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

6 months to
21 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 250 272 155
Rank change year-on-year +22 -117 +24
Permanent jobs citing Software Testing 761 453 1,163
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.74% 1.05% 1.69%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.01% 1.19% 2.07%
Number of salaries quoted 516 329 608
10th Percentile £29,125 £26,450 £32,500
25th Percentile £38,438 £40,000 £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 £72,500
90th Percentile £88,750 £78,750 £82,875
UK median annual salary £51,102 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year -11.13% +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 75,111 38,102 56,218
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 73.37% 88.73% 81.79%
Number of salaries quoted 53,062 21,909 31,807
10th Percentile £31,250 £28,500 £32,000
25th Percentile £42,250 £37,500 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £55,000 £57,560
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% -4.45% -7.90%
75th Percentile £80,000 £76,250 £77,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £97,500 £96,250
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 21 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 21 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 -12 159 £45,000 -10.00% 154
North of England +16 153 £51,619 +16.98% 136
London -69 144 £70,000 +9.38% 411
Midlands +5 123 £53,750 +25.73% 128
South West -25 95 £50,000 -10.71% 103
West Midlands -6 84 £51,250 +241.67% 77
East of England +13 76 £52,500 -0.94% 123
North West +1 66 £44,724 -36.11% 83
North East -13 52 £55,000 +40.58% 13
East Midlands -16 39 £55,000 +1.38% 50
Yorkshire -29 35 £42,500 +39.34% 42
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 (1.58%) IIS
1 12 (1.58%) SharePoint
2 11 (1.45%) Confluence
3 10 (1.31%) CMS
4 7 (0.92%) WinCC
5 6 (0.79%) Apache Spark
5 6 (0.79%) 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 (2.23%) Simulink
2 16 (2.10%) Microsoft Excel
2 16 (2.10%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (0.79%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 6 (0.79%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.66%) AutoCAD
4 5 (0.66%) DaVinci Resolve
4 5 (0.66%) 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%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 132 (17.35%) Azure
2 130 (17.08%) AWS
3 43 (5.65%) Azure DevOps
4 39 (5.12%) Serverless
5 35 (4.60%) GitHub
6 34 (4.47%) Power Platform
7 32 (4.20%) GCP
8 22 (2.89%) Microsoft 365
9 21 (2.76%) SaaS
10 18 (2.37%) AWS Lambda
11 16 (2.10%) GitHub Actions
12 14 (1.84%) GitHub Copilot
13 13 (1.71%) OpenShift
14 9 (1.18%) Amazon CloudWatch
14 9 (1.18%) AWS CloudFormation
14 9 (1.18%) BrowserStack
15 8 (1.05%) Google Workspace
16 7 (0.92%) Amazon EC2
16 7 (0.92%) Azure Functions
17 6 (0.79%) Amazon EKS
Communications & Networking
1 15 (1.97%) TCP/IP
2 11 (1.45%) SNMP
3 9 (1.18%) VPN
3 9 (1.18%) Wireshark
4 7 (0.92%) Modbus
5 6 (0.79%) HTTP
6 5 (0.66%) Ethernet
7 3 (0.39%) DNS
8 2 (0.26%) ATM
8 2 (0.26%) Network Security
8 2 (0.26%) Software-Defined Radio
9 1 (0.13%) 5G
9 1 (0.13%) Broadband
9 1 (0.13%) DHCP
9 1 (0.13%) IPv4
9 1 (0.13%) IPv6
9 1 (0.13%) LTE
9 1 (0.13%) Profibus
9 1 (0.13%) SSH
9 1 (0.13%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (5.12%) SQL Server
