Software Engineer Job Trends in the South East

Software Engineer
England > South East

The median Software Engineer salary in the South East is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 10 July 2026.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 94 27
Rank change year-on-year +72 -67 +45
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 946 245 1,103
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 6.07% 2.88% 6.42%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.35% 3.25% 6.83%
Number of salaries quoted 692 176 848
10th Percentile £45,000 £36,250 £37,500
25th Percentile £53,438 £51,250 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £54,000
Median % change year-on-year - +20.37% -10.00%
75th Percentile £80,000 £75,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £92,500 £80,000
England median annual salary £70,000 £78,810 £60,000
% change year-on-year -11.18% +31.35% -14.29%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
South East

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the South East. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the South East with a recognized job title 14,901 7,532 16,156
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.57% 88.60% 94.11%
Number of salaries quoted 10,532 4,196 11,608
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,750 £27,750
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,000 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% - -9.09%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £81,250 £78,268
England median annual salary £57,500 £55,043 £53,000
% change year-on-year +4.46% +3.85% -11.67%

Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Software Engineer' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the South East

Software Engineer
Salary Trend in the South East

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the South East.

Salary distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the South East

Software Engineer
Salary Histogram in the South East

Salary distribution for jobs citing Software Engineer in the South East over the 6 months to 10 July 2026.

Salary histogram for Software Engineer in the South East

Software Engineer
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 Software Engineer within the South East region over the 6 months to 10 July 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
Hampshire +40 392 £68,750 +5.77% 56
Thames Valley +102 355 £65,000 - 44
Oxfordshire +26 184 £65,000 -3.70% 23
Surrey +24 114 £80,000 +14.29% 10
Berkshire +66 92 £65,000 +8.33% 11
Buckinghamshire +43 79 £80,000 +52.38% 10
Kent -11 37 £40,000 -36.00% 3
East Sussex +14 29 £65,000 -27.78%
West Sussex -10 17 £75,000 +76.47% 10
Sussex - 2 £85,000 - 8
Software Engineer
England

Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East

For the 6 months to 10 July 2026, Software Engineer job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the South East region featuring Software Engineer in the job title.

1 933 (98.63%) Software Engineering
2 255 (26.96%) C++
3 195 (20.61%) C#
4 192 (20.30%) Python
5 188 (19.87%) Degree
6 125 (13.21%) .NET
7 123 (13.00%) Agile
8 110 (11.63%) AWS
9 108 (11.42%) Security Cleared
10 97 (10.25%) Computer Science
11 93 (9.83%) Computer Science Degree
12 91 (9.62%) Linux
13 89 (9.41%) C
14 86 (9.09%) Azure
15 80 (8.46%) AI
15 80 (8.46%) Full-Stack Development
16 76 (8.03%) DevOps
17 75 (7.93%) CI/CD
18 74 (7.82%) SC Cleared
19 68 (7.19%) Problem-Solving
20 59 (6.24%) Docker
20 59 (6.24%) SaaS
21 58 (6.13%) JavaScript
22 56 (5.92%) Git
22 56 (5.92%) TypeScript
23 54 (5.71%) Test Automation
24 53 (5.60%) Mentoring
25 50 (5.29%) Containerisation
26 49 (5.18%) SDLC
26 49 (5.18%) Software Architecture

