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 12 March 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
12 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 98 58 59
Rank change year-on-year -40 +1 +13
Contract jobs citing Cisco 1,083 1,096 1,521
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.54% 3.72% 3.41%
As % of the Vendors category 5.77% 7.91% 7.90%
Number of daily rates quoted 735 700 897
10th Percentile £250 £313 £251
25th Percentile £375 £412 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £469 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -6.20% +5.26% -2.56%
75th Percentile £550 £594 £600
90th Percentile £623 £650 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £490 £475
% change year-on-year -3.06% +3.16% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 40 18 62
10th Percentile £21.40 £17.26 £14.00
25th Percentile £25.15 £18.88 £19.28
Median hourly rate £68.17 £33.52 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year +103.34% +34.09% -35.28%
75th Percentile £74.26 £63.75 £41.25
90th Percentile £93.88 £75.00 £67.35
UK excluding London median hourly rate £74.26 £33.52 £24.50
% change year-on-year +121.52% +36.83% -49.54%

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 18,772 13,848 19,251
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 43.96% 47.05% 43.11%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,009 8,622 12,007
10th Percentile £306 £284 £256
25th Percentile £413 £406 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £520 £515
Median % change year-on-year -3.85% +0.97% -2.83%
75th Percentile £600 £622 £625
90th Percentile £700 £713 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.60% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 956 446 1,035
10th Percentile £15.25 £15.62 £12.13
25th Percentile £18.50 £21.09 £14.48
Median hourly rate £25.00 £29.07 £24.65
Median % change year-on-year -14.00% +17.93% -29.63%
75th Percentile £58.75 £63.75 £53.25
90th Percentile £76.04 £81.63 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.79 £27.63 £23.22
% change year-on-year -17.54% +19.02% -29.65%

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 12 March 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 12 March 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 12 March 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 -44 891 £475 -5.47% 478
UK excluding London -29 693 £475 -3.06% 450
Work from Home -34 283 £445 -11.00% 99
London -54 268 £490 -2.05% 111
South East +3 222 £500 -0.25% 132
North of England -54 170 £481 -3.75% 100
Midlands -18 145 £340 -24.44% 78
North West -18 138 £481 -3.75% 44
West Midlands -11 131 £340 -22.29% 36
Scotland +30 77 £425 +6.25% 23
South West -70 39 £538 -0.65% 56
East of England -13 38 £475 - 54
Yorkshire -89 26 £450 -14.29% 37
Wales -8 23 £380 -7.88% 18
East Midlands -47 12 £158 -65.00% 42
North East -15 8 £175 -58.82% 19
Northern Ireland - 8 £475 - 6

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 46 (4.25%) SharePoint
2 38 (3.51%) Microsoft Exchange
3 17 (1.57%) Confluence
4 7 (0.65%) Apache
5 5 (0.46%) IIS
6 4 (0.37%) Appian
7 3 (0.28%) SharePoint Server
7 3 (0.28%) Skype for Business
8 2 (0.18%) OpenStack
9 1 (0.092%) JBoss
9 1 (0.092%) WebLogic
9 1 (0.092%) WebSphere
Applications
1 69 (6.37%) Microsoft Office
2 47 (4.34%) MS Visio
3 22 (2.03%) Microsoft Excel
4 16 (1.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.46%) Acrobat
5 5 (0.46%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.092%) AutoCAD
Business Applications
1 17 (1.57%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.28%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.092%) Actimize
3 1 (0.092%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 169 (15.60%) Azure
2 143 (13.20%) AWS
3 98 (9.05%) Microsoft 365
4 39 (3.60%) Entra ID
4 39 (3.60%) GCP
5 17 (1.57%) Virtual Private Cloud
6 14 (1.29%) Datadog
7 13 (1.20%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 12 (1.11%) Nutanix
