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 11 April 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
11 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 100 64 63
Rank change year-on-year -36 -1 +8
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,114 1,059 1,407
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.43% 3.62% 3.20%
As % of the Vendors category 5.67% 7.66% 7.52%
Number of daily rates quoted 753 678 852
10th Percentile £281 £308 £263
25th Percentile £400 £408 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% -
75th Percentile £560 £588 £588
90th Percentile £625 £650 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £475 £475
% change year-on-year +1.32% - +2.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 34 19 48
10th Percentile £21.46 £17.55 £13.29
25th Percentile £36.25 £21.58 £18.21
Median hourly rate £63.14 £37.50 £26.25
Median % change year-on-year +68.36% +42.86% -49.20%
75th Percentile £74.26 £66.88 £41.25
90th Percentile £89.25 £75.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £74.26 £33.52 £24.25
% change year-on-year +121.52% +38.24% -56.16%

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 19,653 13,823 18,712
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 42.94% 47.30% 42.58%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,587 8,734 11,686
10th Percentile £313 £293 £259
25th Percentile £413 £406 £403
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £515
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% -0.49% -1.90%
75th Percentile £600 £615 £626
90th Percentile £700 £713 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.60% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 981 517 1,057
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.10 £12.08
25th Percentile £18.50 £18.51 £14.36
Median hourly rate £28.00 £27.99 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year +0.04% +24.40% -47.06%
75th Percentile £60.00 £60.00 £56.49
90th Percentile £78.25 £80.04 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.38 £25.00 £21.50
% change year-on-year +1.52% +16.28% -44.16%

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 11 April 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 11 April 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 11 April 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 -42 927 £495 -1.00% 542
UK excluding London -28 705 £481 +1.32% 503
Work from Home -21 292 £450 -10.00% 112
London -73 277 £500 - 126
South East -8 214 £500 - 139
North of England -42 189 £481 -3.75% 121
North West -11 153 £481 -1.79% 58
Midlands -17 153 £375 -16.67% 92
West Midlands -2 138 £361 -16.41% 46
Scotland +24 65 £450 +16.28% 25
South West -71 41 £513 -6.82% 58
East of England -7 40 £485 +2.11% 60
Yorkshire -72 32 £464 -11.62% 43
Wales -10 25 £425 +1.49% 18
East Midlands -55 11 £413 -19.51% 46
Northern Ireland - 8 £385 - 8
North East -18 6 £175 -46.15% 20

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 37 (3.32%) Microsoft Exchange
2 35 (3.14%) SharePoint
3 16 (1.44%) Confluence
4 7 (0.63%) Apache
5 5 (0.45%) IIS
5 5 (0.45%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.090%) JBoss
6 1 (0.090%) SharePoint Server
6 1 (0.090%) Skype for Business
6 1 (0.090%) WebLogic
6 1 (0.090%) WebSphere
Applications
1 52 (4.67%) Microsoft Office
2 40 (3.59%) MS Visio
3 17 (1.53%) Microsoft Excel
4 12 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.45%) Acrobat
6 3 (0.27%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.090%) AutoCAD
Business Applications
1 17 (1.53%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.27%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.090%) Actimize
Cloud Services
1 193 (17.32%) Azure
2 159 (14.27%) AWS
3 91 (8.17%) Microsoft 365
4 42 (3.77%) Entra ID
5 34 (3.05%) GCP
6 17 (1.53%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 16 (1.44%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 15 (1.35%) Datadog