Software Engineer Skill Set
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 6 (0.63%) Apache
2 3 (0.32%) Confluence
3 1 (0.11%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 9 (0.95%) Lightworks
2 5 (0.53%) Simulink
3 3 (0.32%) Microsoft Office
4 2 (0.21%) AutoCAD
4 2 (0.21%) EPLAN
4 2 (0.21%) Microsoft Excel
4 2 (0.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.11%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 110 (11.63%) AWS
2 86 (9.09%) Azure
3 59 (6.24%) SaaS
4 33 (3.49%) GCP
5 15 (1.59%) Azure DevOps
6 13 (1.37%) GitHub
7 12 (1.27%) Serverless
8 8 (0.85%) Firebase
9 6 (0.63%) PaaS
10 5 (0.53%) Figma
11 4 (0.42%) Amazon EKS
11 4 (0.42%) AWS Lambda
12 3 (0.32%) Anthropic Claude
12 3 (0.32%) Azure Functions
12 3 (0.32%) Azure Monitor
12 3 (0.32%) Cloud Run
12 3 (0.32%) GitHub Actions
13 2 (0.21%) Amazon S3
13 2 (0.21%) Stripe
13 2 (0.21%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 16 (1.69%) Wireless
2 10 (1.06%) TCP/IP
3 8 (0.85%) MQTT
4 6 (0.63%) ATM
5 5 (0.53%) Wireshark
6 4 (0.42%) Software-Defined Radio
7 3 (0.32%) Ethernet
8 1 (0.11%) Broadband
8 1 (0.11%) Internet
8 1 (0.11%) LAN
8 1 (0.11%) Multicast
8 1 (0.11%) Software-Defined Networking
8 1 (0.11%) SpaceWire
8 1 (0.11%) VoIP
8 1 (0.11%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (3.59%) SQL Server
2 15 (1.59%) PostgreSQL
3 7 (0.74%) MySQL
4 6 (0.63%) MongoDB
5 3 (0.32%) Elasticsearch
5 3 (0.32%) Pinecone
5 3 (0.32%) Redis
6 2 (0.21%) NoSQL
6 2 (0.21%) Relational Database
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 56 (5.92%) Git
2 21 (2.22%) GitLab
3 20 (2.11%) Visual Studio Code
4 7 (0.74%) JIRA
5 6 (0.63%) Yeoman
6 4 (0.42%) Visual Studio
7 3 (0.32%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.32%) Jenkins
7 3 (0.32%) JUnit
7 3 (0.32%) PetaLinux
7 3 (0.32%) Rational Rhapsody
8 2 (0.21%) CMake
8 2 (0.21%) Eclipse
8 2 (0.21%) Eclipse RCP
8 2 (0.21%) Postman
8 2 (0.21%) SpecFlow
9 1 (0.11%) NUnit
9 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.11%) Toad
9 1 (0.11%) utPLSQL
General
1 65 (6.87%) Manufacturing
1 65 (6.87%) Social Skills
2 58 (6.13%) Electronics
3 33 (3.49%) Aerospace
4 32 (3.38%) Finance
5 25 (2.64%) Aviation
6 17 (1.80%) Analytical Skills
6 17 (1.80%) Telecoms
7 15 (1.59%) Military
8 14 (1.48%) Pharmaceutical
9 12 (1.27%) Games
10 9 (0.95%) Automotive
11 7 (0.74%) Public Sector
12 6 (0.63%) Law
13 5 (0.53%) Organisational Skills
14 4 (0.42%) Health Technology
15 3 (0.32%) Banking
15 3 (0.32%) Digital Health
16 2 (0.21%) Documentation Skills
17 1 (0.11%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 125 (13.21%) .NET
2 45 (4.76%) React
3 29 (3.07%) CSS
4 28 (2.96%) HTML
5 22 (2.33%) Vue
6 21 (2.22%) AngularJS
7 19 (2.01%) Unreal Engine
8 18 (1.90%) Django
9 17 (1.80%) Node.js
9 17 (1.80%) WPF
10 16 (1.69%) REST
11 13 (1.37%) JSON
11 13 (1.37%) WebSockets
12 11 (1.16%) ASP.NET
12 11 (1.16%) XML
13 9 (0.95%) .NET Core
14 8 (0.85%) Qt
15 7 (0.74%) Blazor
16 6 (0.63%) Kafka
16 6 (0.63%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 49 (5.18%) Algorithms
2 34 (3.59%) Embedded Systems