9 9 (0.83%) Azure Sentinel
9 9 (0.83%) SaaS
10 8 (0.74%) AWS CloudFormation
10 8 (0.74%) Azure DevOps
10 8 (0.74%) OneDrive
10 8 (0.74%) OpenShift
11 7 (0.65%) AWS Lambda
11 7 (0.65%) Microsoft Purview
11 7 (0.65%) Power Platform
11 7 (0.65%) Serverless
12 6 (0.55%) Amazon Kinesis
Communications & Networking
1 440 (40.63%) Firewall
2 329 (30.38%) WAN
3 243 (22.44%) LAN
4 241 (22.25%) BGP
5 230 (21.24%) VPN
6 195 (18.01%) Network Security
7 174 (16.07%) OSPF
8 163 (15.05%) Wireless
9 140 (12.93%) SD-WAN
10 126 (11.63%) DNS
11 112 (10.34%) MPLS
12 103 (9.51%) VLAN
13 102 (9.42%) Cisco ISE
14 81 (7.48%) Wi-Fi
15 78 (7.20%) Cisco Nexus
16 77 (7.11%) Cisco ASA
17 76 (7.02%) Cisco IOS
18 74 (6.83%) DHCP
19 73 (6.74%) IPsec
20 70 (6.46%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (0.65%) SQL Server
2 5 (0.46%) DynamoDB
2 5 (0.46%) Power BI
3 3 (0.28%) Amazon Athena
4 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
5 1 (0.092%) Metadata
5 1 (0.092%) MySQL
5 1 (0.092%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.092%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 22 (2.03%) JIRA
2 14 (1.29%) Sonatype Nexus
3 12 (1.11%) GitLab
4 11 (1.02%) Jenkins
5 9 (0.83%) Git
6 4 (0.37%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.37%) Robot Framework
6 4 (0.37%) Selenium
6 4 (0.37%) SonarQube
7 2 (0.18%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.092%) Bitbucket
General
1 230 (21.24%) Social Skills
2 158 (14.59%) Finance
3 157 (14.50%) Public Sector
4 109 (10.06%) Telecoms
5 77 (7.11%) Analytical Skills
6 64 (5.91%) Manufacturing
7 59 (5.45%) Banking
8 56 (5.17%) Documentation Skills
9 53 (4.89%) Legal
10 46 (4.25%) Marketing
11 45 (4.16%) Electronics
12 17 (1.57%) Investment Banking
12 17 (1.57%) Presentation Skills
13 15 (1.39%) Financial Institution
14 14 (1.29%) Organisational Skills
15 11 (1.02%) Inclusion and Diversity
16 10 (0.92%) Law
17 9 (0.83%) Retail
18 8 (0.74%) Aerospace
18 8 (0.74%) Military
Job Titles
1 413 (38.13%) Network Engineer
2 129 (11.91%) Architect
3 90 (8.31%) Cisco Engineer
4 78 (7.20%) Cisco Network Engineer
5 77 (7.11%) Network Architect
6 76 (7.02%) Senior
7 67 (6.19%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
8 58 (5.36%) Security Engineer
9 54 (4.99%) Analyst
10 51 (4.71%) Consultant
10 51 (4.71%) IT Support
11 47 (4.34%) Network Consultant
12 38 (3.51%) Network Security Engineer
12 38 (3.51%) Senior Network Engineer
13 35 (3.23%) Desktop Support
14 34 (3.14%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
15 33 (3.05%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 33 (3.05%) Solutions Architect
16 29 (2.68%) Data Network Engineer
17 28 (2.59%) Infrastructure Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 62 (5.72%) 802.1X
2 17 (1.57%) LDAP
3 16 (1.48%) Flash
4 14 (1.29%) XMPP
5 10 (0.92%) NETCONF
5 10 (0.92%) SAML
6 9 (0.83%) YANG
7 8 (0.74%) Jinja
8 7 (0.65%) JSON
9 6 (0.55%) XML
10 5 (0.46%) Node.js
10 5 (0.46%) OpenConfig
11 4 (0.37%) HTML
11 4 (0.37%) REST
11 4 (0.37%) RESTCONF
11 4 (0.37%) RFC 2544
11 4 (0.37%) VML
12 2 (0.18%) CSS
12 2 (0.18%) Django
12 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Graph
Miscellaneous
1 291 (26.87%) Data Centre
2 50 (4.62%) PKI
3 33 (3.05%) Replication
4 32 (2.95%) Linux Command Line
5 31 (2.86%) Data Protection Act
6 29 (2.68%) Clustering
7 27 (2.49%) Hybrid Cloud
7 27 (2.49%) Onboarding
8 24 (2.22%) Cloud Native
8 24 (2.22%) Operational Technology
9 23 (2.12%) Driving Licence
10 18 (1.66%) Product Ownership
10 18 (1.66%) Self-Motivation
11 15 (1.39%) Security Posture
11 15 (1.39%) Video Conferencing
12 12 (1.11%) Enterprise Storage
12 12 (1.11%) NHS
13 11 (1.02%) CMDB
13 11 (1.02%) SCADA
14 10 (0.92%) EMC VMAX
Operating Systems
1 181 (16.71%) Windows
2 101 (9.33%) Linux
3 64 (5.91%) Windows Server
4 52 (4.80%) Mac OS
5 51 (4.71%) Android
6 30 (2.77%) Windows 10
7 22 (2.03%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 16 (1.48%) Unix
