Software Testing Job Trends in England

Software Testing
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in England requiring Software Testing skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 12 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 251 270 164
Rank change year-on-year +19 -106 +11
Permanent jobs citing Software Testing 751 470 1,147
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.75% 1.08% 1.66%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.03% 1.22% 2.04%
Number of salaries quoted 508 334 622
10th Percentile £29,425 £26,250 £32,500
25th Percentile £39,818 £40,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £56,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -1.79% +1.82% -4.35%
75th Percentile £72,813 £68,750 £71,250
90th Percentile £90,000 £78,750 £83,750
UK median annual salary £52,500 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year -8.70% +4.55% -4.35%

All Process & Methodology Skills
England

Software Testing falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in England.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 73,230 38,473 56,250
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 73.20% 88.68% 81.32%
Number of salaries quoted 52,112 22,159 32,915
10th Percentile £31,250 £28,500 £31,750
25th Percentile £42,229 £37,500 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -8.00%
75th Percentile £80,000 £76,250 £77,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £97,500 £95,000
UK median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -4.17%

Software Testing
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Software Testing relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in England.

Software Testing job vacancy trend in England

Software Testing
Salary Trend in England

Salary distribution trend for jobs in England citing Software Testing.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in England citing Software Testing

Software Testing
Salary Histogram in England

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Testing in England over the 6 months to 12 September 2026.

Salary histogram for Software Testing in England

Software Testing
Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Software Testing within the England region over the 6 months to 12 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +10 163 £45,000 -10.00% 99
London -43 151 £70,000 +9.38% 187
North of England +12 139 £53,750 +25.36% 69
Midlands +14 120 £55,000 +28.65% 70
South West -34 92 £50,000 -10.71% 61
West Midlands -6 78 £55,000 +266.67% 43
East of England +21 76 £55,000 +3.77% 63
North West +9 63 £50,000 -31.03% 42
North East -19 48 £55,000 +55.48% 6
East Midlands -18 42 £55,000 -1.79% 27
Yorkshire -50 28 £34,582 +13.38% 21
Software Testing
UK

