Job Vacancy Trend Daily Rate Trend Daily Rate Histogram Hourly Rate Trend Hourly Rate Histogram Job Locations Skill Sets
Period
to 27 October 2020

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for WAN skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that have cited WAN over the 6 months to 27 October 2020 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

Note that daily and hourly rates are treated separately in these statistics. When calculating contractor rate percentiles, daily rates are never derived from quoted hourly rates or vice versa.

Wide Area Network (WAN)
UK
6 months to
27 Oct 2020		 Same period 2019 Same period 2018
Rank 156 128 150
Rank change year-on-year -28 +22 +2
Contract jobs citing WAN 566 1,705 1,851
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 1.75% 2.02% 1.80%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 13.31% 15.18% 13.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 407 1,178 1,092
Median daily rate £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate % change year-on-year +3.13% - +6.67%
10th Percentile £204 £200 £176
90th Percentile £575 £575 £594
UK excluding London median daily rate £388 £400 £375
% change year-on-year -3.13% +6.67% +3.45%
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 76 115
Median hourly rate £35.00 £19.00 £21.50
Median hourly rate % change year-on-year +84.21% -11.63% +2.55%
10th Percentile £15.75 £12.38 £12.20
90th Percentile £58.20 £53.30 £44.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.75 £17.80 £19.39
% change year-on-year +72.73% -8.16% -4.40%

WAN is in the Communications and Computer Networking category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills.

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK
Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 4,251 11,233 13,521
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 13.13% 13.32% 13.16%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,451 6,770 8,145
Median daily rate £440 £425 £425
Median daily rate % change year-on-year +3.53% - +6.25%
10th Percentile £213 £200 £200
90th Percentile £621 £600 £608
UK excluding London median daily rate £400 £400 £400
Number of hourly rates quoted 234 623 660
Median hourly rate £35.00 £30.00 £19.00
Median hourly rate % change year-on-year +16.67% +57.89% -
10th Percentile £14.50 £13.50 £12.23
90th Percentile £56.40 £53.75 £48.30
Median hourly rate £35.00 £23.50 £19.00
% change year-on-year +48.94% +23.68% -1.63%

WAN
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing WAN as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for WAN in the UK

WAN
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing WAN.

Daily rate trend for WAN in the UK

WAN
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing WAN over the 6 months to 27 October 2020.

Daily rate histogram for WAN in the UK

WAN
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing WAN.

Hourly rate trend for WAN in the UK

WAN
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing WAN over the 6 months to 27 October 2020.

Hourly rate histogram for WAN in the UK

WAN
Top 15 Contract Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing WAN within the UK over the 6 months to 27 October 2020. 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
Job
Vacancies
England -32 492 £425 +6.25% 203
UK excluding London +3 366 £388 -3.13% 184
London -36 153 £450 +0.56% 33
South East +5 114 £413 +3.13% 40
Work from Home -80 82 £406 +8.33% 26
Midlands +7 70 £350 -4.76% 32
South West +54 66 £428 +0.59% 26
North of England -31 47 £375 - 60
West Midlands -2 46 £375 +6.38% 18
East of England +45 33 £313 -26.47% 12
North West -7 33 £375 -10.71% 34
Scotland +60 31 £300 +33.33% 9
East Midlands +9 23 £250 -35.06% 14
Yorkshire +11 14 £350 -0.71% 22
Wales +37 8 £240 -21.63% 5

For the 6 months to 27 October 2020, IT contractor jobs citing WAN also mentioned the following skills in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads with a requirement for WAN.

1 417 (73.67%) LAN
2 304 (53.71%) Cisco
3 249 (43.99%) Firewall
4 167 (29.51%) Windows
5 148 (26.15%) VPN
6 141 (24.91%) Security Cleared
7 138 (24.38%) Cisco Certification
8 131 (23.14%) Azure
9 118 (20.85%) Active Directory
10 117 (20.67%) Microsoft
11 115 (20.32%) VMware
12 106 (18.73%) CCNP
13 98 (17.31%) Data Centre
14 95 (16.78%) SC Cleared
15 94 (16.61%) DNS
16 93 (16.43%) Wireless
17 91 (16.08%) MPLS
18 84 (14.84%) Linux
19 83 (14.66%) Office 365
20 81 (14.31%) Telecoms
21 79 (13.96%) F5
22 77 (13.60%) VoIP
23 75 (13.25%) Juniper
24 74 (13.07%) TCP/IP
24 74 (13.07%) Network Security
25 72 (12.72%) VMware Infrastructure
26 70 (12.37%) OSPF
26 70 (12.37%) BGP
27 67 (11.84%) CCNA
27 67 (11.84%) ITIL

