NIST Job Trends

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring NIST 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 183 218 279
Rank change year-on-year +35 +61 +52
Permanent jobs citing NIST 794 732 583
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 1.32% 1.37% 1.05%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 10.12% 8.47% 7.21%
Number of salaries quoted 467 423 483
10th Percentile £47,939 £43,750 £43,750
25th Percentile £53,875 £52,500 £52,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £71,000 £72,500 £67,500
Median % change year-on-year -2.07% +7.41% -3.57%
75th Percentile £90,000 £87,500 £79,375
90th Percentile £105,000 £103,500 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £65,000 £62,500 £58,000
% change year-on-year +4.00% +7.76% -10.77%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK

NIST falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 7,842 8,646 8,085
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 13.07% 16.16% 14.52%
Number of salaries quoted 4,375 3,830 5,921
10th Percentile £30,370 £31,925 £30,318
25th Percentile £41,250 £43,250 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £58,500 £60,000 £57,965
Median % change year-on-year -2.50% +3.51% +0.81%
75th Percentile £78,750 £78,750 £76,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £96,250 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -

NIST
Job Vacancy Trend

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

NIST job vacancy trend in the UK

NIST
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NIST.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NIST

NIST
Salary Histogram

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

Salary histogram for NIST in the UK

NIST
Top 16 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing NIST 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 +45 727 £70,000 -4.44% 320
UK excluding London +38 456 £65,000 +4.00% 290
Work from Home +150 425 £70,000 +9.80% 227
London +61 311 £87,500 +2.94% 121
South West +63 128 £60,000 -11.11% 45
South East +23 96 £65,000 -9.09% 91
Midlands +51 83 £62,500 +9.65% 34
North of England -56 68 £57,500 +9.52% 48
West Midlands +24 43 £66,250 +26.19% 11
East Midlands +19 39 £51,058 -11.20% 22
Scotland -4 39 £72,500 +21.34% 26
North West -31 34 £60,000 +4.75% 31
East of England +33 29 £71,250 -2.73% 36
Yorkshire -28 28 £55,000 +4.76% 15
Wales +24 15 £73,963 -12.99% 17
North East +12 6 £78,000 +111.00% 2

