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 11 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 277 199 175
Rank change year-on-year -78 -24 -102
Permanent jobs citing Software Testing 512 563 1,316
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.69% 1.54% 1.64%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.91% 1.65% 1.90%
Number of salaries quoted 388 424 1,074
10th Percentile £30,000 £31,750 £31,250
25th Percentile £40,563 £41,625 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year - +4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £71,250 £69,250 £68,750
90th Percentile £92,500 £87,500 £86,000
UK median annual salary £55,000 £55,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year - +10.00% -9.09%

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 56,480 34,092 69,191
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 76.07% 93.08% 85.99%
Number of salaries quoted 35,677 20,470 53,153
10th Percentile £30,000 £31,250 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £43,000 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,500 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.17% +9.09% -12.00%
75th Percentile £78,750 £80,000 £73,750
90th Percentile £100,000 £103,750 £93,750
UK median annual salary £57,500 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -4.17% +9.09% -10.57%

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 11 April 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 11 April 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 -26 142 £50,000 -4.76% 76
London -37 136 £62,500 -3.85% 55
North of England -77 83 £46,421 -7.16% 48
South West -44 56 £47,500 -2.49% 36
Midlands -79 51 £55,000 +22.22% 43
North West -51 39 £53,386 +1.69% 31
East of England -26 36 £52,500 -8.70% 30
Yorkshire -54 34 £35,000 +7.69% 10
East Midlands -70 26 £55,000 +15.79% 19
West Midlands -30 25 £55,000 +23.60% 24
North East -24 10 £56,500 +41.25% 8
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 8 (1.56%) Confluence
1 8 (1.56%) IIS
2 7 (1.37%) Moodle
3 5 (0.98%) SharePoint
4 2 (0.39%) Apache
4 2 (0.39%) WordPress
5 1 (0.20%) CMS
5 1 (0.20%) Jupyter
5 1 (0.20%) Umbraco
Applications
1 11 (2.15%) Microsoft Excel
2 10 (1.95%) Microsoft Office
3 7 (1.37%) Microsoft Project
3 7 (1.37%) MS Visio
4 6 (1.17%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.98%) DaVinci Resolve
6 4 (0.78%) Simulink
6 4 (0.78%) Spreadsheet
7 2 (0.39%) Adobe Creative Suite
8 1 (0.20%) EPLAN
8 1 (0.20%) Photoshop
Business Applications
1 3 (0.59%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.39%) Misys Midas
3 1 (0.20%) Cognos Business Intelligence
3 1 (0.20%) Oracle Applications
3 1 (0.20%) Sage X3
3 1 (0.20%) SAP Business One
3 1 (0.20%) Siebel CRM
Cloud Services
1 111 (21.68%) Azure
2 98 (19.14%) AWS
3 42 (8.20%) Azure DevOps
4 36 (7.03%) GCP
5 23 (4.49%) SaaS
6 21 (4.10%) GitHub
7 16 (3.13%) BrowserStack
8 13 (2.54%) Power Platform
9 9 (1.76%) OpenShift
9 9 (1.76%) Serverless
10 8 (1.56%) GitHub Actions
11 7 (1.37%) Anthropic Claude
11 7 (1.37%) AWS CloudFormation
11 7 (1.37%) GitHub Copilot
12 5 (0.98%) AWS Lambda
12 5 (0.98%) Microsoft 365
12 5 (0.98%) PaaS
13 4 (0.78%) Azure AKS
13 4 (0.78%) Azure Data Factory
13 4 (0.78%) Google Kubernetes Engine
Communications & Networking
1 8 (1.56%) Broadband
2 6 (1.17%) Ethernet
3 5 (0.98%) HTTP
3 5 (0.98%) SNMP
3 5 (0.98%) VPN
4 3 (0.59%) Cisco ISE
4 3 (0.59%) Network Security
5 2 (0.39%) Modbus
5 2 (0.39%) MQTT
5 2 (0.39%) Software-Defined Radio
6 1 (0.20%) AMQP
6 1 (0.20%) Bluetooth
6 1 (0.20%) Kerberos
