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 23 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
23 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 253 281 158
Rank change year-on-year +28 -123 +20
Permanent jobs citing Software Testing 769 449 1,136
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.75% 1.05% 1.70%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.02% 1.18% 2.07%
Number of salaries quoted 518 325 588
10th Percentile £29,175 £26,900 £33,675
25th Percentile £38,813 £40,015 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £56,430 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -6.96% +2.60% -4.35%
75th Percentile £71,250 £68,750 £75,000
90th Percentile £88,250 £78,750 £83,750
UK median annual salary £51,102 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year -11.13% +4.55% 0.00%

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 75,504 37,986 54,786
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 73.43% 88.72% 81.76%
Number of salaries quoted 53,373 21,807 30,739
10th Percentile £31,250 £28,742 £32,500
25th Percentile £42,500 £37,500 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £55,000 £58,000
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% -5.17% -6.94%
75th Percentile £80,000 £76,250 £77,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £97,500 £97,500
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 23 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 23 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 +1 161 £45,000 -10.00% 143
North of England +25 153 £51,619 +14.71% 135
London -61 146 £70,000 +9.38% 298
Midlands +1 126 £52,500 +22.09% 130
South West -29 95 £50,000 -10.71% 95
West Midlands +6 86 £50,000 +233.33% 78
East of England +13 77 £52,500 -0.94% 84
North West +1 65 £45,000 -35.71% 76
North East -24 52 £55,000 +40.58% 18
East Midlands -16 40 £55,000 +1.38% 51
Yorkshire -28 36 £43,474 +42.54% 41
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 12 (1.56%) IIS
1 12 (1.56%) SharePoint
2 11 (1.43%) Confluence
3 10 (1.30%) CMS
4 7 (0.91%) WinCC
5 6 (0.78%) Apache Spark
5 6 (0.78%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.39%) Apache
6 3 (0.39%) WordPress
7 2 (0.26%) nginx
7 2 (0.26%) Umbraco
8 1 (0.13%) Headless CMS
8 1 (0.13%) Moodle
8 1 (0.13%) Office Communications Server
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 17 (2.21%) Simulink
2 16 (2.08%) Microsoft Excel
2 16 (2.08%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (0.78%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 6 (0.78%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.65%) AutoCAD
4 5 (0.65%) DaVinci Resolve
4 5 (0.65%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.39%) Photoshop
6 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.13%) SOLIDWORKS
6 1 (0.13%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 3 (0.39%) Payment Gateway
1 3 (0.39%) SystmOne
2 2 (0.26%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.26%) Sage 200
2 2 (0.26%) Shopify
2 2 (0.26%) Workday HCM
3 1 (0.13%) Dynamics NAV
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%) SAP S/4HANA
3 1 (0.13%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 132 (17.17%) Azure
2 131 (17.04%) AWS
3 43 (5.59%) Azure DevOps
4 39 (5.07%) Serverless
5 35 (4.55%) GitHub
5 35 (4.55%) Power Platform
6 32 (4.16%) GCP
7 22 (2.86%) Microsoft 365
8 21 (2.73%) SaaS
9 18 (2.34%) AWS Lambda
10 16 (2.08%) GitHub Actions
11 14 (1.82%) GitHub Copilot
11 14 (1.82%) OpenShift
12 9 (1.17%) Amazon CloudWatch
12 9 (1.17%) AWS CloudFormation
12 9 (1.17%) BrowserStack
13 8 (1.04%) Google Workspace
14 7 (0.91%) Amazon EC2
14 7 (0.91%) Azure Functions
15 6 (0.78%) Amazon EKS
Communications & Networking
1 15 (1.95%) TCP/IP
2 11 (1.43%) SNMP
3 9 (1.17%) VPN