Software Testing
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England 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 14 (1.86%) IIS
2 10 (1.33%) Confluence
2 10 (1.33%) SharePoint
3 9 (1.20%) CMS
4 6 (0.80%) WinCC
5 5 (0.67%) Apache Spark
5 5 (0.67%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.40%) Apache
6 3 (0.40%) WordPress
7 2 (0.27%) Moodle
7 2 (0.27%) nginx
7 2 (0.27%) Umbraco
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 17 (2.26%) Microsoft Excel
2 15 (2.00%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (2.00%) Simulink
3 6 (0.80%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 6 (0.80%) MS Visio
3 6 (0.80%) Spreadsheet
4 5 (0.67%) AutoCAD
4 5 (0.67%) DaVinci Resolve
5 3 (0.40%) Photoshop
6 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.13%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 3 (0.40%) Payment Gateway
1 3 (0.40%) SystmOne
2 2 (0.27%) Sage 200
2 2 (0.27%) Shopify
2 2 (0.27%) Workday HCM
3 1 (0.13%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.13%) Misys Equation
3 1 (0.13%) Misys Midas
3 1 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
3 1 (0.13%) Oracle Cash Management
3 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
3 1 (0.13%) Oracle Payables
3 1 (0.13%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
3 1 (0.13%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 136 (18.11%) AWS
2 127 (16.91%) Azure
3 40 (5.33%) Azure DevOps
4 33 (4.39%) Serverless
5 32 (4.26%) GCP
5 32 (4.26%) GitHub
5 32 (4.26%) Power Platform
6 21 (2.80%) Microsoft 365
7 19 (2.53%) SaaS
8 17 (2.26%) AWS Lambda
9 14 (1.86%) GitHub Actions
10 12 (1.60%) GitHub Copilot
10 12 (1.60%) OpenShift
11 10 (1.33%) BrowserStack
12 9 (1.20%) AWS CloudFormation
13 7 (0.93%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 7 (0.93%) Anthropic Claude
13 7 (0.93%) Google Workspace
14 6 (0.80%) Amazon EC2
14 6 (0.80%) Tricentis Tosca
Communications & Networking
1 14 (1.86%) TCP/IP
2 11 (1.46%) SNMP
2 11 (1.46%) VPN
3 7 (0.93%) Broadband
3 7 (0.93%) HTTP
3 7 (0.93%) Wireshark
4 6 (0.80%) Modbus
5 4 (0.53%) Ethernet
6 3 (0.40%) DNS
7 2 (0.27%) ATM
7 2 (0.27%) Network Security
7 2 (0.27%) Software-Defined Radio
8 1 (0.13%) 5G
8 1 (0.13%) Cisco ISE
8 1 (0.13%) DHCP
8 1 (0.13%) Internet
8 1 (0.13%) IPv4
8 1 (0.13%) IPv6
8 1 (0.13%) LTE
8 1 (0.13%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 40 (5.33%) SQL Server
2 27 (3.60%) Power BI
3 21 (2.80%) PostgreSQL
4 15 (2.00%) Relational Database
5 13 (1.73%) DynamoDB
6 12 (1.60%) Elasticsearch
7 9 (1.20%) Azure SQL Database
7 9 (1.20%) NoSQL
8 8 (1.07%) InfluxDB
8 8 (1.07%) MongoDB
8 8 (1.07%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 7 (0.93%) MySQL
9 7 (0.93%) OLTP
10 6 (0.80%) Geospatial Data
11 5 (0.67%) Oracle Database
12 4 (0.53%) Flink
12 4 (0.53%) Spark SQL
13 3 (0.40%) Amazon RDS
13 3 (0.40%) Big Data
13 3 (0.40%) Crystal Reports
Development Applications
1 97 (12.92%) Git
2 73 (9.72%) JIRA
3 58 (7.72%) Selenium
4 56 (7.46%) GitLab
5 44 (5.86%) Jenkins
6 32 (4.26%) Postman
7 29 (3.86%) Cypress.io
8 20 (2.66%) Cucumber
8 20 (2.66%) JMeter
9 19 (2.53%) JUnit
10 18 (2.40%) TestRail
11 16 (2.13%) Zephyr
12 14 (1.86%) Gatling
13 11 (1.46%) REST Assured
14 9 (1.20%) Maven
15 8 (1.07%) Robot Framework
15 8 (1.07%) Spock
15 8 (1.07%) Visual Studio Code
16 7 (0.93%) Claude Code
16 7 (0.93%) LoadRunner
General
1 244 (32.49%) Social Skills
2 137 (18.24%) Analytical Skills
3 91 (12.12%) Finance
4 55 (7.32%) Electronics
5 50 (6.66%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 37 (4.93%) Law
7 36 (4.79%) Manufacturing
8 23 (3.06%) Public Sector
9 22 (2.93%) Aerospace
10 21 (2.80%) Banking
11 19 (2.53%) Documentation Skills
12 15 (2.00%) Aviation
12 15 (2.00%) Organisational Skills
13 14 (1.86%) Automotive
13 14 (1.86%) Retail
14 13 (1.73%) Games
14 13 (1.73%) Legal
15 10 (1.33%) Presentation Skills
15 10 (1.33%) Telecoms
16 9 (1.20%) Military
Job Titles
1 174 (23.17%) Senior
2 126 (16.78%) Software Engineer
3 102 (13.58%) Test Engineer
4 87 (11.58%) Lead
5 83 (11.05%) Developer
6 64 (8.52%) Analyst
7 57 (7.59%) Tester
8 43 (5.73%) Senior Developer
9 40 (5.33%) Software Test Engineer
10 39 (5.19%) Software Developer
11 36 (4.79%) QA Engineer
11 36 (4.79%) Senior Software Engineer
12 32 (4.26%) Software Tester
13 28 (3.73%) Embedded Engineer
13 28 (3.73%) Junior
13 28 (3.73%) Test Automation Engineer
14 24 (3.20%) Embedded Software Engineer
14 24 (3.20%) IT Support
15 23 (3.06%) Support Engineer
16 22 (2.93%) Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 68 (9.05%) .NET
2 58 (7.72%) Playwright
3 47 (6.26%) HTML
4 46 (6.13%) React
5 31 (4.13%) REST
6 26 (3.46%) ASP.NET
6 26 (3.46%) CSS
7 24 (3.20%) Terraform
8 22 (2.93%) XML
9 18 (2.40%) RESTful
10 16 (2.13%) Node.js