WAN
Co-occurring IT Skills by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same job type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 20 (3.53%) MS Exchange
2 17 (3.00%) SharePoint
3 15 (2.65%) Skype for Business
4 7 (1.24%) JBoss
5 6 (1.06%) Exchange Server 2010
5 6 (1.06%) NetWeaver
5 6 (1.06%) WebSphere
6 4 (0.71%) CMS
6 4 (0.71%) Confluence
6 4 (0.71%) Exchange Server 2013
6 4 (0.71%) IIS
7 3 (0.53%) OpenStack
8 2 (0.35%) Cloud Foundry
9 1 (0.18%) Apache
9 1 (0.18%) Blackberry Enterprise Server
9 1 (0.18%) IBM Notes
9 1 (0.18%) nginx
9 1 (0.18%) Oracle SOA Suite
9 1 (0.18%) Tomcat
9 1 (0.18%) WildFly
Applications
1 31 (5.48%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (2.65%) MS Visio
3 8 (1.41%) Microsoft Excel
4 4 (0.71%) CATIA
5 2 (0.35%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.35%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 1 (0.18%) assyst
1 1 (0.18%) SAP Oil and Gas
Cloud Services
1 131 (23.14%) Azure
2 83 (14.66%) Office 365
3 49 (8.66%) AWS
4 38 (6.71%) PaaS
5 31 (5.48%) IaaS
6 28 (4.95%) SaaS
7 18 (3.18%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 17 (3.00%) Azure Active Directory
9 14 (2.47%) GCP
10 10 (1.77%) Cloud Computing
11 6 (1.06%) OneDrive
12 5 (0.88%) Power Automate
13 4 (0.71%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 4 (0.71%) Amazon EC2
13 4 (0.71%) Amazon S3
13 4 (0.71%) Power Platform
13 4 (0.71%) Route 53
14 3 (0.53%) AWS CloudFormation
14 3 (0.53%) GitHub
14 3 (0.53%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 417 (73.67%) LAN
2 249 (43.99%) Firewall
3 148 (26.15%) VPN
4 94 (16.61%) DNS
5 93 (16.43%) Wireless
6 91 (16.08%) MPLS
7 77 (13.60%) VoIP
8 74 (13.07%) Network Security
8 74 (13.07%) TCP/IP
9 70 (12.37%) BGP
9 70 (12.37%) OSPF
10 58 (10.25%) Wi-Fi
11 54 (9.54%) DHCP
12 50 (8.83%) Internet
13 48 (8.48%) SAN
14 46 (8.13%) Cisco Nexus
15 44 (7.77%) Cisco ASA
16 41 (7.24%) IPsec
17 40 (7.07%) EIGRP
18 38 (6.71%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
Database & Business Intelligence
1 17 (3.00%) SQL Server
2 8 (1.41%) Azure SQL Database
2 8 (1.41%) Cosmos DB
3 6 (1.06%) DB2
3 6 (1.06%) MySQL
3 6 (1.06%) SAP HANA
4 4 (0.71%) Relational Database
5 3 (0.53%) Data Lake
5 3 (0.53%) PostgreSQL
5 3 (0.53%) Power BI
6 2 (0.35%) Data Warehouse
6 2 (0.35%) Geospatial Data
6 2 (0.35%) MongoDB
6 2 (0.35%) NoSQL
7 1 (0.18%) Hadoop
7 1 (0.18%) HBase
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Database 12c
7 1 (0.18%) Riak
7 1 (0.18%) SQL Server 2012
Development Applications
1 15 (2.65%) JIRA
2 9 (1.59%) VSS/SourceSafe
3 7 (1.24%) Jenkins
4 4 (0.71%) Git (software)
5 2 (0.35%) Bitbucket Server
5 2 (0.35%) SonarQube
5 2 (0.35%) TestDirector
5 2 (0.35%) Visual Studio
6 1 (0.18%) ClearCase
6 1 (0.18%) ClearQuest
6 1 (0.18%) Fiddler
6 1 (0.18%) Gerrit
6 1 (0.18%) Hudson
6 1 (0.18%) Introscope
6 1 (0.18%) JMeter
6 1 (0.18%) LoadRunner
6 1 (0.18%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.18%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 81 (14.31%) Telecoms
