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

6 months to
14 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 248 272 158
Rank change year-on-year +24 -114 +14
Permanent jobs citing Software Testing 746 469 1,145
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.75% 1.08% 1.67%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.02% 1.22% 2.05%
Number of salaries quoted 502 333 615
10th Percentile £29,275 £26,250 £32,500
25th Percentile £39,818 £40,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,565 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -1.02% +1.03% -4.35%
75th Percentile £72,500 £68,750 £71,875
90th Percentile £90,000 £78,500 £83,750
UK median annual salary £52,500 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year -8.70% +4.55% -3.51%

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 73,171 38,378 55,859
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 73.08% 88.74% 81.34%
Number of salaries quoted 52,052 22,031 32,570
10th Percentile £31,250 £28,500 £32,000
25th Percentile £42,485 £37,500 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -7.93%
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 14 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 14 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% 155
London -52 148 £70,000 +9.38% 357
North of England +10 139 £52,500 +22.45% 125
Midlands +2 121 £55,000 +29.41% 120
South West -35 91 £50,000 -10.71% 93
West Midlands 0 79 £55,000 +266.67% 71
East of England +22 76 £55,000 +3.77% 120
North West +11 62 £49,700 -31.45% 75
North East -18 48 £55,000 +55.48% 16
East Midlands -13 42 £55,000 +1.38% 48
Yorkshire -29 29 £37,663 +23.49% 36
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 13 (1.74%) IIS
2 10 (1.34%) Confluence
2 10 (1.34%) SharePoint
3 9 (1.21%) 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 (2.28%) Microsoft Excel
2 16 (2.14%) Simulink
3 15 (2.01%) Microsoft Office
4 6 (0.80%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 6 (0.80%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.80%) Spreadsheet
5 5 (0.67%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.67%) DaVinci Resolve
6 3 (0.40%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
7 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
1 135 (18.10%) AWS
2 128 (17.16%) Azure
3 40 (5.36%) Azure DevOps
4 34 (4.56%) Serverless
5 33 (4.42%) GCP
6 32 (4.29%) GitHub
6 32 (4.29%) Power Platform
7 21 (2.82%) Microsoft 365
8 19 (2.55%) SaaS
9 17 (2.28%) AWS Lambda
10 14 (1.88%) GitHub Actions
11 12 (1.61%) GitHub Copilot
11 12 (1.61%) OpenShift
12 10 (1.34%) BrowserStack
13 9 (1.21%) AWS CloudFormation
14 7 (0.94%) Amazon CloudWatch
14 7 (0.94%) Anthropic Claude
14 7 (0.94%) Google Workspace
15 6 (0.80%) Amazon EC2
15 6 (0.80%) Tricentis Tosca
Communications & Networking
1 14 (1.88%) TCP/IP
2 11 (1.47%) SNMP
3 10 (1.34%) VPN
4 8 (1.07%) Wireshark
5 7 (0.94%) HTTP
6 6 (0.80%) Modbus
7 5 (0.67%) Broadband
8 4 (0.54%) Ethernet
9 3 (0.40%) DNS
10 2 (0.27%) ATM
10 2 (0.27%) Network Security
10 2 (0.27%) Software-Defined Radio
11 1 (0.13%) 5G
11 1 (0.13%) DHCP
11 1 (0.13%) Internet
11 1 (0.13%) IPv4
11 1 (0.13%) IPv6
11 1 (0.13%) LTE
11 1 (0.13%) MPLS
11 1 (0.13%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (5.23%) SQL Server