11 13 (1.73%) React Native
11 13 (1.73%) Spring
12 12 (1.60%) ASP.NET Core
12 12 (1.60%) Gherkin
12 12 (1.60%) JSON
12 12 (1.60%) SOAP
12 12 (1.60%) Swagger
13 10 (1.33%) pytest
14 9 (1.20%) Elastic Stack
Miscellaneous
1 64 (8.52%) Product Ownership
2 34 (4.53%) Distributed Systems
3 31 (4.13%) Algorithms
4 25 (3.33%) Embedded Systems
5 23 (3.06%) Management Information System
6 19 (2.53%) Mobile App
7 18 (2.40%) AI Agents
7 18 (2.40%) Analytical Mindset
7 18 (2.40%) Enterprise Software
7 18 (2.40%) Robotics
8 17 (2.26%) Cloud Native
8 17 (2.26%) Self-Motivation
9 16 (2.13%) Client/Server
10 12 (1.60%) Driving Licence
11 11 (1.46%) Legacy Applications
11 11 (1.46%) Video\Live Streaming
12 10 (1.33%) FPGA
12 10 (1.33%) Low-Code
13 9 (1.20%) Onboarding
13 9 (1.20%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 88 (11.72%) Windows
2 74 (9.85%) Linux
3 20 (2.66%) Windows Server
4 8 (1.07%) CentOS
5 6 (0.80%) VMS
6 5 (0.67%) Android
6 5 (0.67%) Apple iOS
6 5 (0.67%) Embedded Linux
6 5 (0.67%) Robot Operating System
7 4 (0.53%) Kali Linux
7 4 (0.53%) Unix
8 3 (0.40%) Debian
8 3 (0.40%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.27%) FreeRTOS
9 2 (0.27%) zOS
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 319 (42.48%) Test Automation
2 278 (37.02%) Agile
3 237 (31.56%) Software Engineering
4 195 (25.97%) Continuous Improvement
5 192 (25.57%) CI/CD
6 189 (25.17%) Problem-Solving
7 158 (21.04%) DevOps
8 124 (16.51%) Code Quality
9 112 (14.91%) AI
9 112 (14.91%) Mentoring
10 111 (14.78%) Validation
11 109 (14.51%) SDLC
12 99 (13.18%) Scrum
13 96 (12.78%) Test Strategy
14 79 (10.52%) Regression Testing
15 69 (9.19%) Computer Science
16 60 (7.99%) Manual Testing
17 55 (7.32%) Software Architecture
18 53 (7.06%) Stakeholder Management
19 52 (6.92%) Test Scripting
Programming Languages
1 198 (26.36%) Python
2 142 (18.91%) SQL
3 109 (14.51%) C#
4 91 (12.12%) JavaScript
5 88 (11.72%) Java
6 80 (10.65%) C++
7 61 (8.12%) C
8 56 (7.46%) TypeScript
9 26 (3.46%) MATLAB
10 24 (3.20%) PowerShell
11 21 (2.80%) Bash
12 13 (1.73%) Embedded C
12 13 (1.73%) Go
13 11 (1.46%) Groovy
13 11 (1.46%) PL/SQL
14 10 (1.33%) Julia
15 9 (1.20%) PHP
16 8 (1.07%) R
17 6 (0.80%) Rust
17 6 (0.80%) VBA
Qualifications
1 163 (21.70%) Degree
2 131 (17.44%) Security Cleared
3 81 (10.79%) SC Cleared
4 41 (5.46%) ISTQB
5 37 (4.93%) DV Cleared
6 33 (4.39%) Master's Degree
7 32 (4.26%) Computer Science Degree
8 18 (2.40%) BPSS Clearance
9 9 (1.20%) ISEB
10 8 (1.07%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
11 6 (0.80%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
11 6 (0.80%) PhD
12 5 (0.67%) DBS Check
13 3 (0.40%) AWS Certification
13 3 (0.40%) Chartered Engineer
13 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Certified Professional
13 3 (0.40%) PMI Certification
14 2 (0.27%) HND
14 2 (0.27%) MCSA
14 2 (0.27%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 209 (27.83%) QA
2 49 (6.52%) Accessibility
3 24 (3.20%) GDPR
4 17 (2.26%) WCAG
5 14 (1.86%) Software Quality Assurance
6 13 (1.73%) Data Quality
7 9 (1.20%) SLA
8 5 (0.67%) DO-254
8 5 (0.67%) PMO
9 4 (0.53%) IEC 61508
10 3 (0.40%) IEC 61131
10 3 (0.40%) ISO/IEC 12207
10 3 (0.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
11 2 (0.27%) Automotive SPICE
11 2 (0.27%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.27%) MISRA
11 2 (0.27%) MISRA C
12 1 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 20000
12 1 (0.13%) MIL-STD-1553
12 1 (0.13%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 55 (7.32%) Docker
2 36 (4.79%) Firmware
3 19 (2.53%) Active Directory
4 18 (2.40%) Embedded Firmware
5 10 (1.33%) VMware Infrastructure
6 6 (0.80%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.27%) Hyper-V
7 2 (0.27%) KVM
7 2 (0.27%) Time Sharing Option
8 1 (0.13%) Terminal Server
Systems Management
1 36 (4.79%) Kubernetes
2 22 (2.93%) Grafana
3 19 (2.53%) Ansible
4 9 (1.20%) Kibana
5 8 (1.07%) logstash
6 6 (0.80%) vCenter Server
7 5 (0.67%) Functional Safety
8 4 (0.53%) HP Fortify
8 4 (0.53%) Prometheus
8 4 (0.53%) SCCM
8 4 (0.53%) SCOM
9 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Intune
9 3 (0.40%) Norton AntiVirus
9 3 (0.40%) Puppet
9 3 (0.40%) SCOrch
10 2 (0.27%) Active Directory Federation Services
10 2 (0.27%) HP ALM
10 2 (0.27%) Rancher
10 2 (0.27%) Single Sign-On
11 1 (0.13%) Fluentd
Vendors
1 73 (9.72%) Microsoft
2 24 (3.20%) Splunk
3 18 (2.40%) Oracle
4 12 (1.60%) Google
4 12 (1.60%) VMware
5 11 (1.46%) Citrix
6 10 (1.33%) Atlassian
6 10 (1.33%) Red Hat
7 9 (1.20%) Intel
8 8 (1.07%) Adobe
8 8 (1.07%) AppDynamics
8 8 (1.07%) ServiceNow
8 8 (1.07%) Siemens
9 7 (0.93%) IBM
10 5 (0.67%) Avid
10 5 (0.67%) Rockwell
10 5 (0.67%) SolarWinds
11 4 (0.53%) Databricks
11 4 (0.53%) Veracode
11 4 (0.53%) Xilinx