2 29 (3.81%) Power BI
3 18 (2.37%) PostgreSQL
4 15 (1.97%) Relational Database
5 14 (1.84%) DynamoDB
6 13 (1.71%) Elasticsearch
7 12 (1.58%) NoSQL
8 8 (1.05%) Azure SQL Database
8 8 (1.05%) InfluxDB
8 8 (1.05%) MySQL
9 6 (0.79%) Geospatial Data
9 6 (0.79%) OLTP
9 6 (0.79%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 5 (0.66%) Oracle Database
11 4 (0.53%) Flink
12 3 (0.39%) Amazon RDS
12 3 (0.39%) Big Data
12 3 (0.39%) Data Warehouse
12 3 (0.39%) MongoDB
12 3 (0.39%) Spark SQL
Development Applications
1 98 (12.88%) Git
2 72 (9.46%) JIRA
3 58 (7.62%) Selenium
4 57 (7.49%) GitLab
5 43 (5.65%) Jenkins
6 32 (4.20%) Postman
7 30 (3.94%) Cypress.io
8 21 (2.76%) JMeter
9 19 (2.50%) Cucumber
10 18 (2.37%) JUnit
11 17 (2.23%) TestRail
12 14 (1.84%) Gatling
12 14 (1.84%) Zephyr
13 10 (1.31%) REST Assured
14 9 (1.18%) Eclipse
14 9 (1.18%) Maven
15 8 (1.05%) Robot Framework
15 8 (1.05%) Spock
15 8 (1.05%) Visual Studio Code
16 7 (0.92%) Claude Code
General
1 253 (33.25%) Social Skills
2 140 (18.40%) Analytical Skills
3 86 (11.30%) Finance
4 59 (7.75%) Electronics
5 52 (6.83%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 40 (5.26%) Manufacturing
7 35 (4.60%) Law
8 24 (3.15%) Aerospace
9 20 (2.63%) Documentation Skills
10 19 (2.50%) Banking
10 19 (2.50%) Public Sector
11 16 (2.10%) Automotive
11 16 (2.10%) Retail
12 15 (1.97%) Aviation
12 15 (1.97%) Legal
12 15 (1.97%) Organisational Skills
13 10 (1.31%) Presentation Skills
14 9 (1.18%) Military
14 9 (1.18%) Telecoms
15 8 (1.05%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 171 (22.47%) Senior
2 120 (15.77%) Software Engineer
3 107 (14.06%) Test Engineer
4 86 (11.30%) Lead
5 85 (11.17%) Developer
6 71 (9.33%) Analyst
7 55 (7.23%) Tester
8 42 (5.52%) Software Developer
9 41 (5.39%) Senior Developer
9 41 (5.39%) Software Test Engineer
10 40 (5.26%) QA Engineer
11 36 (4.73%) Senior Software Engineer
12 32 (4.20%) Software Tester
13 29 (3.81%) Test Automation Engineer
14 28 (3.68%) Embedded Engineer
14 28 (3.68%) Junior
15 26 (3.42%) IT Support
16 24 (3.15%) Support Analyst
16 24 (3.15%) Support Engineer
17 23 (3.02%) Embedded Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 74 (9.72%) .NET
2 62 (8.15%) Playwright
3 51 (6.70%) HTML
4 49 (6.44%) React
5 31 (4.07%) CSS
6 29 (3.81%) REST
7 27 (3.55%) ASP.NET
8 26 (3.42%) Terraform
9 22 (2.89%) RESTful
10 21 (2.76%) XML
11 18 (2.37%) Node.js
12 14 (1.84%) ASP.NET Core
13 13 (1.71%) Gherkin
13 13 (1.71%) JSON
13 13 (1.71%) Spring
14 12 (1.58%) Swagger
15 11 (1.45%) .NET Framework
15 11 (1.45%) React Native
15 11 (1.45%) SOAP
16 10 (1.31%) AngularJS
Miscellaneous
1 60 (7.88%) Product Ownership
2 35 (4.60%) Distributed Systems
3 28 (3.68%) Algorithms
4 26 (3.42%) Embedded Systems
5 23 (3.02%) Management Information System
6 21 (2.76%) AI Agents
6 21 (2.76%) Cloud Native
7 20 (2.63%) Analytical Mindset
8 18 (2.37%) Enterprise Software
8 18 (2.37%) Self-Motivation
9 17 (2.23%) Mobile App
10 15 (1.97%) Robotics
11 14 (1.84%) Client/Server
12 13 (1.71%) Legacy Applications
13 12 (1.58%) Driving Licence
14 10 (1.31%) FPGA
14 10 (1.31%) Onboarding
15 9 (1.18%) SCADA
16 8 (1.05%) Life Science
16 8 (1.05%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 85 (11.17%) Windows
2 71 (9.33%) Linux
3 20 (2.63%) Windows Server
4 8 (1.05%) CentOS
5 6 (0.79%) Android
5 6 (0.79%) VMS
6 5 (0.66%) Apple iOS
6 5 (0.66%) Embedded Linux