6 1 (0.20%) LTE
6 1 (0.20%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.20%) Wi-Fi
6 1 (0.20%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 41 (8.01%) SQL Server
2 21 (4.10%) PostgreSQL
3 13 (2.54%) OLTP
4 12 (2.34%) MongoDB
5 10 (1.95%) MySQL
6 8 (1.56%) NoSQL
6 8 (1.56%) Power BI
7 6 (1.17%) Azure SQL Database
7 6 (1.17%) Relational Database
7 6 (1.17%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 5 (0.98%) Crystal Reports
8 5 (0.98%) DynamoDB
8 5 (0.98%) Elasticsearch
8 5 (0.98%) InfluxDB
9 4 (0.78%) Oracle Database
9 4 (0.78%) Spark SQL
10 2 (0.39%) Data Warehouse
10 2 (0.39%) DB2
10 2 (0.39%) Easytrieve
11 1 (0.20%) DTS
Development Applications
1 80 (15.63%) JIRA
2 73 (14.26%) Selenium
3 44 (8.59%) Git
4 43 (8.40%) Postman
5 35 (6.84%) GitLab
6 29 (5.66%) Jenkins
6 29 (5.66%) SoapUI
7 28 (5.47%) WebDriver
8 26 (5.08%) Team Foundation Server
9 19 (3.71%) TestRail
10 18 (3.52%) Cypress.io
11 14 (2.73%) SpecFlow
12 12 (2.34%) Zephyr
13 10 (1.95%) Cucumber
13 10 (1.95%) Subversion
13 10 (1.95%) Visual Studio
14 9 (1.76%) JMeter
14 9 (1.76%) JUnit
14 9 (1.76%) REST Assured
15 8 (1.56%) Robot Framework
General
1 159 (31.05%) Social Skills
2 77 (15.04%) Finance
3 67 (13.09%) Analytical Skills
4 34 (6.64%) Electronics
5 24 (4.69%) Law
6 20 (3.91%) Retail
7 16 (3.13%) Banking
8 14 (2.73%) Manufacturing
9 13 (2.54%) Public Sector
10 11 (2.15%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 10 (1.95%) Games
12 9 (1.76%) Aerospace
13 7 (1.37%) Pharmaceutical
14 6 (1.17%) Documentation Skills
15 5 (0.98%) Health Technology
15 5 (0.98%) Marketing
15 5 (0.98%) Organisational Skills
15 5 (0.98%) Telecoms
16 4 (0.78%) Swedish Language
17 3 (0.59%) Legal
Job Titles
1 108 (21.09%) Senior
2 86 (16.80%) Software Engineer
3 67 (13.09%) Lead
4 63 (12.30%) Tester
5 59 (11.52%) Analyst
6 53 (10.35%) Test Engineer
7 42 (8.20%) Developer
8 37 (7.23%) Software Tester
9 35 (6.84%) Development Engineer
10 34 (6.64%) Software Development Engineer
11 30 (5.86%) Test Analyst
12 29 (5.66%) Test Development Engineer
13 28 (5.47%) Software Test Engineer
14 24 (4.69%) Senior Software Engineer
15 23 (4.49%) Senior Developer
16 21 (4.10%) Senior Analyst
17 20 (3.91%) Embedded Engineer
17 20 (3.91%) Test Automation Engineer
18 19 (3.71%) QA Engineer
19 17 (3.32%) Automation Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 83 (16.21%) .NET
2 49 (9.57%) HTML
3 39 (7.62%) SOAP
4 36 (7.03%) Playwright
5 32 (6.25%) React
6 26 (5.08%) XML
7 23 (4.49%) Node.js
8 17 (3.32%) REST
9 13 (2.54%) ASP.NET
10 11 (2.15%) JSON
11 10 (1.95%) .NET Framework
12 8 (1.56%) Elastic Stack
12 8 (1.56%) Spring
13 7 (1.37%) CSS
13 7 (1.37%) React Native
13 7 (1.37%) RESTful
14 6 (1.17%) Web Services
15 5 (0.98%) pytest
15 5 (0.98%) Spring Boot
16 4 (0.78%) Lightning Web Components
Miscellaneous
1 34 (6.64%) Product Ownership
2 25 (4.88%) Cloud Native
3 19 (3.71%) Algorithms
4 17 (3.32%) Embedded Systems
5 15 (2.93%) Mobile App
5 15 (2.93%) Self-Motivation
6 12 (2.34%) Client/Server
7 11 (2.15%) Distributed Systems
7 11 (2.15%) Enterprise Software
8 9 (1.76%) Low-Code
8 9 (1.76%) Management Information System
8 9 (1.76%) Robotics
9 7 (1.37%) e-Learning
9 7 (1.37%) NHS
9 7 (1.37%) Onboarding
9 7 (1.37%) Video\Live Streaming
10 6 (1.17%) Legacy Systems
11 5 (0.98%) Analytical Mindset
11 5 (0.98%) Mobile Payment
11 5 (0.98%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 40 (7.81%) Windows
2 32 (6.25%) Linux
3 8 (1.56%) Android
4 7 (1.37%) Windows Server
5 5 (0.98%) CentOS
6 4 (0.78%) Windows Server 2019
7 3 (0.59%) FreeRTOS
