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 5 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
5 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 268 225 179
Rank change year-on-year -43 -46 -104
Permanent jobs citing Software Testing 553 574 1,324
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.68% 1.49% 1.59%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.91% 1.60% 1.86%
Number of salaries quoted 405 427 1,070
10th Percentile £30,200 £29,000 £31,250
25th Percentile £40,000 £41,250 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £54,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year +1.85% +2.86% -4.55%
75th Percentile £70,000 £68,750 £67,500
90th Percentile £80,000 £87,500 £86,000
UK median annual salary £55,000 £54,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +1.85% +8.00% -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 60,455 35,779 71,352
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 74.68% 93.09% 85.50%
Number of salaries quoted 38,411 20,632 53,699
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,625 £29,000
25th Percentile £41,000 £42,500 £39,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - +9.09% -12.00%
75th Percentile £80,000 £80,000 £73,750
90th Percentile £100,000 £102,500 £93,750
UK median annual salary £59,450 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -0.92% +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 5 May 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 5 May 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 -20 151 £51,000 -2.86% 67
London -25 144 £60,000 -7.69% 49
North of England -70 90 £46,421 +3.16% 50
South West -36 64 £47,500 -2.08% 27
Midlands -68 56 £55,000 +22.22% 45
North West -31 47 £49,400 -5.90% 24
East of England -6 39 £50,000 -13.04% 46
Yorkshire -66 31 £35,000 +13.36% 12
West Midlands -44 29 £56,250 +32.35% 29
East Midlands -57 27 £55,000 +15.79% 16
North East -26 12 £55,000 +37.50% 14
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 10 (1.81%) IIS
2 8 (1.45%) Confluence
3 7 (1.27%) Moodle
4 5 (0.90%) SharePoint
5 2 (0.36%) Apache
5 2 (0.36%) CMS
5 2 (0.36%) Umbraco
5 2 (0.36%) WordPress
6 1 (0.18%) Jupyter
Applications
1 11 (1.99%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (1.45%) Microsoft Office
3 5 (0.90%) AutoCAD
3 5 (0.90%) DaVinci Resolve
3 5 (0.90%) Microsoft Project
3 5 (0.90%) MS Visio
3 5 (0.90%) Simulink
4 4 (0.72%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.54%) Photoshop
6 2 (0.36%) Adobe Creative Suite
Business Applications
1 3 (0.54%) Misys Midas
2 2 (0.36%) Workday HCM
3 1 (0.18%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.18%) Misys Equation
3 1 (0.18%) Oracle Applications
3 1 (0.18%) Sage X3
Cloud Services
1 108 (19.53%) Azure
2 103 (18.63%) AWS
3 41 (7.41%) Azure DevOps
4 35 (6.33%) GCP
5 20 (3.62%) GitHub
6 17 (3.07%) SaaS
7 15 (2.71%) Serverless
8 13 (2.35%) BrowserStack
9 10 (1.81%) OpenShift
10 9 (1.63%) GitHub Actions
10 9 (1.63%) Power Platform
11 8 (1.45%) AWS Lambda
12 7 (1.27%) Anthropic Claude
12 7 (1.27%) GitHub Copilot
13 6 (1.08%) AWS CloudFormation
13 6 (1.08%) Microsoft 365
14 5 (0.90%) Azure Data Factory
14 5 (0.90%) Tricentis Tosca
15 4 (0.72%) Azure AKS
15 4 (0.72%) Google Kubernetes Engine
Communications & Networking
1 8 (1.45%) Broadband
2 6 (1.08%) Ethernet
3 5 (0.90%) HTTP
3 5 (0.90%) SNMP
3 5 (0.90%) VPN
4 3 (0.54%) Cisco ISE
4 3 (0.54%) Software-Defined Radio
5 2 (0.36%) Modbus
5 2 (0.36%) MQTT
5 2 (0.36%) Network Security
6 1 (0.18%) AMQP
6 1 (0.18%) Bluetooth
6 1 (0.18%) LTE