2 48 (8.48%) Finance
3 41 (7.24%) Public Sector
4 13 (2.30%) Banking
5 9 (1.59%) Pharmaceutical
6 8 (1.41%) Retail
7 7 (1.24%) Financial Institution
8 6 (1.06%) Marketing
9 5 (0.88%) Billing
9 5 (0.88%) Electronics
9 5 (0.88%) Manufacturing
10 4 (0.71%) Automotive
10 4 (0.71%) Investment Banking
10 4 (0.71%) Military
11 3 (0.53%) Advertising
11 3 (0.53%) German Language
11 3 (0.53%) Legal
11 3 (0.53%) Local Government
12 2 (0.35%) French Language
12 2 (0.35%) Law
Job Titles
1 155 (27.39%) Network Engineer
2 109 (19.26%) Architect
3 54 (9.54%) Network Architect
4 36 (6.36%) Analyst
5 27 (4.77%) Solutions Architect
6 26 (4.59%) Consultant
7 25 (4.42%) Support Engineer
8 23 (4.06%) Cisco Engineer
9 21 (3.71%) Cisco Network Engineer
9 21 (3.71%) Senior Network Engineer
10 19 (3.36%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 19 (3.36%) Security Engineer
11 18 (3.18%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
11 18 (3.18%) Infrastructure Architect
11 18 (3.18%) Project Manager
12 17 (3.00%) Network Support
13 14 (2.47%) Network Support Engineer
13 14 (2.47%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
13 14 (2.47%) Technical Architect
14 13 (2.30%) Azure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (2.83%) .NET
2 12 (2.12%) 802.1X
3 8 (1.41%) Middleware
4 7 (1.24%) JSON
4 7 (1.24%) LDAP
5 6 (1.06%) SAP Basis
5 6 (1.06%) Web Services
6 4 (0.71%) REST
6 4 (0.71%) SOAP
6 4 (0.71%) WebRTC
7 2 (0.35%) ASP.NET
7 2 (0.35%) Ruby on Rails
7 2 (0.35%) Velocity
7 2 (0.35%) XML
7 2 (0.35%) XMPP
7 2 (0.35%) X-Windows
7 2 (0.35%) YAML
8 1 (0.18%) Elastic Stack
8 1 (0.18%) FIX Protocol
Miscellaneous
1 98 (17.31%) Data Centre
2 30 (5.30%) PKI
3 23 (4.06%) Public Cloud
4 22 (3.89%) Self-Motivation
5 21 (3.71%) Video Conferencing
6 16 (2.83%) Management Information System
6 16 (2.83%) NHS
7 10 (1.77%) Analytical Skills
7 10 (1.77%) Driving Licence
8 9 (1.59%) Replication
9 8 (1.41%) Client/Server
10 7 (1.24%) Robotics
11 6 (1.06%) iPhone
11 6 (1.06%) Private Cloud
11 6 (1.06%) Tandem
12 5 (0.88%) Clustering
12 5 (0.88%) Handset
12 5 (0.88%) Virtual Team
13 4 (0.71%) IPTV
13 4 (0.71%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 167 (29.51%) Windows
2 84 (14.84%) Linux
3 55 (9.72%) Windows Server
4 37 (6.54%) Windows 10
5 34 (6.01%) Unix
6 21 (3.71%) Windows 7
7 14 (2.47%) Windows Server 2008
7 14 (2.47%) Windows Server 2016
8 12 (2.12%) Solaris
8 12 (2.12%) Ubuntu
9 11 (1.94%) Windows Server 2012
10 9 (1.59%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 9 (1.59%) VMS
11 8 (1.41%) AIX
12 7 (1.24%) Apple iOS
12 7 (1.24%) Windows XP
13 6 (1.06%) CentOS
13 6 (1.06%) Windows Server 2003
14 5 (0.88%) Debian
14 5 (0.88%) Fedora
Processes & Methodologies
1 67 (11.84%) ITIL
2 60 (10.60%) Agile Software Development
3 53 (9.36%) Migration
4 41 (7.24%) Infrastructure Engineering
4 41 (7.24%) Network Design
5 38 (6.71%) Load Balancing
6 35 (6.18%) Service Management
7 31 (5.48%) DevOps
7 31 (5.48%) Project Management
8 30 (5.30%) PRINCE2
9 29 (5.12%) SIEM