8 2 (0.39%) Unix
8 2 (0.39%) VMS
8 2 (0.39%) zOS
9 1 (0.20%) Apple iOS
9 1 (0.20%) Embedded Linux
9 1 (0.20%) Kali Linux
9 1 (0.20%) Mac OS
9 1 (0.20%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.20%) ThreadX
Processes & Methodologies
1 208 (40.63%) Test Automation
2 196 (38.28%) Agile
3 131 (25.59%) Continuous Improvement
4 119 (23.24%) Problem-Solving
4 119 (23.24%) Software Engineering
5 109 (21.29%) DevOps
6 107 (20.90%) CI/CD
7 84 (16.41%) Scrum
8 68 (13.28%) Computer Science
9 65 (12.70%) Mentoring
9 65 (12.70%) Test Scripting
10 62 (12.11%) SDLC
11 59 (11.52%) Test Management
12 56 (10.94%) Non-Functional Testing
13 54 (10.55%) Regression Testing
14 53 (10.35%) API Testing
14 53 (10.35%) Manual Testing
15 52 (10.16%) Code Quality
16 48 (9.38%) AI
17 47 (9.18%) Test Strategy
Programming Languages
1 119 (23.24%) SQL
2 99 (19.34%) Python
3 97 (18.95%) Java
4 92 (17.97%) C#
5 63 (12.30%) JavaScript
6 41 (8.01%) TypeScript
7 36 (7.03%) C++
8 35 (6.84%) C
9 17 (3.32%) Bash
10 16 (3.13%) Go
10 16 (3.13%) PL/SQL
10 16 (3.13%) PowerShell
11 9 (1.76%) PHP
12 8 (1.56%) MATLAB
13 7 (1.37%) VBScript
14 6 (1.17%) T-SQL
15 5 (0.98%) Embedded C
15 5 (0.98%) Rust
15 5 (0.98%) VBA
16 4 (0.78%) COBOL
Qualifications
1 161 (31.45%) Degree
2 73 (14.26%) ISTQB
2 73 (14.26%) Security Cleared
3 42 (8.20%) SC Cleared
4 31 (6.05%) Computer Science Degree
5 23 (4.49%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
6 21 (4.10%) DV Cleared
6 21 (4.10%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
7 19 (3.71%) Master's Degree
8 12 (2.34%) PhD
9 11 (2.15%) ISEB
10 8 (1.56%) BPSS Clearance
11 6 (1.17%) PMI Certification
12 5 (0.98%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
13 4 (0.78%) BC Cleared
13 4 (0.78%) CIPD
13 4 (0.78%) Numerate Degree
14 3 (0.59%) CITP
14 3 (0.59%) CREST Certified
14 3 (0.59%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 140 (27.34%) QA
2 31 (6.05%) Accessibility
3 19 (3.71%) Software Quality Assurance
4 9 (1.76%) SLA
5 6 (1.17%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 4 (0.78%) DO-254
6 4 (0.78%) IEC 61508
7 3 (0.59%) Data Quality
7 3 (0.59%) WCAG
8 2 (0.39%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.39%) GDPR
8 2 (0.39%) JTAG
8 2 (0.39%) MISRA
8 2 (0.39%) MISRA C
8 2 (0.39%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.20%) IEC 61131
9 1 (0.20%) ISO 9001
9 1 (0.20%) PMO
System Software
1 24 (4.69%) Docker
2 18 (3.52%) Firmware
3 12 (2.34%) VMware Infrastructure
4 11 (2.15%) Active Directory
5 10 (1.95%) Embedded Firmware
6 4 (0.78%) Hyper-V
6 4 (0.78%) KVM
7 3 (0.59%) Terminal Server
7 3 (0.59%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.39%) Time Sharing Option
9 1 (0.20%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.20%) Xen
Systems Management
1 21 (4.10%) Kubernetes
2 19 (3.71%) Terraform
3 10 (1.95%) Ansible
4 9 (1.76%) Grafana
5 6 (1.17%) HP ALM
5 6 (1.17%) SCCM
5 6 (1.17%) SCOM
6 4 (0.78%) Kibana
6 4 (0.78%) logstash
6 4 (0.78%) Rancher
7 3 (0.59%) Prometheus
7 3 (0.59%) vCenter Server
8 2 (0.39%) Functional Safety
8 2 (0.39%) Nessus
8 2 (0.39%) SCOrch
9 1 (0.20%) Argo
9 1 (0.20%) HP Fortify
9 1 (0.20%) Istio
Vendors
1 56 (10.94%) Microsoft
2 29 (5.66%) Oracle
3 14 (2.73%) VMware
4 10 (1.95%) Splunk
5 9 (1.76%) IBM
6 8 (1.56%) Adobe
6 8 (1.56%) HP
7 7 (1.37%) Google
8 6 (1.17%) Red Hat
9 5 (0.98%) Avid
9 5 (0.98%) Citrix
9 5 (0.98%) Salesforce
9 5 (0.98%) ServiceNow
9 5 (0.98%) Siebel
9 5 (0.98%) SolarWinds
9 5 (0.98%) Zoho
10 4 (0.78%) Altera
10 4 (0.78%) SYSPRO
11 3 (0.59%) Atlassian
11 3 (0.59%) SAP