9 6 (0.55%) Ubuntu
10 5 (0.46%) Windows Server 2012
10 5 (0.46%) Windows Server 2019
11 4 (0.37%) CatOS
11 4 (0.37%) Solaris
11 4 (0.37%) VMS
12 3 (0.28%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.18%) AIX
14 1 (0.092%) CentOS
14 1 (0.092%) Oracle Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 155 (14.31%) Migration
2 136 (12.56%) Problem-Solving
3 98 (9.05%) Load Balancing
4 91 (8.40%) High Availability
5 90 (8.31%) Agile
5 90 (8.31%) ITIL
6 89 (8.22%) Network Design
7 82 (7.57%) Roadmaps
8 78 (7.20%) ITSM
9 75 (6.93%) Cybersecurity
10 73 (6.74%) Project Delivery
11 70 (6.46%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 65 (6.00%) Change Management
13 60 (5.54%) Service Management
14 59 (5.45%) Collaborative Working
14 59 (5.45%) Stakeholder Management
15 56 (5.17%) Network Monitoring
16 53 (4.89%) Network Architecture
17 52 (4.80%) Continuous Improvement
18 51 (4.71%) Business Intelligence
Programming Languages
1 122 (11.27%) Python
2 52 (4.80%) PowerShell
3 28 (2.59%) Bash
4 16 (1.48%) Perl
5 9 (0.83%) JavaScript
5 9 (0.83%) SQL
6 8 (0.74%) Lisp
7 4 (0.37%) C
7 4 (0.37%) PHP
8 2 (0.18%) ActionScript
8 2 (0.18%) Korn
8 2 (0.18%) Kusto Query Language
8 2 (0.18%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.092%) C++
9 1 (0.092%) Ruby
Qualifications
1 427 (39.43%) Security Cleared
2 334 (30.84%) SC Cleared
3 290 (26.78%) Cisco Certification
4 234 (21.61%) CCNP
5 106 (9.79%) CCNA
6 105 (9.70%) DV Cleared
7 85 (7.85%) Degree
8 75 (6.93%) CCIE
9 24 (2.22%) BPSS Clearance
10 21 (1.94%) JNCIS
10 21 (1.94%) Microsoft Certification
11 18 (1.66%) Azure Certification
11 18 (1.66%) Network+ Certification
12 17 (1.57%) CISSP
12 17 (1.57%) JNCIP
13 15 (1.39%) JNCIA
14 14 (1.29%) ITIL Certification
15 13 (1.20%) AWS Certification
15 13 (1.20%) CCSE
15 13 (1.20%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (3.69%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 33 (3.05%) NIST
3 32 (2.95%) SLA
4 22 (2.03%) Cyber Essentials
5 18 (1.66%) GDPR
5 18 (1.66%) PMO
6 14 (1.29%) PCI DSS
7 13 (1.20%) NCSC
8 6 (0.55%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 5 (0.46%) QA
10 4 (0.37%) Disclosure Scotland
11 3 (0.28%) HIPAA
11 3 (0.28%) JSP 440
11 3 (0.28%) RMADS
12 2 (0.18%) HMG Security Policy Framework
13 1 (0.092%) Actionable Recommendations
13 1 (0.092%) Def Stans
13 1 (0.092%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
13 1 (0.092%) JTAG
13 1 (0.092%) MiFID
System Software
1 140 (12.93%) VMware Infrastructure
2 98 (9.05%) Active Directory
3 63 (5.82%) VMware NSX
4 59 (5.45%) vSphere
5 41 (3.79%) VMware ESXi
6 18 (1.66%) Firmware
7 16 (1.48%) GPFS
7 16 (1.48%) NFS
8 15 (1.39%) Virtual Machines
9 13 (1.20%) Docker
10 11 (1.02%) Hyper-V
11 8 (0.74%) SRDF
12 4 (0.37%) vCloud
12 4 (0.37%) Virtual Servers
13 3 (0.28%) Virtual Desktop
14 2 (0.18%) KVM
14 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Virtual Server
14 2 (0.18%) Snort
14 2 (0.18%) Squid
15 1 (0.092%) Xen
Systems Management
1 102 (9.42%) Ansible
2 95 (8.77%) FortiGate
3 42 (3.88%) Terraform
3 42 (3.88%) vCenter Server
4 36 (3.32%) vRealize
5 25 (2.31%) SCCM
6 20 (1.85%) Grafana
7 19 (1.75%) VxRail
8 16 (1.48%) Microsoft Intune
9 14 (1.29%) Prometheus
10 12 (1.11%) Cisco CUCM
10 12 (1.11%) Single Sign-On
11 10 (0.92%) Cisco Prime
11 10 (0.92%) Kubernetes
12 9 (0.83%) Nagios
13 8 (0.74%) WSUS
14 7 (0.65%) Active Directory Federation Services
14 7 (0.65%) Nessus
15 6 (0.55%) EMC TimeFinder
16 5 (0.46%) EMC NetWorker
Vendors
1 272 (25.12%) Palo Alto
2 180 (16.62%) Microsoft
3 178 (16.44%) Juniper
4 177 (16.34%) VMware
5 157 (14.50%) F5
6 137 (12.65%) Aruba
7 109 (10.06%) Fortinet
8 105 (9.70%) CheckPoint
9 104 (9.60%) SolarWinds
10 99 (9.14%) Meraki
11 93 (8.59%) ServiceNow
12 75 (6.93%) Dell
13 65 (6.00%) HP
14 54 (4.99%) Splunk
15 50 (4.62%) Arista
16 45 (4.16%) IBM
17 44 (4.06%) SAP
17 44 (4.06%) Zscaler
18 42 (3.88%) Apple
19 30 (2.77%) Citrix