2 27 (3.62%) Power BI
3 19 (2.55%) PostgreSQL
4 15 (2.01%) Relational Database
5 13 (1.74%) DynamoDB
6 12 (1.61%) Elasticsearch
7 10 (1.34%) NoSQL
8 9 (1.21%) Azure SQL Database
9 8 (1.07%) InfluxDB
10 7 (0.94%) MySQL
10 7 (0.94%) OLTP
10 7 (0.94%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 6 (0.80%) Geospatial Data
11 6 (0.80%) MongoDB
12 5 (0.67%) Oracle Database
13 4 (0.54%) Flink
13 4 (0.54%) Spark SQL
14 3 (0.40%) Amazon RDS
14 3 (0.40%) Big Data
14 3 (0.40%) Crystal Reports
Development Applications
1 97 (13.00%) Git
2 71 (9.52%) JIRA
3 57 (7.64%) Selenium
4 56 (7.51%) GitLab
5 43 (5.76%) Jenkins
6 31 (4.16%) Postman
7 28 (3.75%) Cypress.io
8 20 (2.68%) Cucumber
8 20 (2.68%) JMeter
9 19 (2.55%) JUnit
10 18 (2.41%) TestRail
11 16 (2.14%) Zephyr
12 14 (1.88%) Gatling
13 10 (1.34%) REST Assured
14 9 (1.21%) Maven
15 8 (1.07%) Eclipse
15 8 (1.07%) Robot Framework
15 8 (1.07%) Spock
15 8 (1.07%) Visual Studio Code
16 7 (0.94%) LoadRunner
General
1 243 (32.57%) Social Skills
2 137 (18.36%) Analytical Skills
3 90 (12.06%) Finance
4 56 (7.51%) Electronics
5 51 (6.84%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 36 (4.83%) Law
6 36 (4.83%) Manufacturing
7 22 (2.95%) Aerospace
8 20 (2.68%) Banking
8 20 (2.68%) Public Sector
9 19 (2.55%) Documentation Skills
10 15 (2.01%) Aviation
10 15 (2.01%) Organisational Skills
11 14 (1.88%) Automotive
11 14 (1.88%) Retail
12 13 (1.74%) Legal
13 11 (1.47%) Games
14 10 (1.34%) Presentation Skills
14 10 (1.34%) Telecoms
15 9 (1.21%) Military
Job Titles
1 171 (22.92%) Senior
2 126 (16.89%) Software Engineer
3 102 (13.67%) Test Engineer
4 86 (11.53%) Lead
5 82 (10.99%) Developer
6 63 (8.45%) Analyst
7 56 (7.51%) Tester
8 43 (5.76%) Senior Developer
9 40 (5.36%) Software Test Engineer
10 39 (5.23%) Software Developer
11 37 (4.96%) Senior Software Engineer
12 36 (4.83%) QA Engineer
13 32 (4.29%) Software Tester
14 28 (3.75%) Embedded Engineer
14 28 (3.75%) Junior
14 28 (3.75%) Test Automation Engineer
15 24 (3.22%) Embedded Software Engineer
15 24 (3.22%) IT Support
16 23 (3.08%) Support Engineer
17 22 (2.95%) Test Leader
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 69 (9.25%) .NET
2 57 (7.64%) Playwright
3 49 (6.57%) HTML
4 47 (6.30%) React
5 29 (3.89%) REST
6 28 (3.75%) CSS
7 26 (3.49%) ASP.NET
8 25 (3.35%) Terraform
9 22 (2.95%) XML
10 19 (2.55%) RESTful
11 16 (2.14%) Node.js
12 13 (1.74%) React Native
12 13 (1.74%) Spring
13 12 (1.61%) ASP.NET Core
13 12 (1.61%) Gherkin
13 12 (1.61%) JSON
13 12 (1.61%) SOAP
13 12 (1.61%) Swagger
14 10 (1.34%) pytest
15 9 (1.21%) Elastic Stack
Miscellaneous
1 63 (8.45%) Product Ownership
2 35 (4.69%) Distributed Systems
3 30 (4.02%) Algorithms
4 25 (3.35%) Embedded Systems
5 23 (3.08%) Management Information System
6 19 (2.55%) AI Agents
6 19 (2.55%) Analytical Mindset
6 19 (2.55%) Mobile App
7 18 (2.41%) Cloud Native
7 18 (2.41%) Enterprise Software
8 17 (2.28%) Robotics
9 16 (2.14%) Self-Motivation
10 15 (2.01%) Client/Server
11 12 (1.61%) Driving Licence
12 11 (1.47%) Legacy Applications
13 10 (1.34%) FPGA
14 9 (1.21%) Onboarding
14 9 (1.21%) SCADA
14 9 (1.21%) Video\Live Streaming
15 8 (1.07%) Low-Code
Operating Systems
1 86 (11.53%) Windows
2 74 (9.92%) Linux