6 1 (0.18%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.18%) Wi-Fi
6 1 (0.18%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 38 (6.87%) SQL Server
2 22 (3.98%) PostgreSQL
3 16 (2.89%) OLTP
4 12 (2.17%) MongoDB
5 11 (1.99%) MySQL
6 8 (1.45%) DynamoDB
6 8 (1.45%) Elasticsearch
6 8 (1.45%) NoSQL
7 7 (1.27%) Relational Database
8 6 (1.08%) InfluxDB
8 6 (1.08%) Power BI
8 6 (1.08%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.90%) Azure SQL Database
9 5 (0.90%) Spark SQL
10 4 (0.72%) Crystal Reports
10 4 (0.72%) Oracle Database
11 2 (0.36%) DB2
11 2 (0.36%) Easytrieve
12 1 (0.18%) Data Warehouse
12 1 (0.18%) DTS
Development Applications
1 86 (15.55%) JIRA
2 65 (11.75%) Selenium
3 53 (9.58%) Git
4 44 (7.96%) Postman
5 43 (7.78%) GitLab
6 33 (5.97%) Jenkins
7 29 (5.24%) SoapUI
8 27 (4.88%) Team Foundation Server
9 26 (4.70%) WebDriver
10 20 (3.62%) TestRail
11 19 (3.44%) Cypress.io
12 12 (2.17%) Cucumber
12 12 (2.17%) JMeter
12 12 (2.17%) Zephyr
13 10 (1.81%) REST Assured
13 10 (1.81%) Subversion
13 10 (1.81%) Visual Studio Code
14 9 (1.63%) JUnit
14 9 (1.63%) LoadRunner
15 8 (1.45%) Robot Framework
General
1 159 (28.75%) Social Skills
2 77 (13.92%) Finance
3 74 (13.38%) Analytical Skills
4 32 (5.79%) Electronics
5 22 (3.98%) Retail
6 21 (3.80%) Law
7 18 (3.25%) Banking
8 15 (2.71%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 15 (2.71%) Manufacturing
9 12 (2.17%) Aerospace
9 12 (2.17%) Games
10 11 (1.99%) Public Sector
11 8 (1.45%) Health Technology
12 7 (1.27%) Documentation Skills
12 7 (1.27%) Pharmaceutical
13 5 (0.90%) Organisational Skills
14 4 (0.72%) Back Office
14 4 (0.72%) Publishing
14 4 (0.72%) Swedish Language
14 4 (0.72%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 123 (22.24%) Senior
2 97 (17.54%) Software Engineer
3 69 (12.48%) Test Engineer
4 68 (12.30%) Tester
5 66 (11.93%) Lead
6 56 (10.13%) Analyst
7 52 (9.40%) Developer
8 41 (7.41%) Software Tester
9 40 (7.23%) Software Test Engineer
10 38 (6.87%) Development Engineer
11 37 (6.69%) Software Development Engineer
12 35 (6.33%) Senior Developer
13 32 (5.79%) Test Development Engineer
14 26 (4.70%) Senior Software Engineer
15 25 (4.52%) Test Analyst
15 25 (4.52%) Test Automation Engineer
16 20 (3.62%) Embedded Engineer
16 20 (3.62%) QA Engineer
17 19 (3.44%) Oracle Developer
17 19 (3.44%) Senior Oracle Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 78 (14.10%) .NET
2 55 (9.95%) HTML
3 43 (7.78%) SOAP
4 39 (7.05%) Playwright
5 31 (5.61%) React
6 25 (4.52%) XML
7 21 (3.80%) REST
8 20 (3.62%) Node.js
9 13 (2.35%) ASP.NET
10 11 (1.99%) JSON
11 10 (1.81%) RESTful
12 9 (1.63%) .NET Framework
12 9 (1.63%) CSS
13 8 (1.45%) Elastic Stack
13 8 (1.45%) React Native
14 7 (1.27%) Spring
15 6 (1.08%) pytest
15 6 (1.08%) Spring Boot
16 5 (0.90%) PySpark
16 5 (0.90%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 42 (7.59%) Product Ownership
2 24 (4.34%) Algorithms
3 19 (3.44%) Embedded Systems
4 18 (3.25%) Cloud Native
5 16 (2.89%) Mobile App
6 12 (2.17%) Client/Server
7 11 (1.99%) Management Information System
7 11 (1.99%) Self-Motivation
8 9 (1.63%) Analytical Mindset
8 9 (1.63%) Low-Code
8 9 (1.63%) Robotics
9 8 (1.45%) Distributed Systems
9 8 (1.45%) Enterprise Software
10 7 (1.27%) e-Learning
10 7 (1.27%) FPGA
10 7 (1.27%) NHS
10 7 (1.27%) Video\Live Streaming
11 6 (1.08%) Blog
12 5 (0.90%) Mobile Payment
12 5 (0.90%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 46 (8.32%) Windows
2 39 (7.05%) Linux
3 10 (1.81%) Windows Server
4 7 (1.27%) Android
5 6 (1.08%) CentOS
6 4 (0.72%) Windows Server 2019
7 3 (0.54%) FreeRTOS
