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 21 August 2026.

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

6 months to
21 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 102 25
Rank change year-on-year +80 -77 +49
Permanent jobs requiring a Software Engineer 998 247 952
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.78% 2.77% 6.88%
As % of the Job Titles category 6.06% 3.09% 7.24%
Number of salaries quoted 707 159 700
10th Percentile £45,000 £44,750 £40,000
25th Percentile £52,500 £55,625 £45,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £68,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -4.41% +29.52% -12.50%
75th Percentile £83,750 £80,000 £64,063
90th Percentile £90,000 £95,000 £77,500
England median annual salary £70,000 £80,000 £62,500
% change year-on-year -12.50% +28.00% -10.71%

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 16,460 7,981 13,155
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 95.29% 89.42% 95.12%
Number of salaries quoted 11,705 4,442 8,668
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £40,000
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 £89,500 £80,000 £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 21 August 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 21 August 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 +38 438 £65,000 - 30
Thames Valley +116 365 £65,000 - 29
Oxfordshire +22 172 £65,000 -3.70% 12
Berkshire +97 116 £65,000 +4.00% 13
Surrey +2 107 £80,000 - 3
Buckinghamshire +56 77 £82,500 +50.00% 4
Kent -5 32 £35,000 -44.00% 6
East Sussex +6 26 £60,000 -33.33% 1
West Sussex +4 25 £75,000 +9.09% 7
Sussex - 5 £85,000 - 2
Software Engineer
England

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

For the 6 months to 21 August 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.

1 991 (99.30%) Software Engineering
2 248 (24.85%) C++
3 205 (20.54%) C#
4 201 (20.14%) Python
5 164 (16.43%) Degree
6 121 (12.12%) Security Cleared
7 120 (12.02%) Agile
8 119 (11.92%) .NET
9 114 (11.42%) AWS
10 100 (10.02%) AI
10 100 (10.02%) Linux
11 90 (9.02%) CI/CD
12 87 (8.72%) Azure
12 87 (8.72%) SC Cleared
13 84 (8.42%) C
14 80 (8.02%) Computer Science Degree
15 78 (7.82%) Full-Stack Development
16 77 (7.72%) Computer Science
17 74 (7.41%) Docker
18 73 (7.31%) DevOps
19 69 (6.91%) Problem-Solving
20 67 (6.71%) TypeScript
21 66 (6.61%) JavaScript
22 64 (6.41%) Mentoring
23 59 (5.91%) Git
24 56 (5.61%) SDLC
25 55 (5.51%) Containerisation
26 54 (5.41%) Software Architecture
26 54 (5.41%) Test Automation
27 53 (5.31%) SaaS

