -1 17 £170 -56.13% 14
Northern Ireland +10 13 £475 - 8
North East -12 9 £175 -64.10% 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 52 (5.15%) SharePoint
2 40 (3.96%) Microsoft Exchange
3 23 (2.28%) Confluence
4 20 (1.98%) Apache
5 14 (1.39%) Skype for Business
5 14 (1.39%) WebLogic
6 8 (0.79%) OpenStack
7 7 (0.69%) Appian
7 7 (0.69%) Mattermost
8 5 (0.50%) IIS
8 5 (0.50%) SharePoint Server
9 3 (0.30%) WebSphere
10 2 (0.20%) CICS
10 2 (0.20%) Tomcat
11 1 (0.099%) Exchange Server 2010
11 1 (0.099%) Exchange Server 2013
11 1 (0.099%) JBoss
11 1 (0.099%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 75 (7.43%) Microsoft Office
2 47 (4.66%) MS Visio
3 23 (2.28%) Microsoft Excel
4 17 (1.68%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.50%) Acrobat
5 5 (0.50%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.099%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.099%) OmniGraffle
Business Applications
1 20 (1.98%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.30%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.099%) Actimize
3 1 (0.099%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 173 (17.15%) Azure
2 155 (15.36%) AWS
3 90 (8.92%) Microsoft 365
4 43 (4.26%) GCP
5 31 (3.07%) Entra ID
6 19 (1.88%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 15 (1.49%) Azure Monitor
8 14 (1.39%) Datadog
9 12 (1.19%) SaaS
10 11 (1.09%) AWS CloudFormation
11 10 (0.99%) AWS Lambda
11 10 (0.99%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 10 (0.99%) OpenShift
11 10 (0.99%) Serverless
12 9 (0.89%) Azure Sentinel
13 8 (0.79%) OneDrive
14 7 (0.69%) Amazon CloudWatch
14 7 (0.69%) GitHub
14 7 (0.69%) Mimecast
14 7 (0.69%) Tricentis Tosca
Communications & Networking
1 390 (38.65%) Firewall
2 282 (27.95%) WAN
3 202 (20.02%) VPN
4 198 (19.62%) LAN
5 175 (17.34%) BGP
6 157 (15.56%) Wireless
7 154 (15.26%) Network Security
8 137 (13.58%) SD-WAN
9 125 (12.39%) OSPF
10 107 (10.60%) DNS
11 94 (9.32%) MPLS
12 89 (8.82%) VLAN
13 83 (8.23%) Cisco ISE
14 71 (7.04%) Cisco IOS
14 71 (7.04%) IPsec
15 70 (6.94%) Wi-Fi
16 64 (6.34%) Cisco Nexus
17 62 (6.14%) TCP/IP
18 57 (5.65%) Cisco ASA
19 53 (5.25%) DHCP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (1.09%) SQL Server
2 5 (0.50%) DynamoDB
2 5 (0.50%) Power BI
3 3 (0.30%) Amazon Athena
3 3 (0.30%) PostgreSQL
4 2 (0.20%) MariaDB
4 2 (0.20%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.099%) Metadata
5 1 (0.099%) MySQL
Development Applications
1 21 (2.08%) JIRA
2 16 (1.59%) GitLab
3 9 (0.89%) Jenkins
3 9 (0.89%) Sonatype Nexus
4 8 (0.79%) Git
4 8 (0.79%) Robot Framework
5 7 (0.69%) Cucumber
5 7 (0.69%) Selenium
5 7 (0.69%) SonarQube
6 2 (0.20%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.099%) Bitbucket
General
1 234 (23.19%) Social Skills
2 170 (16.85%) Public Sector
3 145 (14.37%) Finance
4 123 (12.19%) Telecoms
5 73 (7.23%) Analytical Skills
6 62 (6.14%) Manufacturing
7 50 (4.96%) Documentation Skills
8 46 (4.56%) Legal
9 45 (4.46%) Electronics
9 45 (4.46%) Marketing
10 41 (4.06%) Banking