8 15 (1.35%) OpenShift
9 11 (0.99%) Nutanix
9 11 (0.99%) SaaS
10 9 (0.81%) GitHub
11 8 (0.72%) Azure Sentinel
12 7 (0.63%) AWS CloudFormation
12 7 (0.63%) Azure DevOps
12 7 (0.63%) Microsoft Purview
12 7 (0.63%) Mimecast
13 6 (0.54%) Amazon Kinesis
13 6 (0.54%) AWS Lambda
13 6 (0.54%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 471 (42.28%) Firewall
2 351 (31.51%) WAN
3 272 (24.42%) BGP
4 260 (23.34%) LAN
5 238 (21.36%) VPN
6 206 (18.49%) Network Security
7 198 (17.77%) OSPF
8 155 (13.91%) Wireless
9 151 (13.55%) SD-WAN
10 141 (12.66%) DNS
11 126 (11.31%) VLAN
12 109 (9.78%) MPLS
13 107 (9.61%) Cisco ISE
14 85 (7.63%) Cisco Nexus
14 85 (7.63%) Wi-Fi
15 84 (7.54%) VXLAN
16 79 (7.09%) Cisco ASA
17 77 (6.91%) DHCP
18 75 (6.73%) Cisco IOS
19 74 (6.64%) IPsec
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (0.45%) DynamoDB
2 4 (0.36%) Power BI
3 3 (0.27%) Amazon Athena
3 3 (0.27%) SQL Server
4 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
5 1 (0.090%) Big Data
5 1 (0.090%) Metadata
5 1 (0.090%) MySQL
5 1 (0.090%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.090%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 23 (2.06%) JIRA
2 15 (1.35%) Sonatype Nexus
3 9 (0.81%) Git
4 8 (0.72%) Jenkins
5 6 (0.54%) GitLab
6 1 (0.090%) Bitbucket
General
1 238 (21.36%) Social Skills
2 145 (13.02%) Finance
3 131 (11.76%) Public Sector
4 89 (7.99%) Telecoms
5 67 (6.01%) Analytical Skills
6 62 (5.57%) Banking
7 55 (4.94%) Legal
8 53 (4.76%) Documentation Skills
9 49 (4.40%) Manufacturing
10 33 (2.96%) Marketing
11 30 (2.69%) Electronics
12 18 (1.62%) Investment Banking
13 16 (1.44%) Financial Institution
14 15 (1.35%) Organisational Skills
14 15 (1.35%) Presentation Skills
15 14 (1.26%) Law
16 12 (1.08%) Retail
17 8 (0.72%) Influencing Skills
17 8 (0.72%) Military
18 7 (0.63%) Inclusion and Diversity
Job Titles
1 464 (41.65%) Network Engineer
2 139 (12.48%) Architect
3 104 (9.34%) Cisco Engineer
4 99 (8.89%) Senior
5 95 (8.53%) Cisco Network Engineer
6 84 (7.54%) Network Architect
7 75 (6.73%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
7 75 (6.73%) Security Engineer
8 51 (4.58%) Analyst
8 51 (4.58%) Network Security Engineer
9 49 (4.40%) Senior Network Engineer
10 40 (3.59%) Data Network Engineer
10 40 (3.59%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 38 (3.41%) Consultant
12 36 (3.23%) Network Consultant
13 33 (2.96%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
13 33 (2.96%) IT Support
14 31 (2.78%) Data Engineer
15 30 (2.69%) Infrastructure Analyst
15 30 (2.69%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 67 (6.01%) 802.1X
2 17 (1.53%) Flash
2 17 (1.53%) LDAP
3 14 (1.26%) XMPP
4 10 (0.90%) SAML
5 9 (0.81%) REST
6 7 (0.63%) NETCONF
7 6 (0.54%) Jinja
7 6 (0.54%) YANG
8 5 (0.45%) Node.js
8 5 (0.45%) OpenConfig
9 4 (0.36%) HTML
9 4 (0.36%) JSON
9 4 (0.36%) RESTCONF
9 4 (0.36%) VML
10 2 (0.18%) ADO
10 2 (0.18%) ARM Templates
10 2 (0.18%) CSS
10 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Graph
10 2 (0.18%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 293 (26.30%) Data Centre
2 51 (4.58%) PKI
3 39 (3.50%) Replication
4 32 (2.87%) Hybrid Cloud
4 32 (2.87%) Linux Command Line
5 31 (2.78%) Clustering
5 31 (2.78%) Data Protection Act
5 31 (2.78%) Onboarding
6 30 (2.69%) Cloud Native
7 25 (2.24%) Operational Technology
8 23 (2.06%) Driving Licence
9 18 (1.62%) Product Ownership
10 17 (1.53%) Enterprise Storage
10 17 (1.53%) Self-Motivation
11 15 (1.35%) Security Posture
12 14 (1.26%) EMC VMAX
13 13 (1.17%) SCADA
13 13 (1.17%) Video Conferencing
14 12 (1.08%) NHS
15 11 (0.99%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 184 (16.52%) Windows
2 114 (10.23%) Linux
3 63 (5.66%) Windows Server
4 34 (3.05%) Android
5 33 (2.96%) Mac OS
6 25 (2.24%) Windows 10
7 23 (2.06%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 17 (1.53%) Unix
9 7 (0.63%) Ubuntu
10 6 (0.54%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.36%) CatOS
