F5 Contract Job Trends

F5
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of F5 products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited F5 over the 6 months leading up to 22 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 F5 Networks, Inc.

 6 months to
22 Sep 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 383 303 240
Rank change year-on-year -80 -63 +142
Contract jobs citing F5 315 252 378
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.58% 0.78% 0.99%
As % of the Vendors category 1.38% 1.63% 2.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 161 141 250
10th Percentile £375 £380 £400
25th Percentile £413 £420 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £519 £490 £525
Median % change year-on-year +6.03% -6.76% -
75th Percentile £627 £613 £588
90th Percentile £688 £700 £650
UK excluding London median daily rate £532 £490 £550
% change year-on-year +8.64% -11.00% +12.24%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 1 4
10th Percentile - - £22.02
25th Percentile £61.00 £65.75 £23.16
Median hourly rate £62.00 £66.50 £23.80
Median % change year-on-year -6.77% +179.41% -67.17%
75th Percentile £63.00 £67.25 -
90th Percentile - - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate - £66.50 £22.50
% change year-on-year - +195.56% -68.97%

All Vendors
UK

F5 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 22,776 15,426 16,872
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.74% 47.50% 44.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,912 9,454 10,092
10th Percentile £310 £275 £285
25th Percentile £413 £403 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £613 £613 £625
90th Percentile £701 £700 £731
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £480 £500
% change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,288 793 656
10th Percentile £14.00 £14.69 £14.46
25th Percentile £16.62 £17.44 £15.62
Median hourly rate £26.00 £25.15 £31.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.38% -18.87% -30.34%
75th Percentile £60.75 £43.75 £63.84
90th Percentile £78.75 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.75 £21.05 £30.00
% change year-on-year +22.33% -29.83% -29.82%

F5
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing F5 relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

F5 job vacancy trend in the UK

F5
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing F5.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing F5

F5
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing F5 over the 6 months to 22 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for F5 in the UK

F5
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing F5.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing F5

F5
Top 15 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing F5 within the UK over the 6 months to 22 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 -89 280 £525 +7.25% 74
UK excluding London -53 216 £532 +8.64% 61
North of England -29 114 £575 +17.47% 25
Work from Home -31 86 £575 +16.75% 38
North West -9 80 £575 +21.05% 18
London -84 69 £500 +5.26% 22
Midlands -31 67 £581 +38.33% 7
West Midlands -31 66 £581 +38.33% 6
South East -44 42 £433 -17.62% 13
Yorkshire -56 27 £488 -0.41% 7
Scotland -24 18 £513 +2.50% 7
South West -34 18 £465 -19.13% 6
North East -23 13 £650 +18.18%
East of England -30 4 £530 +1.92% 1
East Midlands - 1 - - 1