6 5 (0.66%) Robot Operating System
7 4 (0.53%) Kali Linux
7 4 (0.53%) Unix
8 3 (0.39%) Debian
8 3 (0.39%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.26%) FreeRTOS
10 1 (0.13%) Mac OS
10 1 (0.13%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 330 (43.36%) Test Automation
2 285 (37.45%) Agile
3 230 (30.22%) Software Engineering
4 202 (26.54%) CI/CD
5 196 (25.76%) Problem-Solving
6 194 (25.49%) Continuous Improvement
7 157 (20.63%) DevOps
8 127 (16.69%) Code Quality
9 116 (15.24%) Mentoring
10 114 (14.98%) Validation
11 107 (14.06%) SDLC
12 103 (13.53%) AI
13 101 (13.27%) Scrum
14 98 (12.88%) Test Strategy
15 85 (11.17%) Regression Testing
16 70 (9.20%) Computer Science
17 62 (8.15%) Stakeholder Management
18 56 (7.36%) Manual Testing
19 55 (7.23%) Software Architecture
20 53 (6.96%) Software Delivery
Programming Languages
1 192 (25.23%) Python
2 144 (18.92%) SQL
3 116 (15.24%) C#
4 98 (12.88%) JavaScript
5 89 (11.70%) Java
6 75 (9.86%) C++
7 61 (8.02%) TypeScript
8 58 (7.62%) C
9 28 (3.68%) MATLAB
10 24 (3.15%) PowerShell
11 22 (2.89%) Bash
12 14 (1.84%) Embedded C
13 11 (1.45%) Groovy
14 10 (1.31%) Julia
14 10 (1.31%) PL/SQL
15 9 (1.18%) Go
16 8 (1.05%) R
17 7 (0.92%) PHP
17 7 (0.92%) VBA
18 6 (0.79%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 168 (22.08%) Degree
2 130 (17.08%) Security Cleared
3 79 (10.38%) SC Cleared
4 39 (5.12%) ISTQB
5 35 (4.60%) DV Cleared
6 34 (4.47%) Master's Degree
7 31 (4.07%) Computer Science Degree
8 19 (2.50%) BPSS Clearance
9 8 (1.05%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
9 8 (1.05%) ISEB
10 5 (0.66%) DBS Check
11 4 (0.53%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
11 4 (0.53%) Microsoft Certified Professional
11 4 (0.53%) 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
1 211 (27.73%) QA
2 54 (7.10%) Accessibility
3 23 (3.02%) GDPR
4 22 (2.89%) WCAG
5 14 (1.84%) Data Quality
5 14 (1.84%) Software Quality Assurance
6 8 (1.05%) SLA
7 5 (0.66%) PMO
8 4 (0.53%) DO-254
8 4 (0.53%) IEC 61508
9 3 (0.39%) IEC 61131
9 3 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 12207
9 3 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 2 (0.26%) Automotive SPICE
10 2 (0.26%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.26%) MISRA
10 2 (0.26%) MISRA C
11 1 (0.13%) DO-160
11 1 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 1 (0.13%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 59 (7.75%) Docker
2 38 (4.99%) Firmware
3 20 (2.63%) Embedded Firmware
4 17 (2.23%) Active Directory
5 8 (1.05%) VMware Infrastructure
6 6 (0.79%) Virtual Machines
7 1 (0.13%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.13%) KVM
7 1 (0.13%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 39 (5.12%) Kubernetes
2 22 (2.89%) Grafana
3 20 (2.63%) Ansible
4 9 (1.18%) Kibana
5 8 (1.05%) logstash
6 6 (0.79%) vCenter Server
7 5 (0.66%) Functional Safety
8 4 (0.53%) HP Fortify
8 4 (0.53%) 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 (10.12%) Microsoft
2 24 (3.15%) Splunk
3 17 (2.23%) Oracle
4 13 (1.71%) Google
5 10 (1.31%) Atlassian
5 10 (1.31%) Red Hat
5 10 (1.31%) Siemens
5 10 (1.31%) VMware
6 9 (1.18%) Citrix
6 9 (1.18%) Intel
7 8 (1.05%) Adobe
7 8 (1.05%) AppDynamics
8 7 (0.92%) ServiceNow
9 6 (0.79%) Databricks
9 6 (0.79%) IBM
9 6 (0.79%) Rockwell
10 5 (0.66%) Avid
10 5 (0.66%) SolarWinds
11 4 (0.53%) EMC
11 4 (0.53%) Veracode