3 19 (2.55%) 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 (0.54%) Kali Linux
7 4 (0.54%) Unix
8 3 (0.40%) Debian
8 3 (0.40%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.27%) FreeRTOS
9 2 (0.27%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 317 (42.49%) Test Automation
2 278 (37.27%) Agile
3 236 (31.64%) Software Engineering
4 195 (26.14%) Continuous Improvement
5 193 (25.87%) CI/CD
6 188 (25.20%) Problem-Solving
7 159 (21.31%) DevOps
8 126 (16.89%) Code Quality
9 111 (14.88%) Mentoring
9 111 (14.88%) Validation
10 109 (14.61%) AI
11 106 (14.21%) SDLC
12 100 (13.40%) Scrum
13 95 (12.73%) Test Strategy
14 80 (10.72%) Regression Testing
15 69 (9.25%) Computer Science
16 58 (7.77%) Manual Testing
17 55 (7.37%) Software Architecture
17 55 (7.37%) Stakeholder Management
18 51 (6.84%) Microservices
Programming Languages
1 196 (26.27%) Python
2 140 (18.77%) SQL
3 109 (14.61%) C#
4 92 (12.33%) JavaScript
5 88 (11.80%) Java
6 80 (10.72%) C++
7 62 (8.31%) C
8 57 (7.64%) TypeScript
9 27 (3.62%) MATLAB
10 24 (3.22%) PowerShell
11 21 (2.82%) Bash
12 14 (1.88%) Embedded C
13 11 (1.47%) Go
13 11 (1.47%) Groovy
13 11 (1.47%) PL/SQL
14 10 (1.34%) Julia
15 8 (1.07%) PHP
15 8 (1.07%) R
16 6 (0.80%) Rust
16 6 (0.80%) VBA
Qualifications
1 165 (22.12%) Degree
2 131 (17.56%) Security Cleared
3 81 (10.86%) SC Cleared
4 40 (5.36%) ISTQB
5 37 (4.96%) DV Cleared
6 34 (4.56%) Master's Degree
7 32 (4.29%) Computer Science Degree
8 18 (2.41%) BPSS Clearance
9 9 (1.21%) ISEB
10 8 (1.07%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
11 6 (0.80%) PhD
12 5 (0.67%) DBS Check
12 5 (0.67%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
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%) Microsoft Certification
14 2 (0.27%) Network+ Certification
14 2 (0.27%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 206 (27.61%) QA
2 49 (6.57%) Accessibility
3 24 (3.22%) GDPR
4 19 (2.55%) WCAG
5 14 (1.88%) Software Quality Assurance
6 13 (1.74%) Data Quality
7 8 (1.07%) SLA
8 5 (0.67%) DO-254
8 5 (0.67%) PMO
9 4 (0.54%) 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%) DO-160
12 1 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 20000
12 1 (0.13%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 56 (7.51%) Docker
2 37 (4.96%) Firmware
3 19 (2.55%) Embedded Firmware
4 17 (2.28%) Active Directory
5 9 (1.21%) 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
Systems Management
1 37 (4.96%) Kubernetes
2 22 (2.95%) Grafana
3 19 (2.55%) Ansible
4 9 (1.21%) Kibana
5 8 (1.07%) logstash
6 6 (0.80%) vCenter Server
7 5 (0.67%) Functional Safety
8 4 (0.54%) HP Fortify
8 4 (0.54%) Prometheus
9 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Intune
9 3 (0.40%) Norton AntiVirus
9 3 (0.40%) Puppet
9 3 (0.40%) SCCM
9 3 (0.40%) SCOM
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 (9.79%) Microsoft
2 24 (3.22%) Splunk
3 18 (2.41%) Oracle
4 12 (1.61%) Google
5 11 (1.47%) VMware
6 10 (1.34%) Atlassian
6 10 (1.34%) Citrix
6 10 (1.34%) Red Hat
7 9 (1.21%) Intel
8 8 (1.07%) Adobe
8 8 (1.07%) AppDynamics
8 8 (1.07%) ServiceNow
8 8 (1.07%) Siemens
9 7 (0.94%) IBM
10 5 (0.67%) Avid
10 5 (0.67%) Rockwell
10 5 (0.67%) SolarWinds
11 4 (0.54%) Databricks
11 4 (0.54%) Veracode
11 4 (0.54%) Xilinx