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 22 July 2026.

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

6 months to
22 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 99 28
Rank change year-on-year +77 -71 +46
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 961 248 1,023
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 6.01% 2.88% 6.55%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.29% 3.23% 6.96%
Number of salaries quoted 700 173 782
10th Percentile £45,000 £42,750 £38,691
25th Percentile £55,000 £52,500 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £65,000 £52,501
Median % change year-on-year - +23.81% -12.50%
75th Percentile £83,750 £78,750 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £79,875
England median annual salary £70,000 £80,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year -12.50% +33.33% -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 15,278 7,681 14,708
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.62% 89.31% 94.13%
Number of salaries quoted 10,827 4,274 10,345
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £28,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,000 £36,875
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 £86,250 £81,250 £80,000
England median annual salary £57,500 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +4.55% - -8.33%

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 22 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 22 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 +41 414 £65,000 - 42
Thames Valley +105 352 £70,000 +7.69% 53
Oxfordshire +25 174 £65,000 -3.70% 21
Surrey +15 114 £80,000 +6.67% 8
Berkshire +83 98 £65,000 +8.33% 19
Buckinghamshire +50 80 £81,250 +47.73% 13
Kent -11 31 £35,000 -44.00% 2
East Sussex +10 26 £65,000 -27.78%
West Sussex -6 20 £75,000 +22.45% 5
Sussex - 4 £85,000 - 4
Software Engineer
England

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

For the 6 months to 22 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.