11 14 (1.39%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (1.19%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 12 (1.19%) Investment Banking
13 9 (0.89%) Aerospace
13 9 (0.89%) Organisational Skills
14 8 (0.79%) Law
15 7 (0.69%) Influencing Skills
15 7 (0.69%) Retail
16 6 (0.59%) Military
Job Titles
1 360 (35.68%) Network Engineer
2 120 (11.89%) Architect
3 79 (7.83%) Cisco Engineer
4 77 (7.63%) Network Architect
5 67 (6.64%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 61 (6.05%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
7 59 (5.85%) Analyst
8 58 (5.75%) Senior
9 54 (5.35%) Consultant
10 53 (5.25%) IT Support
11 49 (4.86%) Security Engineer
12 46 (4.56%) Network Consultant
13 45 (4.46%) Support Engineer
14 37 (3.67%) Desktop Support
15 36 (3.57%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
16 35 (3.47%) Solutions Architect
17 32 (3.17%) Network Security Engineer
18 30 (2.97%) Senior Network Engineer
19 28 (2.78%) Infrastructure Engineer
20 26 (2.58%) 2nd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 39 (3.87%) 802.1X
2 17 (1.68%) Flash
3 16 (1.59%) XMPP
4 14 (1.39%) LDAP
5 12 (1.19%) Jinja
6 11 (1.09%) JSON
6 11 (1.09%) NETCONF
6 11 (1.09%) YANG
7 9 (0.89%) XML
8 8 (0.79%) RFC 2544
9 7 (0.69%) SAML
10 5 (0.50%) Node.js
11 4 (0.40%) HTML
11 4 (0.40%) VML
12 3 (0.30%) OpenConfig
12 3 (0.30%) REST
13 2 (0.20%) CSS
13 2 (0.20%) Middleware
13 2 (0.20%) Regular Expression
13 2 (0.20%) RESTCONF
Miscellaneous
1 253 (25.07%) Data Centre
2 41 (4.06%) PKI
3 33 (3.27%) Linux Command Line
4 30 (2.97%) Replication
5 28 (2.78%) Data Protection Act
5 28 (2.78%) Onboarding
6 27 (2.68%) Hybrid Cloud
7 26 (2.58%) Cloud Native
8 24 (2.38%) Driving Licence
9 21 (2.08%) Operational Technology
10 18 (1.78%) Self-Motivation
11 16 (1.59%) Security Posture
12 13 (1.29%) NHS
13 12 (1.19%) Product Ownership
14 11 (1.09%) CMDB
14 11 (1.09%) Fibre Optics
14 11 (1.09%) Video Conferencing
15 10 (0.99%) Management Information System
16 9 (0.89%) Clustering
16 9 (0.89%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 183 (18.14%) Windows
2 119 (11.79%) Linux
3 76 (7.53%) Windows Server
4 56 (5.55%) Mac OS
5 54 (5.35%) Android
6 36 (3.57%) Windows 10
7 24 (2.38%) Unix
8 20 (1.98%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 6 (0.59%) Solaris
9 6 (0.59%) Windows Server 2016
10 5 (0.50%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.40%) CatOS
12 3 (0.30%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.30%) VMS
12 3 (0.30%) Windows 7
12 3 (0.30%) Windows 8
12 3 (0.30%) Windows Server 2019
13 2 (0.20%) CentOS
13 2 (0.20%) zOS
14 1 (0.099%) MVS
Processes & Methodologies
1 130 (12.88%) Migration
2 126 (12.49%) Problem-Solving
3 86 (8.52%) Agile
4 82 (8.13%) Network Design
5 78 (7.73%) ITIL
6 77 (7.63%) Project Delivery
7 76 (7.53%) Roadmaps
8 74 (7.33%) Service Management
9 72 (7.14%) ITSM
10 67 (6.64%) Cybersecurity
11 66 (6.54%) Business Intelligence
11 66 (6.54%) High Availability
11 66 (6.54%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 63 (6.24%) Change Management
12 63 (6.24%) Network Architecture
13 56 (5.55%) Continuous Improvement