11 4 (0.36%) Solaris
11 4 (0.36%) VMS
11 4 (0.36%) Windows Server 2019
12 3 (0.27%) Data ONTAP
13 2 (0.18%) AIX
13 2 (0.18%) CentOS
14 1 (0.090%) Oracle Linux
14 1 (0.090%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 173 (15.53%) Migration
2 131 (11.76%) Problem-Solving
3 116 (10.41%) Load Balancing
4 102 (9.16%) High Availability
5 100 (8.98%) Network Design
6 96 (8.62%) ITIL
7 87 (7.81%) Agile
8 82 (7.36%) ITSM
9 74 (6.64%) Roadmaps
10 71 (6.37%) Change Management
11 70 (6.28%) Cybersecurity
12 61 (5.48%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 58 (5.21%) Collaborative Working
13 58 (5.21%) Continuous Improvement
14 57 (5.12%) Infrastructure Engineering
14 57 (5.12%) Project Delivery
15 54 (4.85%) Disaster Recovery
15 54 (4.85%) Service Management
15 54 (4.85%) Stakeholder Management
16 53 (4.76%) Network Monitoring
Programming Languages
1 132 (11.85%) Python
2 56 (5.03%) PowerShell
3 30 (2.69%) Bash
4 15 (1.35%) Perl
5 8 (0.72%) C
5 8 (0.72%) SQL
6 4 (0.36%) JavaScript
6 4 (0.36%) Lisp
6 4 (0.36%) PHP
7 3 (0.27%) C++
7 3 (0.27%) Java
8 2 (0.18%) ActionScript
8 2 (0.18%) Korn
8 2 (0.18%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.090%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.090%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 429 (38.51%) Security Cleared
2 332 (29.80%) SC Cleared
3 308 (27.65%) Cisco Certification
4 245 (21.99%) CCNP
5 111 (9.96%) CCNA
5 111 (9.96%) DV Cleared
6 82 (7.36%) Degree
7 77 (6.91%) CCIE
8 22 (1.97%) BPSS Clearance
9 21 (1.89%) Azure Certification
9 21 (1.89%) JNCIS
9 21 (1.89%) Microsoft Certification
10 17 (1.53%) Network+ Certification
11 16 (1.44%) JNCIP
12 15 (1.35%) JNCIA
13 14 (1.26%) AWS Certification
13 14 (1.26%) CCSE
13 14 (1.26%) CISSP
13 14 (1.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 13 (1.17%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (3.59%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 33 (2.96%) NIST
3 29 (2.60%) SLA
4 23 (2.06%) Cyber Essentials
5 17 (1.53%) GDPR
6 16 (1.44%) NCSC
6 16 (1.44%) PMO
7 12 (1.08%) PCI DSS
8 5 (0.45%) QA
9 4 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 4 (0.36%) JSP 440
10 3 (0.27%) Disclosure Scotland
10 3 (0.27%) HIPAA
10 3 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
10 3 (0.27%) RMADS
11 2 (0.18%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 2 (0.18%) ISA99
12 1 (0.090%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.090%) Data Quality
12 1 (0.090%) NIST 800
System Software
1 153 (13.73%) VMware Infrastructure
2 94 (8.44%) Active Directory
3 64 (5.75%) VMware NSX
4 61 (5.48%) vSphere
5 46 (4.13%) VMware ESXi
6 22 (1.97%) Firmware
7 20 (1.80%) NFS
8 17 (1.53%) GPFS
9 15 (1.35%) Hyper-V
10 14 (1.26%) Virtual Machines
11 10 (0.90%) Docker
12 9 (0.81%) SRDF
13 5 (0.45%) Virtual Desktop
14 4 (0.36%) vCloud
14 4 (0.36%) Virtual Servers
15 3 (0.27%) EMC RecoverPoint
15 3 (0.27%) Snort
16 2 (0.18%) KVM
16 2 (0.18%) UAG
17 1 (0.090%) RHEV
Systems Management
1 112 (10.05%) Ansible
2 100 (8.98%) FortiGate
3 47 (4.22%) Terraform
4 37 (3.32%) vRealize
5 36 (3.23%) vCenter Server
6 23 (2.06%) Grafana
7 20 (1.80%) SCCM
7 20 (1.80%) VxRail
8 19 (1.71%) Microsoft Intune
9 17 (1.53%) Kubernetes
9 17 (1.53%) Prometheus
10 13 (1.17%) Cisco Prime
11 10 (0.90%) Nagios
11 10 (0.90%) Single Sign-On
12 8 (0.72%) Cisco CUCM
13 7 (0.63%) EMC NetWorker
13 7 (0.63%) EMC VPLEX
14 6 (0.54%) Active Directory Federation Services
14 6 (0.54%) QRadar
14 6 (0.54%) WSUS
Vendors
1 284 (25.49%) Palo Alto
2 193 (17.32%) VMware
3 178 (15.98%) Microsoft
4 176 (15.80%) F5
5 175 (15.71%) Juniper
6 138 (12.39%) Aruba
7 133 (11.94%) Fortinet
8 117 (10.50%) CheckPoint
9 99 (8.89%) Meraki
10 98 (8.80%) SolarWinds
11 96 (8.62%) ServiceNow
12 72 (6.46%) Dell
13 63 (5.66%) Arista
14 54 (4.85%) Splunk
15 51 (4.58%) HP
16 48 (4.31%) IBM
17 41 (3.68%) Zscaler
18 31 (2.78%) EMC
19 30 (2.69%) SAP
20 29 (2.60%) Citrix