Graduate Software Engineer Job Trends

Graduate Software Engineer
UK

The median Graduate Software Engineer salary in the UK is £30,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 27 May 2026.

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

 6 months to
27 May 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 677 629 820
Rank change year-on-year -48 +191 +85
Permanent jobs requiring a Graduate Software Engineer 59 19 70
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.063% 0.045% 0.071%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.068% 0.050% 0.075%
Number of salaries quoted 51 19 53
10th Percentile £28,000 £26,250 £26,250
25th Percentile - £29,000 £28,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £30,000 £33,500 £32,500
Median % change year-on-year -10.45% +3.08% -7.14%
75th Percentile £44,500 £36,875 £38,500
90th Percentile £55,000 £44,375 £55,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £30,000 £32,500 £32,500
% change year-on-year -7.69% - -7.14%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies. 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 UK with a recognized job title 86,844 37,958 93,943
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 93.41% 89.30% 94.71%
Number of salaries quoted 57,790 21,252 68,852
10th Percentile £30,000 £29,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £40,500 £38,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £57,500 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -4.35% +9.52% -12.50%
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £70,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £100,000 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £51,058 £50,000
% change year-on-year -2.07% +2.12% -6.54%

Graduate Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Graduate Software Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

Graduate Software Engineer
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for Graduate Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Salary distribution trend for Graduate Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK

Graduate Software Engineer
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Graduate Software Engineer over the 6 months to 27 May 2026.

Salary histogram for Graduate Software Engineer in the UK

Graduate Software Engineer
Top 14 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Graduate Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 27 May 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
UK excluding London -26 47 £30,000 -7.69% 7
England -28 47 £32,500 - 9
North of England - 11 £30,000 -
South East -13 10 £35,000 +4.48% 2
London - 8 £65,500 - 4
Wales - 8 £30,000 - 1
Work from Home +23 7 £65,000 +116.67% 7
South West - 7 £28,000 - 1
North East - 7 £30,000 -
East of England -21 6 £45,000 +38.46% 1
Midlands -31 5 £30,000 - 2
East Midlands - 5 £30,000 - 1
North West - 3 £32,000 -
Yorkshire - 1 £34,000 -

Graduate Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 27 May 2026, Graduate 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 featuring Graduate Software Engineer in the job title.

1 57 (96.61%) Software Engineering
2 27 (45.76%) Degree
3 24 (40.68%) Computer Science
4 22 (37.29%) C++
5 15 (25.42%) Python
6 14 (23.73%) Computer Science Degree
7 13 (22.03%) C#
7 13 (22.03%) Problem-Solving
8 12 (20.34%) Mathematics
9 11 (18.64%) JavaScript
10 9 (15.25%) Java
11 8 (13.56%) C
11 8 (13.56%) HTML
12 7 (11.86%) AI
12 7 (11.86%) OOP
12 7 (11.86%) Physics
13 6 (10.17%) .NET
13 6 (10.17%) Security Cleared
14 5 (8.47%) Fintech
14 5 (8.47%) Mentoring
14 5 (8.47%) OO
14 5 (8.47%) React
14 5 (8.47%) Web Development
15 4 (6.78%) ArcGIS
15 4 (6.78%) AWS
15 4 (6.78%) Azure
15 4 (6.78%) DevOps
15 4 (6.78%) ESRI
15 4 (6.78%) Firmware
15 4 (6.78%) Geospatial Data

Graduate Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 4 (6.78%) ArcGIS
2 1 (1.69%) Apache
2 1 (1.69%) Apache Spark
Cloud Services
1 4 (6.78%) AWS
1 4 (6.78%) Azure
2 3 (5.08%) SaaS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (6.78%) Geospatial Data
1 4 (6.78%) GIS
1 4 (6.78%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 4 (6.78%) Git
General
1 14 (23.73%) Finance
2 11 (18.64%) Electronics
3 8 (13.56%) Aerospace
3 8 (13.56%) Automotive
3 8 (13.56%) Manufacturing
4 4 (6.78%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 4 (6.78%) Military
4 4 (6.78%) Social Skills
5 3 (5.08%) Presentation Skills
6 1 (1.69%) Pharmaceutical
6 1 (1.69%) Retail
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (13.56%) HTML
2 6 (10.17%) .NET
3 5 (8.47%) React
4 4 (6.78%) Leaflet
4 4 (6.78%) MapLibre
4 4 (6.78%) OpenLayers
4 4 (6.78%) PostGIS
5 1 (1.69%) .NET Core
5 1 (1.69%) Ajax
5 1 (1.69%) CSS
5 1 (1.69%) CSS3
5 1 (1.69%) FastAPI
5 1 (1.69%) Flask
5 1 (1.69%) HTML5
5 1 (1.69%) JSON
Miscellaneous
1 9 (15.25%) Algorithms
2 7 (11.86%) Hedge funds
3 4 (6.78%) e-Learning
4 3 (5.08%) Self-Motivation
5 2 (3.39%) Client/Server
5 2 (3.39%) Data Structures
6 1 (1.69%) Distributed Systems
6 1 (1.69%) Driving Licence
6 1 (1.69%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 2 (3.39%) Linux
2 1 (1.69%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 57 (96.61%) Software Engineering
2 24 (40.68%) Computer Science
3 13 (22.03%) Problem-Solving
4 12 (20.34%) Mathematics
5 7 (11.86%) AI
5 7 (11.86%) OOP
5 7 (11.86%) Physics
6 5 (8.47%) Fintech
6 5 (8.47%) Mentoring
6 5 (8.47%) OO
6 5 (8.47%) Web Development
7 4 (6.78%) DevOps
7 4 (6.78%) Open Source
7 4 (6.78%) Spatial Analysis
8 3 (5.08%) Cybersecurity
8 3 (5.08%) Investment Management
8 3 (5.08%) Low Latency
8 3 (5.08%) SDLC
9 2 (3.39%) Design Patterns
9 2 (3.39%) Regulatory Compliance
Programming Languages
1 22 (37.29%) C++
2 15 (25.42%) Python
3 13 (22.03%) C#
4 11 (18.64%) JavaScript
5 9 (15.25%) Java
6 8 (13.56%) C
7 4 (6.78%) SQL
8 3 (5.08%) Rust
8 3 (5.08%) TypeScript
9 2 (3.39%) Go
10 1 (1.69%) PL/SQL
Qualifications
1 27 (45.76%) Degree
2 14 (23.73%) Computer Science Degree
3 6 (10.17%) Security Cleared
4 1 (1.69%) Chartered Engineer
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 4 (6.78%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 4 (6.78%) Firmware
Vendors
1 4 (6.78%) ESRI
2 2 (3.39%) Microsoft
Graduate Software Engineer jobs