F5
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 7 (2.22%) IIS
2 6 (1.90%) SharePoint
3 5 (1.59%) nginx
3 5 (1.59%) OpenStack
4 3 (0.95%) Apache
4 3 (0.95%) Microsoft Exchange
4 3 (0.95%) Tomcat
5 2 (0.63%) Confluence
6 1 (0.32%) CMS
Applications
1 7 (2.22%) Microsoft Excel
1 7 (2.22%) Microsoft PowerPoint
2 6 (1.90%) MS Visio
3 4 (1.27%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 59 (18.73%) Azure
2 46 (14.60%) AWS
3 26 (8.25%) GitHub
4 23 (7.30%) OCI
5 17 (5.40%) IaaS
6 16 (5.08%) SaaS
7 11 (3.49%) GCP
8 9 (2.86%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 6 (1.90%) Cloudflare
9 6 (1.90%) Entra ID
9 6 (1.90%) OpenShift
9 6 (1.90%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 4 (1.27%) Microsoft 365
11 3 (0.95%) OneDrive
12 2 (0.63%) Mimecast
13 1 (0.32%) AWS CloudFormation
13 1 (0.32%) Azure DevOps
13 1 (0.32%) Google Ads
13 1 (0.32%) Kong
13 1 (0.32%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 174 (55.24%) Firewall
2 130 (41.27%) DNS
3 126 (40.00%) BGP
4 116 (36.83%) BIG-IP
4 116 (36.83%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
5 103 (32.70%) VPN
6 91 (28.89%) WAN
7 85 (26.98%) OSPF
8 83 (26.35%) Network Security
9 74 (23.49%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
10 58 (18.41%) TCP/IP
10 58 (18.41%) VXLAN
11 54 (17.14%) LAN
11 54 (17.14%) SSL
12 50 (15.87%) VLAN
13 48 (15.24%) Cisco Nexus
14 47 (14.92%) Wireless
15 43 (13.65%) Multicast
15 43 (13.65%) SD-WAN
16 37 (11.75%) IPsec
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (0.95%) MySQL
1 3 (0.95%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.63%) Amazon RDS
3 1 (0.32%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 26 (8.25%) JIRA
2 20 (6.35%) GitLab
3 18 (5.71%) Jenkins
4 13 (4.13%) Fiddler
5 7 (2.22%) Sonatype Nexus
6 4 (1.27%) Git
7 1 (0.32%) Cucumber
7 1 (0.32%) MSI
7 1 (0.32%) Robot Framework
7 1 (0.32%) Selenium
7 1 (0.32%) Visual Studio
General
1 54 (17.14%) Social Skills
2 42 (13.33%) Banking
2 42 (13.33%) Finance
3 29 (9.21%) Analytical Skills
4 26 (8.25%) Investment Banking
5 22 (6.98%) Public Sector
6 18 (5.71%) Telecoms
7 8 (2.54%) Legal
8 7 (2.22%) Retail
9 5 (1.59%) Documentation Skills
10 3 (0.95%) Influencing Skills
11 2 (0.63%) Financial Institution
11 2 (0.63%) Local Government
11 2 (0.63%) Military
11 2 (0.63%) Organisational Skills
12 1 (0.32%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 1 (0.32%) Law
12 1 (0.32%) Police
12 1 (0.32%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 152 (48.25%) Network Engineer
2 56 (17.78%) Security Engineer
3 47 (14.92%) Senior
4 43 (13.65%) Network Security Engineer
5 36 (11.43%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 35 (11.11%) Architect
7 34 (10.79%) Cisco Engineer
8 32 (10.16%) Cisco Network Engineer
9 25 (7.94%) Data Network Engineer
10 23 (7.30%) Cisco Security Engineer
10 23 (7.30%) Data Engineer
10 23 (7.30%) Web Engineer
11 19 (6.03%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
12 18 (5.71%) Senior Network Engineer
13 17 (5.40%) Network Architect
14 16 (5.08%) Consultant
15 14 (4.44%) IP Network Engineer
16 12 (3.81%) Blue Coat Engineer
16 12 (3.81%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
17 10 (3.17%) Automation Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 41 (13.02%) Terraform
2 25 (7.94%) 802.1X
3 9 (2.86%) YAML
4 8 (2.54%) JSON
5 7 (2.22%) SAML
6 6 (1.90%) NETCONF
6 6 (1.90%) RESTCONF
7 5 (1.59%) REST
8 4 (1.27%) LDAP
8 4 (1.27%) OpenConfig
8 4 (1.27%) YANG
9 3 (0.95%) LAMP
9 3 (0.95%) LEMP Stack
10 2 (0.63%) eBPF
10 2 (0.63%) gRPC
10 2 (0.63%) Software Packaging
11 1 (0.32%) .NET Framework
11 1 (0.32%) JWT
11 1 (0.32%) Playwright
11 1 (0.32%) React
Miscellaneous
1 113 (35.87%) Data Centre
2 39 (12.38%) Hybrid Cloud
3 23 (7.30%) Management Information System
4 21 (6.67%) Cloud Native
5 18 (5.71%) Public Cloud
6 13 (4.13%) Data Protection Act
6 13 (4.13%) Onboarding
7 8 (2.54%) PKI
7 8 (2.54%) Private Cloud
