GSM Job Trends

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring GSM skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 14 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 641 458 704
Rank change year-on-year -183 +246 +268
Permanent jobs citing GSM 12 252 17
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.020% 0.47% 0.031%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 0.13% 3.52% 0.22%
Number of salaries quoted 10 16 17
10th Percentile £37,500 £38,000 £35,900
25th Percentile £40,938 £45,000 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.55% - -38.89%
75th Percentile £59,688 £70,000 £66,250
90th Percentile £83,625 - £66,750
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -4.55% - -12.00%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK

GSM falls under the Communications and Computer Networking category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring communications or computer networking skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 9,596 7,151 7,860
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 16.00% 13.36% 14.12%
Number of salaries quoted 3,882 3,712 6,352
10th Percentile £25,250 £31,250 £26,500
25th Percentile £28,250 £39,625 £34,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £38,500 £55,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +10.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £62,500 £71,250 £67,500
90th Percentile £81,250 £87,500 £82,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £33,750 £50,000 £45,000
% change year-on-year -32.50% +11.11% -

GSM
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing GSM relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

GSM job vacancy trend in the UK

GSM
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing GSM.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing GSM

GSM
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing GSM over the 6 months to 14 January 2026.

Salary histogram for GSM in the UK

GSM
Top 6 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing GSM within the UK over the 6 months to 14 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
England -156 12 £52,500 -19.23% 3
UK excluding London -160 12 £52,500 -4.55% 1
West Midlands +16 5 £52,500 -19.23%
Midlands -22 5 £52,500 -19.23%
South East -55 5 £40,000 - 1
East of England -52 2 £83,750 +120.39%

GSM
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:

Applications
1 3 (25.00%) Microsoft Excel
1 3 (25.00%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Cloud Services
1 2 (16.67%) Azure
2 1 (8.33%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 5 (41.67%) TETRA
2 4 (33.33%) 3G
2 4 (33.33%) 4G
2 4 (33.33%) 5G
2 4 (33.33%) GPRS
2 4 (33.33%) LTE
2 4 (33.33%) Modbus
2 4 (33.33%) RS-232
2 4 (33.33%) RS-485
2 4 (33.33%) SSL
2 4 (33.33%) TCP/IP
2 4 (33.33%) Wireless
3 3 (25.00%) UMTS
4 1 (8.33%) Bluetooth
4 1 (8.33%) Broadband
4 1 (8.33%) UWB
4 1 (8.33%) Wi-Fi
General
1 4 (33.33%) Analytical Skills
1 4 (33.33%) Electronics
1 4 (33.33%) Social Skills
2 3 (25.00%) Manufacturing
3 2 (16.67%) Automotive
3 2 (16.67%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 4 (33.33%) RF Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) Network Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) Network Support
2 3 (25.00%) Network Support Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) NOC Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) Radio Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) Radio Network Engineer
2 3 (25.00%) Support Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) C Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) C++ Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded C Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded C Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded C/C++ Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded C/C++ Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded C++ Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded C++ Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded Linux Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Embedded Software Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Linux Engineer
3 2 (16.67%) Software Engineer
Miscellaneous
1 2 (16.67%) Analytical Mindset
1 2 (16.67%) IoT
1 2 (16.67%) Product Ownership
2 1 (8.33%) 3D Printing
2 1 (8.33%) Arduino
2 1 (8.33%) GNSS
Operating Systems
1 5 (41.67%) Linux
2 4 (33.33%) Embedded Linux
2 4 (33.33%) FreeRTOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 6 (50.00%) Software Engineering
2 5 (41.67%) Agile
3 4 (33.33%) Embedded Software Development
3 4 (33.33%) Problem-Solving
3 4 (33.33%) Secure Coding
3 4 (33.33%) Test Automation
4 3 (25.00%) ITIL
4 3 (25.00%) Network Management
5 2 (16.67%) Analytical Thinking
5 2 (16.67%) API Testing
5 2 (16.67%) Telematics
5 2 (16.67%) User Acceptance Testing
5 2 (16.67%) Validation
6 1 (8.33%) Collaborative Working
6 1 (8.33%) Performance Testing
6 1 (8.33%) Power Management
6 1 (8.33%) Product Roadmap
6 1 (8.33%) Roadmaps
6 1 (8.33%) Security Operations
6 1 (8.33%) Technology Roadmap
Programming Languages
1 4 (33.33%) C
1 4 (33.33%) C++
2 2 (16.67%) Embedded C++
Qualifications
1 2 (16.67%) Degree
2 1 (8.33%) DV Cleared
2 1 (8.33%) HND
2 1 (8.33%) Master's Degree
2 1 (8.33%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 4 (33.33%) MISRA
2 2 (16.67%) QA
System Software
1 4 (33.33%) Embedded Firmware
1 4 (33.33%) Firmware
Vendors
1 3 (25.00%) Microsoft
2 2 (16.67%) EMC