3 28 (2.96%) Robotics
4 23 (2.43%) Product Ownership
5 20 (2.11%) Client/Server
6 18 (1.90%) Distributed Systems
6 18 (1.90%) IoT
7 17 (1.80%) Distributed Computing
8 15 (1.59%) Cloud Native
9 13 (1.37%) Self-Motivation
10 11 (1.16%) Data Structures
11 10 (1.06%) AI Agents
12 8 (0.85%) Legacy Systems
12 8 (0.85%) Smart Energy
13 6 (0.63%) Life Science
13 6 (0.63%) Management Information System
14 5 (0.53%) FPGA
14 5 (0.53%) Video Conferencing
15 4 (0.42%) Enterprise Software
15 4 (0.42%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 91 (9.62%) Linux
2 21 (2.22%) Windows
3 8 (0.85%) Android
4 6 (0.63%) Embedded Linux
5 4 (0.42%) Debian
6 3 (0.32%) FreeRTOS
6 3 (0.32%) Gentoo
7 2 (0.21%) Robot Operating System
8 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
8 1 (0.11%) VxWorks
Processes & Methodologies
1 933 (98.63%) Software Engineering
2 123 (13.00%) Agile
3 97 (10.25%) Computer Science
4 80 (8.46%) AI
4 80 (8.46%) Full-Stack Development
5 76 (8.03%) DevOps
6 75 (7.93%) CI/CD
7 68 (7.19%) Problem-Solving
8 54 (5.71%) Test Automation
9 53 (5.60%) Mentoring
10 50 (5.29%) Containerisation
11 49 (5.18%) SDLC
11 49 (5.18%) Software Architecture
12 48 (5.07%) Machine Learning
13 46 (4.86%) Continuous Improvement
14 40 (4.23%) Code Quality
15 38 (4.02%) Microservices
16 35 (3.70%) Embedded Software Development
17 34 (3.59%) Software Testing
18 30 (3.17%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 255 (26.96%) C++
2 195 (20.61%) C#
3 192 (20.30%) Python
4 89 (9.41%) C
5 58 (6.13%) JavaScript
6 56 (5.92%) TypeScript
7 46 (4.86%) SQL
8 39 (4.12%) Java
9 32 (3.38%) Rust
10 11 (1.16%) PHP
11 10 (1.06%) Go
12 8 (0.85%) MATLAB
13 7 (0.74%) Ada
13 7 (0.74%) Ruby
14 6 (0.63%) PL/SQL
15 4 (0.42%) Apex Code
15 4 (0.42%) Julia
15 4 (0.42%) T-SQL
15 4 (0.42%) VB.NET
16 3 (0.32%) Bash
Qualifications
1 188 (19.87%) Degree
2 108 (11.42%) Security Cleared
3 93 (9.83%) Computer Science Degree
4 74 (7.82%) SC Cleared
5 47 (4.97%) Master's Degree
6 28 (2.96%) DV Cleared
7 23 (2.43%) PhD
8 8 (0.85%) Azure Certification
9 5 (0.53%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.32%) HNC
10 3 (0.32%) HND
11 2 (0.21%) AWS Certification
11 2 (0.21%) Microsoft Certification
11 2 (0.21%) NVQ Level 3
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (2.75%) QA
2 4 (0.42%) ECSS
2 4 (0.42%) ISO 9001
3 3 (0.32%) DO-178B
3 3 (0.32%) GAMP
4 2 (0.21%) GDPR
System Software
1 59 (6.24%) Docker
2 40 (4.23%) Firmware
3 13 (1.37%) Hyper-V
3 13 (1.37%) KVM
3 13 (1.37%) VMware Infrastructure
4 11 (1.16%) Embedded Firmware
5 6 (0.63%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 34 (3.59%) Kubernetes
2 15 (1.59%) Terraform
3 11 (1.16%) Ansible
4 4 (0.42%) Podman
5 1 (0.11%) Puppet
Vendors
1 13 (1.37%) VMware
2 12 (1.27%) Oracle
3 11 (1.16%) Microsoft
4 9 (0.95%) Salesforce
5 3 (0.32%) Allen-Bradley
5 3 (0.32%) Google
5 3 (0.32%) Siemens
5 3 (0.32%) Wonderware
5 3 (0.32%) Xilinx
6 2 (0.21%) Atlassian
6 2 (0.21%) HubSpot
6 2 (0.21%) Yahoo!
7 1 (0.11%) Adobe
7 1 (0.11%) IBM
7 1 (0.11%) NVIDIA
7 1 (0.11%) Typelevel
7 1 (0.11%) Xamarin