NIST
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 19 (2.39%) SharePoint
2 16 (2.02%) IIS
3 13 (1.64%) Microsoft Exchange
4 2 (0.25%) Confluence
Applications
1 5 (0.63%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (0.25%) Microsoft Excel
2 2 (0.25%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.13%) GNU Octave
3 1 (0.13%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 3 (0.38%) SAP GRC
2 1 (0.13%) Elite 3E
Cloud Services
1 255 (32.12%) Azure
2 127 (15.99%) AWS
3 85 (10.71%) Entra ID
4 65 (8.19%) Microsoft 365
5 42 (5.29%) GCP
6 38 (4.79%) Google Workspace
7 32 (4.03%) Azure Sentinel
8 28 (3.53%) Microsoft Purview
9 25 (3.15%) PaaS
10 24 (3.02%) Nutanix
11 20 (2.52%) Azure DevOps
11 20 (2.52%) SaaS
12 16 (2.02%) Power Platform
13 13 (1.64%) Slack
14 10 (1.26%) Amazon GuardDuty
15 8 (1.01%) AWS CloudFormation
16 6 (0.76%) Azure Logic Apps
17 5 (0.63%) Azure ExpressRoute
17 5 (0.63%) Cloud Computing
17 5 (0.63%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 79 (9.95%) Firewall
2 75 (9.45%) Network Security
3 35 (4.41%) Broadband
4 34 (4.28%) VPN
5 29 (3.65%) WAN
6 21 (2.64%) SD-WAN
7 15 (1.89%) LAN
8 14 (1.76%) CHAP
9 13 (1.64%) Wi-Fi
10 12 (1.51%) Intrusion Detection
10 12 (1.51%) Wireshark
11 10 (1.26%) VoIP
12 9 (1.13%) DMZ
13 8 (1.01%) DNS
13 8 (1.01%) SSL
14 7 (0.88%) Modbus
14 7 (0.88%) Unified Communications
15 6 (0.76%) TCP/IP
16 4 (0.50%) Remote Desktop
17 3 (0.38%) EIGRP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (2.77%) Tableau
2 16 (2.02%) Power BI
3 4 (0.50%) Data Warehouse
4 3 (0.38%) Pentaho
4 3 (0.38%) Snowflake Schema
4 3 (0.38%) Star Schema
5 1 (0.13%) Data Lake
5 1 (0.13%) DB2
5 1 (0.13%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.13%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 16 (2.02%) JIRA
2 5 (0.63%) GitLab
3 2 (0.25%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.13%) Git
General
1 251 (31.61%) Social Skills
2 247 (31.11%) Finance
3 118 (14.86%) Analytical Skills
4 93 (11.71%) Banking
5 70 (8.82%) Public Sector
6 66 (8.31%) Organisational Skills
7 55 (6.93%) Legal
8 54 (6.80%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 49 (6.17%) Influencing Skills
9 49 (6.17%) Telecoms
10 46 (5.79%) Manufacturing
11 45 (5.67%) Law
12 43 (5.42%) Marketing
13 40 (5.04%) Electronics
14 37 (4.66%) Presentation Skills
15 26 (3.27%) Retail
16 25 (3.15%) Games
17 23 (2.90%) Financial Institution
18 12 (1.51%) Documentation Skills
19 4 (0.50%) Aviation
Job Titles
1 148 (18.64%) Lead
2 98 (12.34%) Consultant
3 93 (11.71%) Analyst
4 90 (11.34%) Security Consultant
4 90 (11.34%) Senior
5 81 (10.20%) Security Engineer
6 65 (8.19%) Security Analyst
7 60 (7.56%) Security Manager
8 46 (5.79%) Cybersecurity Consultant
9 41 (5.16%) Architect
10 30 (3.78%) Cybersecurity Engineer
10 30 (3.78%) Head of Security
11 29 (3.65%) Security Architect
12 27 (3.40%) Information Analyst
12 27 (3.40%) Information Security Analyst
13 25 (3.15%) Head of IT
14 23 (2.90%) Cybersecurity Manager
14 23 (2.90%) Security Specialist
15 22 (2.77%) Cybersecurity Analyst
15 22 (2.77%) Senior Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (4.41%) OAuth
1 35 (4.41%) SAML
2 34 (4.28%) GraphQL
2 34 (4.28%) REST
2 34 (4.28%) SOAP
3 33 (4.16%) LDAP
3 33 (4.16%) OpenID
4 26 (3.27%) SAP CAF
5 22 (2.77%) YAML
6 8 (1.01%) JSON
6 8 (1.01%) SailPoint
7 6 (0.76%) React
7 6 (0.76%) Spring Boot
8 5 (0.63%) EDI
9 4 (0.50%) PyTorch
9 4 (0.50%) TensorFlow
10 3 (0.38%) PySpark
11 2 (0.25%) ARM Templates
11 2 (0.25%) Microsoft Graph
11 2 (0.25%) SLSA
Miscellaneous
1 137 (17.25%) Cyber Threat
2 132 (16.62%) Security Posture
3 97 (12.22%) Operational Technology
4 96 (12.09%) Management Information System
5 93 (11.71%) Security Operations Centre
6 92 (11.59%) Cyber Kill Chain
7 36 (4.53%) Cyberattack
8 32 (4.03%) Cloud Native
9 30 (3.78%) Hybrid Cloud
10 25 (3.15%) Cyber Defence
11 20 (2.52%) Analytical Mindset
12 16 (2.02%) CESG
13 14 (1.76%) Enterprise Software
14 13 (1.64%) PKI
15 12 (1.51%) Cloud Security Posture
16 10 (1.26%) Onboarding
17 9 (1.13%) Hedge funds