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 7 (0.70%) Apache
2 3 (0.30%) Confluence
3 1 (0.10%) ArchestrA
Applications
1 14 (1.40%) Lightworks
2 5 (0.50%) Simulink
3 4 (0.40%) Microsoft Office
4 3 (0.30%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (0.30%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.20%) AutoCAD
5 2 (0.20%) EPLAN
6 1 (0.10%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 6 (0.60%) Oracle Applications
Cloud Services
1 114 (11.42%) AWS
2 87 (8.72%) Azure
3 53 (5.31%) SaaS
4 35 (3.51%) GCP
5 16 (1.60%) Azure DevOps
6 15 (1.50%) Serverless
7 14 (1.40%) GitHub
8 12 (1.20%) Firebase
9 7 (0.70%) Anthropic Claude
9 7 (0.70%) Cloud Run
10 6 (0.60%) PaaS
11 5 (0.50%) Azure Functions
11 5 (0.50%) GitHub Actions
12 4 (0.40%) Amazon EKS
12 4 (0.40%) AWS Lambda
12 4 (0.40%) Figma
13 3 (0.30%) Azure Key Vault
13 3 (0.30%) Azure Monitor
14 2 (0.20%) Azure AKS
14 2 (0.20%) Dynamics 365
Communications & Networking
1 19 (1.90%) Wireless
2 12 (1.20%) TCP/IP
3 10 (1.00%) ATM
4 9 (0.90%) MQTT
5 6 (0.60%) Wireshark
6 3 (0.30%) Ethernet
7 2 (0.20%) 5G
7 2 (0.20%) HTTP
7 2 (0.20%) Software-Defined Radio
8 1 (0.10%) Broadband
8 1 (0.10%) Internet
8 1 (0.10%) LAN
8 1 (0.10%) Multicast
8 1 (0.10%) Software-Defined Networking
8 1 (0.10%) VoIP
8 1 (0.10%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (3.01%) SQL Server
2 26 (2.61%) PostgreSQL
3 12 (1.20%) MySQL
4 11 (1.10%) MongoDB
5 8 (0.80%) Relational Database
6 7 (0.70%) Pinecone
7 6 (0.60%) Elasticsearch
7 6 (0.60%) Redis
8 2 (0.20%) Data Warehouse
8 2 (0.20%) NoSQL
8 2 (0.20%) RDBMS
9 1 (0.10%) Electronic Patient Records
9 1 (0.10%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 59 (5.91%) Git
2 19 (1.90%) GitLab
3 18 (1.80%) Visual Studio Code
4 10 (1.00%) Jenkins
5 7 (0.70%) JIRA
6 6 (0.60%) CMake
6 6 (0.60%) Yeoman
7 4 (0.40%) Rational Rhapsody
8 3 (0.30%) Bitbucket
8 3 (0.30%) Eclipse
8 3 (0.30%) Eclipse RCP
8 3 (0.30%) JUnit
8 3 (0.30%) PetaLinux
8 3 (0.30%) Visual Studio
9 2 (0.20%) NUnit
9 2 (0.20%) Postman
9 2 (0.20%) SpecFlow
10 1 (0.10%) GDB
10 1 (0.10%) Rational DOORS
10 1 (0.10%) utPLSQL
General
1 83 (8.32%) Manufacturing
2 73 (7.31%) Electronics
3 66 (6.61%) Social Skills
4 40 (4.01%) Aviation
5 38 (3.81%) Aerospace
6 32 (3.21%) Finance
7 19 (1.90%) Analytical Skills
8 15 (1.50%) Telecoms
9 14 (1.40%) Pharmaceutical
9 14 (1.40%) Public Sector
10 13 (1.30%) Games
11 12 (1.20%) Military
12 11 (1.10%) Automotive
13 6 (0.60%) Law
13 6 (0.60%) Organisational Skills
14 4 (0.40%) Digital Health
14 4 (0.40%) Health Technology
15 3 (0.30%) Banking
16 2 (0.20%) Documentation Skills
16 2 (0.20%) Inclusion and Diversity
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 119 (11.92%) .NET
2 50 (5.01%) React
3 32 (3.21%) CSS
4 31 (3.11%) HTML
5 24 (2.40%) Django
5 24 (2.40%) Vue
6 22 (2.20%) AngularJS
7 21 (2.10%) WPF
8 18 (1.80%) Node.js
8 18 (1.80%) Terraform
9 17 (1.70%) REST
10 14 (1.40%) JSON
11 13 (1.30%) ASP.NET
11 13 (1.30%) WebSockets
12 12 (1.20%) XML
13 11 (1.10%) Unreal Engine
14 8 (0.80%) Yocto
15 7 (0.70%) .NET Core
15 7 (0.70%) Kafka
15 7 (0.70%) pgvector
Miscellaneous
1 48 (4.81%) Algorithms