7 3 (0.54%) Kali Linux
7 3 (0.54%) Unix
8 2 (0.36%) VMS
8 2 (0.36%) zOS
9 1 (0.18%) Apple iOS
9 1 (0.18%) Embedded Linux
9 1 (0.18%) Mac OS
9 1 (0.18%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.18%) ThreadX
Processes & Methodologies
1 225 (40.69%) Test Automation
2 207 (37.43%) Agile
3 130 (23.51%) Software Engineering
4 129 (23.33%) Continuous Improvement
5 117 (21.16%) DevOps
6 114 (20.61%) Problem-Solving
7 105 (18.99%) CI/CD
8 93 (16.82%) Scrum
9 73 (13.20%) Computer Science
10 72 (13.02%) SDLC
11 68 (12.30%) Mentoring
12 60 (10.85%) Regression Testing
13 59 (10.67%) Test Management
13 59 (10.67%) Test Scripting
14 57 (10.31%) Code Quality
15 56 (10.13%) Non-Functional Testing
16 54 (9.76%) AI
16 54 (9.76%) API Testing
17 52 (9.40%) Manual Testing
18 51 (9.22%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 121 (21.88%) SQL
2 120 (21.70%) Python
3 97 (17.54%) C#
4 96 (17.36%) Java
5 62 (11.21%) JavaScript
6 47 (8.50%) C++
7 39 (7.05%) C
8 38 (6.87%) TypeScript
9 20 (3.62%) PL/SQL
10 15 (2.71%) PowerShell
11 14 (2.53%) Bash
12 13 (2.35%) Go
13 12 (2.17%) MATLAB
13 12 (2.17%) PHP
14 7 (1.27%) VBA
15 5 (0.90%) COBOL
15 5 (0.90%) Embedded C
15 5 (0.90%) Rust
15 5 (0.90%) VBScript
16 4 (0.72%) Apex Code
Qualifications
1 167 (30.20%) Degree
2 83 (15.01%) Security Cleared
3 67 (12.12%) ISTQB
4 43 (7.78%) SC Cleared
5 34 (6.15%) Computer Science Degree
6 31 (5.61%) DV Cleared
7 24 (4.34%) Master's Degree
8 22 (3.98%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
9 17 (3.07%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
10 12 (2.17%) PhD
11 11 (1.99%) BPSS Clearance
12 7 (1.27%) PMI Certification
13 6 (1.08%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
13 6 (1.08%) ISEB
14 4 (0.72%) BC Cleared
14 4 (0.72%) Chartered Engineer
14 4 (0.72%) CIPD
14 4 (0.72%) DBS Check
14 4 (0.72%) Numerate Degree
15 3 (0.54%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 155 (28.03%) QA
2 30 (5.42%) Accessibility
3 20 (3.62%) Software Quality Assurance
4 10 (1.81%) SLA
5 6 (1.08%) Data Quality
5 6 (1.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 5 (0.90%) PMO
7 4 (0.72%) DO-254
7 4 (0.72%) GDPR
8 3 (0.54%) IEC 61508
8 3 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 12207
8 3 (0.54%) WCAG
9 2 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.36%) JTAG
9 2 (0.36%) MISRA
9 2 (0.36%) MISRA C
9 2 (0.36%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.18%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 25 (4.52%) Docker
1 25 (4.52%) Firmware
2 13 (2.35%) VMware Infrastructure
3 11 (1.99%) Embedded Firmware
4 10 (1.81%) Active Directory
5 4 (0.72%) Hyper-V
5 4 (0.72%) KVM
5 4 (0.72%) Virtual Machines
6 3 (0.54%) Terminal Server
7 2 (0.36%) Time Sharing Option
8 1 (0.18%) Xen
Systems Management
1 21 (3.80%) Kubernetes
2 19 (3.44%) Terraform
3 12 (2.17%) Ansible
4 11 (1.99%) Grafana
5 7 (1.27%) SCCM
5 7 (1.27%) SCOM
6 6 (1.08%) Kibana
6 6 (1.08%) logstash
7 4 (0.72%) Rancher
7 4 (0.72%) vCenter Server
8 3 (0.54%) HP ALM
8 3 (0.54%) HP Fortify
8 3 (0.54%) SCOrch
9 2 (0.36%) Functional Safety
9 2 (0.36%) Prometheus
10 1 (0.18%) Argo
10 1 (0.18%) Istio
10 1 (0.18%) Nessus
Vendors
1 53 (9.58%) Microsoft
2 32 (5.79%) Oracle
3 14 (2.53%) VMware
4 11 (1.99%) Splunk
5 10 (1.81%) Adobe
6 9 (1.63%) IBM
7 8 (1.45%) Google
8 7 (1.27%) Red Hat
9 5 (0.90%) Avid
9 5 (0.90%) Citrix
9 5 (0.90%) HP
9 5 (0.90%) Salesforce
9 5 (0.90%) SolarWinds
10 4 (0.72%) Altera
10 4 (0.72%) Atlassian
10 4 (0.72%) ServiceNow
10 4 (0.72%) SYSPRO
10 4 (0.72%) Zoho
11 3 (0.54%) Cisco
11 3 (0.54%) Juniper