8 7 (2.22%) Distributed Applications
9 6 (1.90%) Clustering
9 6 (1.90%) Digital Signage
9 6 (1.90%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
10 4 (1.27%) Analytical Mindset
10 4 (1.27%) Embedded Systems
10 4 (1.27%) Enterprise Software
10 4 (1.27%) Mobile Payment
10 4 (1.27%) Self-Motivation
10 4 (1.27%) Smartcard
11 3 (0.95%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 41 (13.02%) Linux
2 40 (12.70%) Windows
3 9 (2.86%) Unix
4 8 (2.54%) Windows Server
5 3 (0.95%) CentOS
5 3 (0.95%) Ubuntu
6 2 (0.63%) Windows 10
6 2 (0.63%) Windows Server 2012
6 2 (0.63%) Windows Server 2019
7 1 (0.32%) CatOS
7 1 (0.32%) Check Point GAiA
7 1 (0.32%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 139 (44.13%) Load Balancing
2 58 (18.41%) Infrastructure Engineering
3 54 (17.14%) CI/CD
4 49 (15.56%) Zero Trust
5 45 (14.29%) High Availability
5 45 (14.29%) Project Delivery
6 41 (13.02%) Migration
7 37 (11.75%) Network Design
8 34 (10.79%) Agile
9 32 (10.16%) Change Management
10 31 (9.84%) Problem-Solving
11 30 (9.52%) Infrastructure as Code
12 28 (8.89%) Stakeholder Management
13 27 (8.57%) Network Architecture
14 25 (7.94%) Roadmaps
15 24 (7.62%) DevOps
15 24 (7.62%) ITIL
16 20 (6.35%) Network Management
16 20 (6.35%) Site Reliability Engineering
17 19 (6.03%) Cloud Security
Programming Languages
1 92 (29.21%) Python
2 17 (5.40%) ActionScript
3 11 (3.49%) SQL
4 10 (3.17%) JavaScript
4 10 (3.17%) PowerShell
5 8 (2.54%) Perl
6 7 (2.22%) VBA
7 5 (1.59%) Bash
8 4 (1.27%) Shell Script
9 3 (0.95%) Lisp
10 1 (0.32%) C++
10 1 (0.32%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 73 (23.17%) Security Cleared
2 56 (17.78%) Cisco Certification
3 54 (17.14%) SC Cleared
4 32 (10.16%) CCNP
5 21 (6.67%) CCIE
6 17 (5.40%) Degree
7 10 (3.17%) DV Cleared
8 7 (2.22%) CCNA
8 7 (2.22%) CISSP
9 6 (1.90%) JNCIE
10 5 (1.59%) CCSP
11 4 (1.27%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 4 (1.27%) CCIE Security
11 4 (1.27%) CISA
11 4 (1.27%) CISM
11 4 (1.27%) CLAS
11 4 (1.27%) CREST Certified
11 4 (1.27%) IISP
12 3 (0.95%) BPSS Clearance
12 3 (0.95%) CEH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 8 (2.54%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 8 (2.54%) QA
2 6 (1.90%) GDPR
2 6 (1.90%) NIST
3 5 (1.59%) Disclosure Scotland
3 5 (1.59%) GRC
4 4 (1.27%) ISO 31000
4 4 (1.27%) ISO 9001
4 4 (1.27%) ISO/IEC 27005
4 4 (1.27%) NCSC
4 4 (1.27%) PCI DSS
5 2 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials
5 2 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
System Software
1 37 (11.75%) VMware Infrastructure
2 20 (6.35%) VMware NSX
3 17 (5.40%) Active Directory
4 15 (4.76%) Firmware
5 4 (1.27%) Docker
5 4 (1.27%) ISA Server
5 4 (1.27%) Virtual Servers
6 3 (0.95%) Dovecot
6 3 (0.95%) Postfix
6 3 (0.95%) vSphere
7 1 (0.32%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.32%) ProxySG
7 1 (0.32%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 71 (22.54%) Ansible
2 31 (9.84%) FortiGate
3 9 (2.86%) Cisco Prime
4 8 (2.54%) WMI
5 6 (1.90%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (1.59%) Kubernetes
7 4 (1.27%) CASB
7 4 (1.27%) Single Sign-On
8 3 (0.95%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 3 (0.95%) HAProxy
8 3 (0.95%) vCenter Server
9 2 (0.63%) Avamar
10 1 (0.32%) Grafana
10 1 (0.32%) Istio
10 1 (0.32%) Network Intrusion Detection System
10 1 (0.32%) Progress Chef
10 1 (0.32%) Prometheus
10 1 (0.32%) Puppet
10 1 (0.32%) SCCM
10 1 (0.32%) vRealize
Vendors
1 185 (58.73%) Cisco
2 121 (38.41%) Palo Alto
3 67 (21.27%) Fortinet
4 54 (17.14%) VMware
5 48 (15.24%) Juniper
6 41 (13.02%) CheckPoint
7 38 (12.06%) Arista
8 32 (10.16%) Microsoft
9 31 (9.84%) Aruba
10 30 (9.52%) SolarWinds
11 27 (8.57%) Blue Coat
12 21 (6.67%) Splunk
13 20 (6.35%) Zscaler
14 19 (6.03%) Infoblox
15 12 (3.81%) McAfee
15 12 (3.81%) NetApp
15 12 (3.81%) ServiceNow
16 11 (3.49%) Meraki
17 8 (2.54%) Citrix
18 6 (1.90%) Google
88 F5 jobs Nationwide