2 35 (3.51%) Robotics
3 34 (3.41%) Embedded Systems
4 24 (2.40%) Product Ownership
5 23 (2.30%) Cloud Native
6 20 (2.00%) Distributed Computing
7 15 (1.50%) IoT
8 13 (1.30%) AI Agents
8 13 (1.30%) Data Structures
8 13 (1.30%) Distributed Systems
9 12 (1.20%) Self-Motivation
10 10 (1.00%) Client/Server
11 8 (0.80%) Enterprise Software
12 7 (0.70%) Life Science
13 6 (0.60%) Legacy Systems
14 5 (0.50%) Management Information System
14 5 (0.50%) Smart Energy
15 4 (0.40%) Driving Licence
15 4 (0.40%) FPGA
15 4 (0.40%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 100 (10.02%) Linux
2 24 (2.40%) Windows
3 10 (1.00%) Embedded Linux
4 5 (0.50%) Debian
5 3 (0.30%) FreeRTOS
5 3 (0.30%) Gentoo
6 2 (0.20%) Robot Operating System
7 1 (0.10%) Android
7 1 (0.10%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 991 (99.30%) Software Engineering
2 120 (12.02%) Agile
3 100 (10.02%) AI
4 90 (9.02%) CI/CD
5 78 (7.82%) Full-Stack Development
6 77 (7.72%) Computer Science
7 73 (7.31%) DevOps
8 69 (6.91%) Problem-Solving
9 64 (6.41%) Mentoring
10 56 (5.61%) SDLC
11 55 (5.51%) Containerisation
12 54 (5.41%) Software Architecture
12 54 (5.41%) Test Automation
13 48 (4.81%) Machine Learning
14 44 (4.41%) Microservices
15 41 (4.11%) Continuous Improvement
16 38 (3.81%) Code Quality
17 32 (3.21%) Data Science
17 32 (3.21%) Embedded Software Development
18 30 (3.01%) Software Testing
Programming Languages
1 248 (24.85%) C++
2 205 (20.54%) C#
3 201 (20.14%) Python
4 84 (8.42%) C
5 67 (6.71%) TypeScript
6 66 (6.61%) JavaScript
7 47 (4.71%) Java
8 43 (4.31%) SQL
9 28 (2.81%) Rust
10 18 (1.80%) Go
11 11 (1.10%) Ada
12 8 (0.80%) PHP
13 6 (0.60%) MATLAB
13 6 (0.60%) PL/SQL
13 6 (0.60%) T-SQL
14 5 (0.50%) Embedded C++
14 5 (0.50%) Ruby
15 4 (0.40%) Bash
15 4 (0.40%) VB.NET
16 3 (0.30%) Julia
Qualifications
1 164 (16.43%) Degree
2 121 (12.12%) Security Cleared
3 87 (8.72%) SC Cleared
4 80 (8.02%) Computer Science Degree
5 42 (4.21%) Master's Degree
6 32 (3.21%) DV Cleared
7 23 (2.30%) PhD
8 8 (0.80%) Azure Certification
8 8 (0.80%) BPSS Clearance
9 3 (0.30%) HNC
9 3 (0.30%) HND
10 2 (0.20%) AWS Certification
10 2 (0.20%) Microsoft Certification
10 2 (0.20%) Numerate Degree
10 2 (0.20%) NVQ Level 3
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (1.70%) QA
2 4 (0.40%) DO-178B
3 3 (0.30%) ECSS
3 3 (0.30%) GAMP
4 2 (0.20%) AUTOSAR
4 2 (0.20%) GDPR
4 2 (0.20%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 2 (0.20%) MISRA
4 2 (0.20%) MISRA C
System Software
1 74 (7.41%) Docker
2 31 (3.11%) Firmware
3 11 (1.10%) Embedded Firmware
4 8 (0.80%) Virtual Machines
5 6 (0.60%) KVM
5 6 (0.60%) VMware Infrastructure
6 5 (0.50%) Hyper-V
7 2 (0.20%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 43 (4.31%) Kubernetes
2 15 (1.50%) Ansible
3 6 (0.60%) Podman
4 2 (0.20%) Puppet
Vendors
1 16 (1.60%) Oracle
2 10 (1.00%) Microsoft
2 10 (1.00%) Salesforce
3 6 (0.60%) VMware
4 4 (0.40%) Google
5 3 (0.30%) Allen-Bradley
5 3 (0.30%) Sage
5 3 (0.30%) Siemens
5 3 (0.30%) Wonderware
5 3 (0.30%) Xilinx
6 2 (0.20%) Atlassian
6 2 (0.20%) ServiceNow
6 2 (0.20%) 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