14 55 (5.45%) Collaborative Working
14 55 (5.45%) Incident Response
14 55 (5.45%) Load Balancing
15 51 (5.05%) Zero Trust
Programming Languages
1 118 (11.69%) Python
2 60 (5.95%) PowerShell
3 36 (3.57%) Bash
4 32 (3.17%) SQL
5 23 (2.28%) Perl
6 15 (1.49%) JavaScript
7 8 (0.79%) Lisp
8 6 (0.59%) C++
9 5 (0.50%) Kusto Query Language
10 3 (0.30%) Java
11 2 (0.20%) C
12 1 (0.099%) Go
12 1 (0.099%) PHP
12 1 (0.099%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 436 (43.21%) Security Cleared
2 345 (34.19%) SC Cleared
3 260 (25.77%) Cisco Certification
4 215 (21.31%) CCNP
5 103 (10.21%) DV Cleared
6 96 (9.51%) CCNA
7 74 (7.33%) CCIE
8 73 (7.23%) Degree
9 25 (2.48%) BPSS Clearance
9 25 (2.48%) ITIL Certification
10 20 (1.98%) Microsoft Certification
11 18 (1.78%) AWS Certification
11 18 (1.78%) Azure Certification
11 18 (1.78%) JNCIE
12 17 (1.68%) JNCIS
13 15 (1.49%) CCSE
13 15 (1.49%) CISSP
14 14 (1.39%) CCDP
14 14 (1.39%) JNCIP
15 13 (1.29%) JNCIA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (3.57%) SLA
2 31 (3.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 22 (2.18%) NIST
4 18 (1.78%) GDPR
5 16 (1.59%) PCI DSS
5 16 (1.59%) PMO
6 14 (1.39%) Cyber Essentials
7 5 (0.50%) NCSC
8 4 (0.40%) QA
9 3 (0.30%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 3 (0.30%) HIPAA
9 3 (0.30%) JSP 440
10 2 (0.20%) Disclosure Scotland
10 2 (0.20%) RMADS
11 1 (0.099%) Data Quality
11 1 (0.099%) Def Stans
11 1 (0.099%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.099%) ISO 22301
11 1 (0.099%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 1 (0.099%) JTAG
System Software
1 144 (14.27%) VMware Infrastructure
2 126 (12.49%) Active Directory
3 70 (6.94%) VMware NSX
4 47 (4.66%) vSphere
5 29 (2.87%) VMware ESXi
6 20 (1.98%) Firmware
7 18 (1.78%) Docker
7 18 (1.78%) Hyper-V
7 18 (1.78%) NFS
8 17 (1.68%) GPFS
9 15 (1.49%) Virtual Machines
10 7 (0.69%) Virtual Servers
11 6 (0.59%) KVM
11 6 (0.59%) Snort
12 5 (0.50%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 4 (0.40%) Squid
13 4 (0.40%) Virtual Desktop
14 3 (0.30%) BitLocker
15 2 (0.20%) vCloud
15 2 (0.20%) Xen
Systems Management
1 86 (8.52%) Ansible
2 68 (6.74%) FortiGate
3 49 (4.86%) vCenter Server
4 48 (4.76%) Terraform
5 33 (3.27%) vRealize
6 31 (3.07%) SCCM
7 18 (1.78%) Kubernetes
8 17 (1.68%) Microsoft Intune
9 15 (1.49%) VxRail
10 13 (1.29%) Cisco CUCM
11 11 (1.09%) WSUS
12 10 (0.99%) Active Directory Federation Services
13 9 (0.89%) EMC NetWorker
13 9 (0.89%) Nessus
13 9 (0.89%) SCOM
13 9 (0.89%) Single Sign-On
14 7 (0.69%) Cisco Prime
14 7 (0.69%) EMC VPLEX
14 7 (0.69%) HP SiteScope
14 7 (0.69%) Nagios
Vendors
1 223 (22.10%) Palo Alto
2 182 (18.04%) Microsoft
3 173 (17.15%) VMware
4 166 (16.45%) Juniper
5 111 (11.00%) Aruba
5 111 (11.00%) SolarWinds
6 110 (10.90%) F5
7 106 (10.51%) Fortinet
8 99 (9.81%) CheckPoint
9 93 (9.22%) Meraki
10 76 (7.53%) Dell
11 72 (7.14%) ServiceNow
12 63 (6.24%) HP
13 50 (4.96%) Splunk
14 45 (4.46%) Apple
15 44 (4.36%) SAP
16 42 (4.16%) IBM
16 42 (4.16%) Zscaler
17 40 (3.96%) Oracle
18 36 (3.57%) AppDynamics