1 950 (98.86%) Software Engineering
2 255 (26.53%) C++
3 200 (20.81%) Python
4 197 (20.50%) C#
5 182 (18.94%) Degree
6 125 (13.01%) .NET
7 122 (12.70%) Agile
8 115 (11.97%) Security Cleared
9 112 (11.65%) AWS
10 92 (9.57%) Linux
11 91 (9.47%) Computer Science
12 90 (9.37%) Computer Science Degree
13 88 (9.16%) AI
14 86 (8.95%) C
15 84 (8.74%) Azure
16 82 (8.53%) SC Cleared
17 80 (8.32%) Full-Stack Development
18 78 (8.12%) CI/CD
19 76 (7.91%) DevOps
20 66 (6.87%) Problem-Solving
21 63 (6.56%) Docker
22 59 (6.14%) JavaScript
23 58 (6.04%) TypeScript
24 57 (5.93%) Git
25 56 (5.83%) Mentoring
25 56 (5.83%) SaaS
26 55 (5.72%) Test Automation
27 52 (5.41%) Containerisation
28 51 (5.31%) SDLC
28 51 (5.31%) 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 (0.62%) Apache
2 3 (0.31%) Confluence
3 1 (0.10%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 10 (1.04%) Lightworks
2 5 (0.52%) Simulink
3 4 (0.42%) Microsoft Office
4 3 (0.31%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (0.31%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.21%) AutoCAD
5 2 (0.21%) EPLAN
6 1 (0.10%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 112 (11.65%) AWS
2 84 (8.74%) Azure
3 56 (5.83%) SaaS
4 36 (3.75%) GCP
5 14 (1.46%) Azure DevOps
5 14 (1.46%) GitHub
6 12 (1.25%) Serverless
7 11 (1.14%) Firebase
8 6 (0.62%) Anthropic Claude
8 6 (0.62%) Cloud Run
8 6 (0.62%) PaaS
9 5 (0.52%) Figma
10 4 (0.42%) AWS Lambda
10 4 (0.42%) GitHub Actions
11 3 (0.31%) Amazon EKS
11 3 (0.31%) Azure Functions
11 3 (0.31%) Azure Monitor
12 2 (0.21%) Amazon S3
12 2 (0.21%) WhatsApp
13 1 (0.10%) Adobe Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 17 (1.77%) Wireless
2 10 (1.04%) TCP/IP
3 8 (0.83%) ATM
3 8 (0.83%) MQTT
4 5 (0.52%) Wireshark
5 4 (0.42%) Software-Defined Radio
6 3 (0.31%) Ethernet
7 1 (0.10%) Broadband
7 1 (0.10%) Internet
7 1 (0.10%) LAN
7 1 (0.10%) Multicast
7 1 (0.10%) Software-Defined Networking
7 1 (0.10%) VoIP
7 1 (0.10%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 32 (3.33%) SQL Server
2 18 (1.87%) PostgreSQL
3 8 (0.83%) MySQL
4 7 (0.73%) MongoDB
5 6 (0.62%) Pinecone
6 3 (0.31%) Elasticsearch
6 3 (0.31%) Redis
6 3 (0.31%) Relational Database
7 2 (0.21%) NoSQL
8 1 (0.10%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 57 (5.93%) Git
2 21 (2.19%) GitLab
2 21 (2.19%) Visual Studio Code
3 7 (0.73%) JIRA
4 6 (0.62%) Yeoman
5 5 (0.52%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.31%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.31%) CMake
6 3 (0.31%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.31%) Eclipse RCP
6 3 (0.31%) JUnit
6 3 (0.31%) PetaLinux
6 3 (0.31%) Rational Rhapsody
6 3 (0.31%) Visual Studio
7 2 (0.21%) Postman
7 2 (0.21%) SpecFlow
8 1 (0.10%) NUnit
8 1 (0.10%) Storybook
8 1 (0.10%) Toad
8 1 (0.10%) utPLSQL
General
1 69 (7.18%) Manufacturing
1 69 (7.18%) Social Skills
2 64 (6.66%) Electronics
3 33 (3.43%) Aerospace
4 31 (3.23%) Finance
5 28 (2.91%) Aviation
6 19 (1.98%) Analytical Skills
7 17 (1.77%) Telecoms
8 14 (1.46%) Pharmaceutical
9 13 (1.35%) Military
10 12 (1.25%) Games
11 10 (1.04%) Automotive
12 8 (0.83%) Public Sector
13 6 (0.62%) Law
14 5 (0.52%) Organisational Skills
15 4 (0.42%) Digital Health
15 4 (0.42%) Health Technology
16 3 (0.31%) Banking
17 2 (0.21%) Documentation Skills
18 1 (0.10%) Tech for Good
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 125 (13.01%) .NET
2 45 (4.68%) React
3 30 (3.12%) CSS
4 29 (3.02%) HTML
5 22 (2.29%) Vue
6 21 (2.19%) Django
7 20 (2.08%) Unreal Engine
8 19 (1.98%) AngularJS
9 17 (1.77%) Node.js
9 17 (1.77%) WPF
10 15 (1.56%) REST
11 13 (1.35%) JSON
11 13 (1.35%) WebSockets
12 11 (1.14%) ASP.NET
12 11 (1.14%) XML
13 8 (0.83%) .NET Core
14 7 (0.73%) Blazor
14 7 (0.73%) Qt
15 6 (0.62%) Kafka
15 6 (0.62%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 50 (5.20%) Algorithms
2 33 (3.43%) Embedded Systems
2 33 (3.43%) Robotics
3 25 (2.60%) Product Ownership
4 18 (1.87%) Cloud Native
4 18 (1.87%) Distributed Computing
5 17 (1.77%) Distributed Systems
5 17 (1.77%) IoT
6 16 (1.66%) Client/Server
7 13 (1.35%) Self-Motivation
8 12 (1.25%) AI Agents
9 11 (1.14%) Data Structures
10 7 (0.73%) Life Science
10 7 (0.73%) Smart Energy
11 6 (0.62%) Legacy Systems
11 6 (0.62%) Management Information System
12 5 (0.52%) FPGA
12 5 (0.52%) Video Conferencing
13 4 (0.42%) Driving Licence
13 4 (0.42%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 92 (9.57%) Linux
2 21 (2.19%) Windows
3 7 (0.73%) Embedded Linux
4 6 (0.62%) Android
5 5 (0.52%) Debian
6 3 (0.31%) FreeRTOS
6 3 (0.31%) Gentoo
7 2 (0.21%) Robot Operating System
8 1 (0.10%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 950 (98.86%) Software Engineering
2 122 (12.70%) Agile
3 91 (9.47%) Computer Science
4 88 (9.16%) AI
5 80 (8.32%) Full-Stack Development
6 78 (8.12%) CI/CD
7 76 (7.91%) DevOps
8 66 (6.87%) Problem-Solving
9 56 (5.83%) Mentoring
10 55 (5.72%) Test Automation
11 52 (5.41%) Containerisation
12 51 (5.31%) SDLC
12 51 (5.31%) Software Architecture
13 48 (4.99%) Machine Learning
14 42 (4.37%) Continuous Improvement
15 39 (4.06%) Code Quality
16 38 (3.95%) Microservices
17 35 (3.64%) Software Testing
18 34 (3.54%) Embedded Software Development
19 30 (3.12%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 255 (26.53%) C++
2 200 (20.81%) Python
3 197 (20.50%) C#
4 86 (8.95%) C
5 59 (6.14%) JavaScript
6 58 (6.04%) TypeScript
7 41 (4.27%) Java
7 41 (4.27%) SQL
8 30 (3.12%) Rust
9 11 (1.14%) Go
10 9 (0.94%) Ada
11 8 (0.83%) MATLAB
11 8 (0.83%) PHP
12 7 (0.73%) Ruby
13 6 (0.62%) PL/SQL
14 4 (0.42%) Apex Code
14 4 (0.42%) Julia
14 4 (0.42%) T-SQL
14 4 (0.42%) VB.NET
15 3 (0.31%) Bash
Qualifications
1 182 (18.94%) Degree
2 115 (11.97%) Security Cleared
3 90 (9.37%) Computer Science Degree
4 82 (8.53%) SC Cleared
5 48 (4.99%) Master's Degree
6 28 (2.91%) DV Cleared
7 24 (2.50%) PhD
8 8 (0.83%) Azure Certification
9 5 (0.52%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.31%) HNC
10 3 (0.31%) HND
11 2 (0.21%) AWS Certification
11 2 (0.21%) Microsoft Certification
11 2 (0.21%) NVQ Level 3
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (2.39%) QA
2 3 (0.31%) DO-178B
2 3 (0.31%) ECSS
2 3 (0.31%) GAMP
3 2 (0.21%) GDPR
3 2 (0.21%) ISO 9001
4 1 (0.10%) ISO/IEC 27001
System Software
1 63 (6.56%) Docker
2 36 (3.75%) Firmware
3 11 (1.14%) Embedded Firmware
3 11 (1.14%) KVM
3 11 (1.14%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (1.04%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.73%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 35 (3.64%) Kubernetes
2 15 (1.56%) Terraform
3 11 (1.14%) Ansible
4 5 (0.52%) Podman
5 1 (0.10%) Puppet
Vendors
1 12 (1.25%) Oracle
2 11 (1.14%) Microsoft
2 11 (1.14%) VMware
3 9 (0.94%) Salesforce
4 4 (0.42%) Google
5 3 (0.31%) Allen-Bradley
5 3 (0.31%) Siemens
5 3 (0.31%) Wonderware
5 3 (0.31%) Xilinx
6 2 (0.21%) Atlassian
6 2 (0.21%) Yahoo!
7 1 (0.10%) Adobe
7 1 (0.10%) IBM
7 1 (0.10%) NVIDIA
7 1 (0.10%) Typelevel
7 1 (0.10%) Xamarin