17 9 (1.13%) Product Ownership
17 9 (1.13%) SCADA
18 8 (1.01%) Cyber Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 58 (7.30%) Windows
2 41 (5.16%) Linux
3 16 (2.02%) Windows Server
4 13 (1.64%) Mac OS
5 8 (1.01%) Unix
6 2 (0.25%) Android
6 2 (0.25%) Windows 10
7 1 (0.13%) AIX
7 1 (0.13%) Kali Linux
7 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
7 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2016
7 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 460 (57.93%) Cybersecurity
2 348 (43.83%) Risk Management
3 280 (35.26%) Information Security
4 242 (30.48%) Vulnerability Management
5 202 (25.44%) Roadmaps
6 182 (22.92%) Incident Response
6 182 (22.92%) Mentoring
7 158 (19.90%) Security Operations
8 140 (17.63%) Stakeholder Management
9 134 (16.88%) SIEM
10 125 (15.74%) Continuous Improvement
11 124 (15.62%) Threat Intelligence
12 115 (14.48%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
13 109 (13.73%) Coaching
13 109 (13.73%) ITIL
14 106 (13.35%) Cloud Security
15 101 (12.72%) Risk Assessment
16 86 (10.83%) Problem-Solving
17 85 (10.71%) Business Strategy
18 84 (10.58%) Threat and Vulnerability Management
Programming Languages
1 131 (16.50%) PowerShell
2 76 (9.57%) Python
3 58 (7.30%) Bash
4 32 (4.03%) SQL
4 32 (4.03%) T-SQL
5 15 (1.89%) Go
6 8 (1.01%) Kusto Query Language
7 7 (0.88%) Java
8 4 (0.50%) Bicep
9 3 (0.38%) C
9 3 (0.38%) C++
10 1 (0.13%) C#
Qualifications
1 316 (39.80%) CISSP
2 204 (25.69%) CISM
3 128 (16.12%) CISA
4 126 (15.87%) Degree
5 120 (15.11%) Security Cleared
6 97 (12.22%) CRISC
7 81 (10.20%) SC Cleared
8 55 (6.93%) Cisco Certification
9 50 (6.30%) CEH
10 41 (5.16%) CompTIA Security+
11 37 (4.66%) Computer Science Degree
11 37 (4.66%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
12 32 (4.03%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 31 (3.90%) DV Cleared
14 30 (3.78%) Azure Certification
15 29 (3.65%) AWS Certification
15 29 (3.65%) Master's Degree
16 25 (3.15%) CESG Certified Professional
16 25 (3.15%) CGEIT
17 24 (3.02%) GIAC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 551 (69.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 172 (21.66%) GDPR
3 138 (17.38%) Cyber Essentials
4 133 (16.75%) PCI DSS
5 131 (16.50%) GRC
6 128 (16.12%) NCSC
7 77 (9.70%) ISO/IEC 27005
8 49 (6.17%) NIST 800
9 48 (6.05%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 42 (5.29%) COBIT
11 41 (5.16%) SOC 2
12 33 (4.16%) JSP 440
13 23 (2.90%) Sarbanes-Oxley
14 18 (2.27%) ISO/IEC 42001
15 16 (2.02%) Accessibility
15 16 (2.02%) HMG Security Policy Framework
15 16 (2.02%) RMADS
16 15 (1.89%) Data Quality
16 15 (1.89%) ISO 22301
16 15 (1.89%) ITGC
System Software
1 63 (7.93%) Active Directory
2 17 (2.14%) Virtual Machines
3 14 (1.76%) VMware Infrastructure
4 8 (1.01%) Virtual Desktop
5 7 (0.88%) Hyper-V
6 6 (0.76%) Docker
7 2 (0.25%) Firmware
7 2 (0.25%) GPFS
7 2 (0.25%) Lustre
7 2 (0.25%) Slurm Workload Manager
8 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
8 1 (0.13%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.13%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 30 (3.78%) Microsoft Intune
1 30 (3.78%) Terraform
2 16 (2.02%) Single Sign-On
3 13 (1.64%) CASB
3 13 (1.64%) Kubernetes
4 10 (1.26%) RSA Archer
5 9 (1.13%) QRadar
5 9 (1.13%) SCCM
6 8 (1.01%) Ansible
7 5 (0.63%) Nessus
8 3 (0.38%) ArcSight ESM
9 2 (0.25%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
9 2 (0.25%) CSIRT
9 2 (0.25%) SELinux
9 2 (0.25%) Suricata
9 2 (0.25%) WSUS
10 1 (0.13%) Nmap
10 1 (0.13%) Progress Chef
10 1 (0.13%) Puppet
10 1 (0.13%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 140 (17.63%) Microsoft
2 43 (5.42%) SAP
3 28 (3.53%) VMware
4 25 (3.15%) ServiceNow
4 25 (3.15%) Tenable
5 20 (2.52%) Google
6 19 (2.39%) Splunk
7 14 (1.76%) Commvault
7 14 (1.76%) Qualys
8 12 (1.51%) Cisco
9 11 (1.39%) CrowdStrike
9 11 (1.39%) CyberArk
10 7 (0.88%) Progress
11 6 (0.76%) Carbon Black
12 5 (0.63%) ArcSight
12 5 (0.63%) Darktrace
12 5 (0.63%) Okta
13 4 (0.50%) Foundry
13 4 (0.50%) Palo Alto
14 3 (0.38%) MuleSoft