Network Communications Engineer Contract Job Trends

Network Communications Engineer
UK

The median Network Communications Engineer daily rate in the UK is £350, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 15 January 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 575 531 575
Rank change year-on-year -44 +44 +195
Contract jobs requiring a Network Communications Engineer 3 3 5
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.008% 0.009% 0.012%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.009% 0.010% 0.013%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 1 1
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £325 £525 £203
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £350 £550 £205
Median % change year-on-year -36.36% +168.29% -61.86%
75th Percentile £375 £575 £208
90th Percentile - - -
UK excluding London median daily rate - £550 £205
% change year-on-year - +168.29% -61.86%

All Contract IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 33,883 29,520 39,341
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.34% 92.72% 93.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,433 18,105 26,194
10th Percentile £300 £288 £280
25th Percentile £405 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £618 £638 £638
90th Percentile £720 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,985 889 1,660
10th Percentile £14.38 £15.50 £14.16
25th Percentile £18.24 £21.05 £18.93
Median hourly rate £26.30 £32.50 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year -19.08% -23.53% +21.43%
75th Percentile £60.00 £62.24 £65.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £73.75 £76.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £31.29 £45.00
% change year-on-year -19.62% -30.47% +55.17%

Network Communications Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Network Communications Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Network Communications Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Network Communications Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Network Communications Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Network Communications Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Network Communications Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Network Communications Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Network Communications Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Network Communications Engineer
Top 3 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Network Communications Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 15 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
South West -18 2 - - 4
England -51 2 - - 4
UK excluding London -65 2 - - 4

Network Communications Engineer Skill Set
Top 29 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 15 January 2026, Network Communications Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring Network Communications Engineer in the job title.

1 2 (66.67%) Confluence
1 2 (66.67%) JIRA
1 2 (66.67%) Linux
1 2 (66.67%) Problem-Solving
1 2 (66.67%) SC Cleared
1 2 (66.67%) Security Cleared
1 2 (66.67%) Systems Engineering
1 2 (66.67%) TCP/IP
1 2 (66.67%) Unit Testing
1 2 (66.67%) Validation
1 2 (66.67%) Verification and Validation
1 2 (66.67%) Windows
1 2 (66.67%) Workflow
2 1 (33.33%) Aruba
2 1 (33.33%) CCIE
2 1 (33.33%) CCNP
2 1 (33.33%) Cisco
2 1 (33.33%) Cisco Certification
2 1 (33.33%) Cisco CUCM
2 1 (33.33%) Data Centre Operations
2 1 (33.33%) DHCP
2 1 (33.33%) Information Security
2 1 (33.33%) LAN
2 1 (33.33%) OSPF
2 1 (33.33%) Proactive Monitoring
2 1 (33.33%) Unified Communications
2 1 (33.33%) VoIP
2 1 (33.33%) WAN
2 1 (33.33%) Wi-Fi

Network Communications Engineer Skill Set
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 2 (66.67%) Confluence
Communications & Networking
1 2 (66.67%) TCP/IP
2 1 (33.33%) DHCP
2 1 (33.33%) LAN
2 1 (33.33%) OSPF
2 1 (33.33%) Unified Communications
2 1 (33.33%) VoIP
2 1 (33.33%) WAN
2 1 (33.33%) Wi-Fi
Development Applications
1 2 (66.67%) JIRA
Miscellaneous
1 1 (33.33%) Data Centre
Operating Systems
1 2 (66.67%) Linux
1 2 (66.67%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 2 (66.67%) Problem-Solving
1 2 (66.67%) Systems Engineering
1 2 (66.67%) Unit Testing
1 2 (66.67%) Validation
1 2 (66.67%) Verification and Validation
1 2 (66.67%) Workflow
2 1 (33.33%) Data Centre Operations
2 1 (33.33%) Information Security
2 1 (33.33%) Proactive Monitoring
Qualifications
1 2 (66.67%) SC Cleared
1 2 (66.67%) Security Cleared
2 1 (33.33%) CCIE
2 1 (33.33%) CCNP
2 1 (33.33%) Cisco Certification
Systems Management
1 1 (33.33%) Cisco CUCM
Vendors
1 1 (33.33%) Aruba
1 1 (33.33%) Cisco