Physics Job Trends in the South East

Physics
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the South East requiring Physics skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 13 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
13 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 211 165 208
Rank change year-on-year -46 +43 -14
Permanent jobs citing Physics 62 138 88
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 0.60% 1.54% 0.99%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.75% 1.75% 1.13%
Number of salaries quoted 36 82 74
10th Percentile £40,015 £35,932 £37,650
25th Percentile £48,750 £43,538 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £58,215 £56,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +3.96% +1.82% +27.17%
75th Percentile £85,700 £75,000 £68,750
90th Percentile £88,750 £82,500 £74,625
England median annual salary £56,430 £60,000 £62,500
% change year-on-year -5.95% -4.00% +4.17%

All Process & Methodology Skills
South East

Physics 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 the South East.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 8,306 7,897 7,821
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 80.19% 88.14% 88.35%
Number of salaries quoted 4,952 3,758 5,459
10th Percentile £27,750 £33,000 £30,000
25th Percentile £34,250 £45,000 £38,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £58,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -13.79% +10.48% -4.55%
75th Percentile £65,000 £75,000 £67,500
90th Percentile £80,000 £85,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% - -4.00%

Physics
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Physics relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Physics job vacancy trend in the South East

Physics
Salary Trend in the South East

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Physics.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Physics

Physics
Salary Histogram in the South East

Salary distribution for jobs citing Physics in the South East over the 6 months to 13 January 2026.

Salary histogram for Physics in the South East

Physics
Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Physics within the South East region over the 6 months to 13 January 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
Thames Valley -36 18 £53,065 +2.05% 34
Hampshire +18 14 £55,000 -15.38% 13
Kent -15 14 £52,500 -25.00% 5
Berkshire -33 14 £53,065 +5.08% 19
Isle of Wight 0 9 £85,700 - 1
Surrey -10 6 £82,500 +34.69% 2
Oxfordshire +4 3 £62,500 +18.35% 13
Buckinghamshire 0 1 £33,000 -49.43% 2
East Sussex - 1 - - 1
Physics
England

Physics
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 1 (1.61%) Confluence
1 1 (1.61%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 10 (16.13%) Chatbot
1 10 (16.13%) Simulink
2 1 (1.61%) GNU Octave
2 1 (1.61%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 1 (1.61%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 5 (8.06%) Software-Defined Radio
2 3 (4.84%) LAN
3 1 (1.61%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (3.23%) GIS
Development Applications
1 10 (16.13%) Rational DOORS
2 3 (4.84%) JIRA
3 2 (3.23%) Git
3 2 (3.23%) Jenkins
3 2 (3.23%) TestRail
4 1 (1.61%) Visual Studio
General
1 28 (45.16%) Electronics
2 9 (14.52%) Military
3 5 (8.06%) Aerospace
4 4 (6.45%) Agriculture
4 4 (6.45%) Automotive
4 4 (6.45%) Manufacturing
5 3 (4.84%) Social Skills
6 1 (1.61%) Avionics
6 1 (1.61%) Marketing
6 1 (1.61%) Presentation Skills
6 1 (1.61%) Retail
6 1 (1.61%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 17 (27.42%) Systems Engineer
2 15 (24.19%) Senior
3 10 (16.13%) Senior Systems Engineer
3 10 (16.13%) Software Engineer
3 10 (16.13%) Trainer
4 9 (14.52%) Lead
5 4 (6.45%) Radio Engineer
5 4 (6.45%) Senior Software Engineer
6 3 (4.84%) Administrator
6 3 (4.84%) C++ Software Engineer
6 3 (4.84%) Electrical Engineer
6 3 (4.84%) Network Administrator
6 3 (4.84%) Sales Engineer
6 3 (4.84%) Technical Engineer
6 3 (4.84%) Technical Sales Engineer
7 2 (3.23%) Embedded Engineer
7 2 (3.23%) Embedded Software Engineer
7 2 (3.23%) Graduate Analyst
7 2 (3.23%) Senior Embedded Engineer
7 2 (3.23%) Senior Embedded Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (3.23%) Qt
Miscellaneous
1 9 (14.52%) Management Information System
2 6 (9.68%) Algorithms
3 4 (6.45%) FPGA
4 3 (4.84%) Data Centre
4 3 (4.84%) Fibre Optics
5 2 (3.23%) 3D Graphics
5 2 (3.23%) Embedded Systems
5 2 (3.23%) RISC-V
6 1 (1.61%) Augmented Reality
6 1 (1.61%) Driving Licence
6 1 (1.61%) Virtual Reality
6 1 (1.61%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 8 (12.90%) Linux
2 4 (6.45%) Unix
3 1 (1.61%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 32 (51.61%) Mathematics
2 19 (30.65%) AI
3 13 (20.97%) Signal Processing
4 12 (19.35%) Agile
4 12 (19.35%) Computer Science
4 12 (19.35%) Software Engineering
4 12 (19.35%) Systems Engineering
5 10 (16.13%) Conversational UI
5 10 (16.13%) Cybersecurity
5 10 (16.13%) Information Assurance
5 10 (16.13%) Requirements Management
6 9 (14.52%) Coaching
6 9 (14.52%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
6 9 (14.52%) SysML
7 8 (12.90%) Data Analysis
7 8 (12.90%) Innovative Thinking
8 6 (9.68%) Parallel Programming
8 6 (9.68%) Software Testing
9 5 (8.06%) Digital Signal Processing
9 5 (8.06%) Performance Analysis
Programming Languages
1 27 (43.55%) MATLAB
2 11 (17.74%) Python
3 8 (12.90%) C++
4 6 (9.68%) Bash
4 6 (9.68%) C
5 4 (6.45%) Fortran
6 2 (3.23%) Embedded C
6 2 (3.23%) Java
7 1 (1.61%) SQL
7 1 (1.61%) VB
Qualifications
1 53 (85.48%) Degree
2 25 (40.32%) BPSS Clearance
3 19 (30.65%) Master's Degree
4 17 (27.42%) PhD
5 9 (14.52%) Security Cleared
6 7 (11.29%) SC Cleared
7 1 (1.61%) Computer Science Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (3.23%) ISO 9000
1 2 (3.23%) JTAG
2 1 (1.61%) Def Stans
2 1 (1.61%) IEC 61508
System Software
1 6 (9.68%) Firmware
2 4 (6.45%) Embedded Firmware
Systems Management
1 3 (4.84%) FortiGate
Vendors
1 10 (16.13%) PayPal
1 10 (16.13%) Siemens
2 3 (4.84%) Arista
2 3 (4.84%) Extreme Networks
2 3 (4.84%) Palo Alto
3 2 (3.23%) ANSYS
4 1 (1.61%) Keysight
4 1 (1.61%) Microsoft