10 28 (4.95%) Problem-Solving
10 28 (4.95%) Project Delivery
11 26 (4.59%) Cryptography
12 24 (4.24%) Cybersecurity
12 24 (4.24%) High Availability
12 24 (4.24%) Network Virtualisation
13 23 (4.06%) Service Delivery
14 21 (3.71%) Change Management
14 21 (3.71%) TOGAF
Programming Languages
1 41 (7.24%) Python
2 28 (4.95%) C
3 19 (3.36%) SQL
4 15 (2.65%) PowerShell
5 14 (2.47%) Bash Shell
6 12 (2.12%) Java
6 12 (2.12%) Shell Script
7 8 (1.41%) Perl
8 5 (0.88%) C#
9 4 (0.71%) MATLAB
10 3 (0.53%) Ada
11 2 (0.35%) Embedded C
11 2 (0.35%) PHP
12 1 (0.18%) C++
12 1 (0.18%) JavaScript
12 1 (0.18%) Korn
12 1 (0.18%) VB
12 1 (0.18%) VB.NET
12 1 (0.18%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 141 (24.91%) Security Cleared
2 138 (24.38%) Cisco Certification
3 106 (18.73%) CCNP
4 95 (16.78%) SC Cleared
5 67 (11.84%) CCNA
6 49 (8.66%) CCIE
7 43 (7.60%) DV Cleared
8 24 (4.24%) Microsoft Certification
9 22 (3.89%) CCDP
10 21 (3.71%) Degree
11 20 (3.53%) CISSP
12 18 (3.18%) CCDA
13 16 (2.83%) BPSS Clearance
13 16 (2.83%) MCSE
14 9 (1.59%) CCIE Routing and Switching
15 8 (1.41%) BC Cleared
16 7 (1.24%) Computer Science Degree
17 5 (0.88%) CEH
17 5 (0.88%) CREST Certified
17 5 (0.88%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (2.47%) QA
2 10 (1.77%) PCI DSS
3 9 (1.59%) COBIT
3 9 (1.59%) SLA
4 8 (1.41%) GDPR
4 8 (1.41%) NIST
5 4 (0.71%) Disclosure Scotland
5 4 (0.71%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 3 (0.53%) Cyber Essentials
7 2 (0.35%) ISO 14001
7 2 (0.35%) ISO 9001
8 1 (0.18%) HL7
8 1 (0.18%) ISO/IEC 20000
8 1 (0.18%) NIST 800
System Software
1 118 (20.85%) Active Directory
2 72 (12.72%) VMware Infrastructure
3 32 (5.65%) Hyper-V
4 27 (4.77%) VMware NSX
5 24 (4.24%) VMware ESXi
6 21 (3.71%) vSphere
7 17 (3.00%) Virtual Machines
8 14 (2.47%) Docker
9 5 (0.88%) KVM
9 5 (0.88%) XenApp
10 4 (0.71%) ProxySG
10 4 (0.71%) vCloud
10 4 (0.71%) Xen
11 3 (0.53%) Firmware
11 3 (0.53%) Snort
11 3 (0.53%) XenDesktop
12 2 (0.35%) Virtual Desktop
12 2 (0.35%) VMware Workstation
13 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 1 (0.18%) Terminal Server
Systems Management
1 37 (6.54%) SCCM
2 24 (4.24%) Ansible
3 18 (3.18%) Microsoft Intune
4 17 (3.00%) FortiGate
5 14 (2.47%) Cisco CUCM
5 14 (2.47%) Kubernetes
6 10 (1.77%) Cisco UCCX
6 10 (1.77%) vCenter Server
7 9 (1.59%) Cisco Prime
8 8 (1.41%) SCOM
9 7 (1.24%) Terraform
9 7 (1.24%) WSUS
10 6 (1.06%) Puppet
10 6 (1.06%) Single Sign-On
11 5 (0.88%) vRealize
12 4 (0.71%) Microsoft Clustering
12 4 (0.71%) Nagios
12 4 (0.71%) Opscode Chef
13 3 (0.53%) Nessus
13 3 (0.53%) Network Intrusion Detection System
Vendors
1 304 (53.71%) Cisco
2 117 (20.67%) Microsoft
3 115 (20.32%) VMware
4 79 (13.96%) F5
5 75 (13.25%) Juniper
6 59 (10.42%) CheckPoint
7 48 (8.48%) Palo Alto
8 43 (7.60%) SolarWinds
9 35 (6.18%) Citrix
9 35 (6.18%) Dell
10 30 (5.30%) Oracle
11 29 (5.12%) Meraki
12 25 (4.42%) Fortinet
13 21 (3.71%) Aruba
14 20 (3.53%) HP
15 18 (3.18%) Blue Coat
15 18 (3.18%) Splunk
16 17 (3.00%) Red Hat
17 14 (2.47%) EMC
17 14 (2.47%) Veeam