3 9 (1.17%) Wireshark
4 7 (0.91%) Modbus
5 6 (0.78%) Ethernet
5 6 (0.78%) HTTP
6 3 (0.39%) DNS
7 2 (0.26%) ATM
7 2 (0.26%) Network Security
7 2 (0.26%) Profibus
7 2 (0.26%) Software-Defined Radio
8 1 (0.13%) 5G
8 1 (0.13%) Broadband
8 1 (0.13%) DHCP
8 1 (0.13%) IPv4
8 1 (0.13%) IPv6
8 1 (0.13%) LTE
8 1 (0.13%) SSH
8 1 (0.13%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (5.07%) SQL Server
2 30 (3.90%) Power BI
3 18 (2.34%) PostgreSQL
4 15 (1.95%) Relational Database
5 14 (1.82%) DynamoDB
5 14 (1.82%) Elasticsearch
6 12 (1.56%) NoSQL
7 8 (1.04%) Azure SQL Database
7 8 (1.04%) InfluxDB
7 8 (1.04%) MySQL
8 6 (0.78%) Geospatial Data
8 6 (0.78%) OLTP
8 6 (0.78%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.65%) Oracle Database
10 4 (0.52%) Flink
11 3 (0.39%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.39%) Big Data
11 3 (0.39%) Data Warehouse
11 3 (0.39%) MongoDB
11 3 (0.39%) Spark SQL
Development Applications
1 98 (12.74%) Git
2 73 (9.49%) JIRA
3 58 (7.54%) Selenium
4 57 (7.41%) GitLab
5 43 (5.59%) Jenkins
6 32 (4.16%) Postman
7 30 (3.90%) Cypress.io
8 21 (2.73%) JMeter
9 19 (2.47%) Cucumber
10 18 (2.34%) JUnit
11 17 (2.21%) TestRail
12 14 (1.82%) Gatling
12 14 (1.82%) Zephyr
13 10 (1.30%) REST Assured
14 9 (1.17%) Eclipse
14 9 (1.17%) Maven
15 8 (1.04%) Robot Framework
15 8 (1.04%) Spock
15 8 (1.04%) Visual Studio Code
16 7 (0.91%) LabVIEW
General
1 256 (33.29%) Social Skills
2 140 (18.21%) Analytical Skills
3 88 (11.44%) Finance
4 62 (8.06%) Electronics
5 53 (6.89%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 42 (5.46%) Manufacturing
7 35 (4.55%) Law
8 25 (3.25%) Aerospace
9 21 (2.73%) Documentation Skills
10 20 (2.60%) Banking
11 19 (2.47%) Public Sector
12 18 (2.34%) Retail
13 16 (2.08%) Automotive
14 15 (1.95%) Aviation
14 15 (1.95%) Legal
14 15 (1.95%) Organisational Skills
15 10 (1.30%) Presentation Skills
16 9 (1.17%) Military
16 9 (1.17%) Telecoms
17 8 (1.04%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 173 (22.50%) Senior
2 120 (15.60%) Software Engineer
3 110 (14.30%) Test Engineer
4 87 (11.31%) Developer
4 87 (11.31%) Lead
5 72 (9.36%) Analyst
6 54 (7.02%) Tester
7 43 (5.59%) Software Developer
8 42 (5.46%) Senior Developer
9 41 (5.33%) QA Engineer
9 41 (5.33%) Software Test Engineer
10 36 (4.68%) Senior Software Engineer
11 31 (4.03%) Software Tester
12 29 (3.77%) Test Automation Engineer
13 28 (3.64%) Embedded Engineer
13 28 (3.64%) Junior
14 26 (3.38%) IT Support
15 25 (3.25%) Support Engineer
16 24 (3.12%) Support Analyst
17 23 (2.99%) Embedded Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 74 (9.62%) .NET
2 63 (8.19%) Playwright
3 50 (6.50%) HTML
4 49 (6.37%) React
5 31 (4.03%) CSS
6 29 (3.77%) REST
7 27 (3.51%) ASP.NET
8 26 (3.38%) Terraform
9 22 (2.86%) RESTful
10 21 (2.73%) XML
11 18 (2.34%) Node.js
12 14 (1.82%) ASP.NET Core
13 13 (1.69%) Gherkin
13 13 (1.69%) JSON
13 13 (1.69%) Spring
14 12 (1.56%) Swagger
15 11 (1.43%) .NET Framework
15 11 (1.43%) React Native
15 11 (1.43%) SOAP
16 10 (1.30%) AngularJS
Miscellaneous
1 60 (7.80%) Product Ownership
2 35 (4.55%) Distributed Systems
3 28 (3.64%) Algorithms
4 26 (3.38%) Embedded Systems
5 23 (2.99%) Management Information System
6 21 (2.73%) AI Agents
6 21 (2.73%) Cloud Native
7 20 (2.60%) Analytical Mindset
8 18 (2.34%) Enterprise Software
8 18 (2.34%) Mobile App
8 18 (2.34%) Self-Motivation
9 15 (1.95%) Robotics
10 14 (1.82%) Client/Server
11 13 (1.69%) Legacy Applications
12 12 (1.56%) Driving Licence
13 11 (1.43%) FPGA
14 10 (1.30%) Onboarding
15 9 (1.17%) SCADA
16 8 (1.04%) Life Science
16 8 (1.04%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 85 (11.05%) Windows
2 71 (9.23%) Linux
3 20 (2.60%) Windows Server
4 8 (1.04%) CentOS
5 7 (0.91%) Android
6 6 (0.78%) Apple iOS
6 6 (0.78%) VMS
7 5 (0.65%) Embedded Linux
7 5 (0.65%) Robot Operating System
8 4 (0.52%) Kali Linux
8 4 (0.52%) Unix
9 3 (0.39%) Debian
9 3 (0.39%) Ubuntu
10 2 (0.26%) FreeRTOS
11 1 (0.13%) Mac OS
11 1 (0.13%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 334 (43.43%) Test Automation
2 286 (37.19%) Agile
3 233 (30.30%) Software Engineering
4 203 (26.40%) CI/CD
5 197 (25.62%) Problem-Solving
6 195 (25.36%) Continuous Improvement
7 158 (20.55%) DevOps
8 126 (16.38%) Code Quality
9 118 (15.34%) Mentoring
10 114 (14.82%) Validation
11 107 (13.91%) SDLC
12 104 (13.52%) AI
13 101 (13.13%) Scrum
14 100 (13.00%) Test Strategy
15 86 (11.18%) Regression Testing
16 71 (9.23%) Computer Science
17 64 (8.32%) Stakeholder Management
18 57 (7.41%) Manual Testing
19 55 (7.15%) Software Architecture
20 54 (7.02%) Software Delivery
Programming Languages
1 193 (25.10%) Python
2 144 (18.73%) SQL
3 116 (15.08%) C#
4 97 (12.61%) JavaScript
5 89 (11.57%) Java
6 75 (9.75%) C++
7 61 (7.93%) TypeScript
8 58 (7.54%) C
9 28 (3.64%) MATLAB
10 24 (3.12%) PowerShell
11 22 (2.86%) Bash
12 14 (1.82%) Embedded C
13 11 (1.43%) Groovy
14 10 (1.30%) Julia
14 10 (1.30%) PL/SQL
15 9 (1.17%) Go
16 8 (1.04%) R
17 7 (0.91%) PHP
17 7 (0.91%) VBA
18 6 (0.78%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 170 (22.11%) Degree
2 132 (17.17%) Security Cleared
3 80 (10.40%) SC Cleared
4 39 (5.07%) ISTQB
5 35 (4.55%) DV Cleared
6 34 (4.42%) Master's Degree
7 31 (4.03%) Computer Science Degree
8 19 (2.47%) BPSS Clearance
9 8 (1.04%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
9 8 (1.04%) ISEB
10 5 (0.65%) DBS Check
11 4 (0.52%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
11 4 (0.52%) Microsoft Certified Professional
11 4 (0.52%) PhD
12 3 (0.39%) AWS Certification
12 3 (0.39%) Chartered Engineer
12 3 (0.39%) Microsoft Certification
12 3 (0.39%) PMI Certification
13 2 (0.26%) CompTIA Security+
13 2 (0.26%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 213 (27.70%) QA
2 54 (7.02%) Accessibility
3 23 (2.99%) GDPR
4 22 (2.86%) WCAG
5 14 (1.82%) Data Quality
6 13 (1.69%) Software Quality Assurance
7 8 (1.04%) SLA
8 5 (0.65%) PMO
9 4 (0.52%) DO-254
9 4 (0.52%) IEC 61508
10 3 (0.39%) IEC 61131
10 3 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 12207
10 3 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 27001
11 2 (0.26%) Automotive SPICE
11 2 (0.26%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.26%) MISRA
11 2 (0.26%) MISRA C
12 1 (0.13%) DO-160
12 1 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 20000
12 1 (0.13%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 60 (7.80%) Docker
2 39 (5.07%) Firmware
3 20 (2.60%) Embedded Firmware
4 17 (2.21%) Active Directory
5 8 (1.04%) VMware Infrastructure
6 6 (0.78%) Virtual Machines
7 1 (0.13%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.13%) KVM
7 1 (0.13%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 40 (5.20%) Kubernetes
2 22 (2.86%) Grafana
3 20 (2.60%) Ansible
4 10 (1.30%) Kibana
5 8 (1.04%) logstash
6 6 (0.78%) vCenter Server
7 5 (0.65%) Functional Safety
8 4 (0.52%) HP Fortify
8 4 (0.52%) Prometheus
9 3 (0.39%) Microsoft Intune
9 3 (0.39%) Norton AntiVirus
9 3 (0.39%) Puppet
9 3 (0.39%) Rancher
9 3 (0.39%) SCCM
9 3 (0.39%) SCOM
9 3 (0.39%) SCOrch
10 2 (0.26%) Active Directory Federation Services
10 2 (0.26%) HP ALM
10 2 (0.26%) Single Sign-On
11 1 (0.13%) Fluentd
Vendors
1 77 (10.01%) Microsoft
2 24 (3.12%) Splunk
3 17 (2.21%) Oracle
4 13 (1.69%) Google
5 11 (1.43%) Siemens
6 10 (1.30%) Atlassian
6 10 (1.30%) Red Hat
6 10 (1.30%) VMware
7 9 (1.17%) Citrix
7 9 (1.17%) Intel
8 8 (1.04%) Adobe
8 8 (1.04%) AppDynamics
9 7 (0.91%) ServiceNow
10 6 (0.78%) Databricks
10 6 (0.78%) IBM
10 6 (0.78%) Rockwell
11 5 (0.65%) Avid
11 5 (0.65%) SAP
11 5 (0.65%) SolarWinds
12 4 (0.52%) Veracode