Security Operations Job Trends

Security Operations (SecOps)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring Security Operations skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 5 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
5 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 281 263 284
Rank change year-on-year -18 +21 +10
Permanent jobs citing Security Operations 462 680 563
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.83% 1.07% 1.12%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.99% 1.24% 1.20%
Number of salaries quoted 279 441 453
10th Percentile £40,000 £42,500 £38,750
25th Percentile £50,750 £47,500 £51,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £67,500 £65,000 £65,000
Median % change year-on-year +3.85% - -3.70%
75th Percentile £82,500 £82,500 £75,000
90th Percentile £98,000 £100,000 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £61,250 £57,000 £62,500
% change year-on-year +7.46% -8.80% -

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

Security Operations falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 46,704 54,735 46,950
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 83.99% 86.52% 93.73%
Number of salaries quoted 28,159 28,437 36,165
10th Percentile £28,250 £35,000 £32,500
25th Percentile £36,250 £45,000 £43,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% - -
75th Percentile £75,000 £80,000 £80,000
90th Percentile £95,000 £99,000 £99,700
UK excluding London median annual salary £47,500 £55,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -13.64% +4.76% -1.15%

Security Operations
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Security Operations job vacancy trend in the UK

Security Operations
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Security Operations.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Security Operations

Security Operations
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Security Operations over the 6 months to 5 December 2025.

Salary histogram for Security Operations in the UK

Security Operations
Top 17 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Security Operations within the UK over the 6 months to 5 December 2025. 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 -4 428 £68,500 +5.38% 166
UK excluding London +9 282 £61,250 +7.46% 136
Work from Home +45 217 £67,500 +12.50% 82
London -21 153 £77,500 +3.33% 66
South East +33 98 £65,000 +8.33% 56
Midlands +74 60 £52,500 +2.44% 19
North of England -28 52 £56,250 +7.14% 20
West Midlands +44 42 £52,500 +2.44% 11
East of England +22 30 £75,000 +25.00% 17
North West +16 27 £55,000 - 14
South West +8 26 £62,500 -28.57% 22
East Midlands +25 18 £60,000 - 8
Yorkshire -46 16 £38,750 -26.19% 3
North East +10 9 £87,500 +73.93% 3
Scotland -20 9 £75,000 +33.33% 3
Wales +6 5 £63,250 -10.04% 4
Northern Ireland +2 3 £32,500 -35.40%

Security Operations
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 13 (2.81%) SharePoint
2 9 (1.95%) Microsoft Exchange
3 1 (0.22%) Confluence
3 1 (0.22%) IIS
Applications
1 7 (1.52%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.87%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 1 (0.22%) Elite 3E
Cloud Services
1 106 (22.94%) Azure
2 70 (15.15%) AWS
3 47 (10.17%) Microsoft 365
4 29 (6.28%) Azure Sentinel
5 25 (5.41%) GCP
6 22 (4.76%) Entra ID
7 12 (2.60%) SaaS
8 11 (2.38%) Mimecast
9 10 (2.16%) PaaS
10 9 (1.95%) Microsoft Purview
11 7 (1.52%) Azure DevOps
11 7 (1.52%) Tessian
12 6 (1.30%) IaaS
13 5 (1.08%) Amazon ECS
13 5 (1.08%) GitHub
14 4 (0.87%) GitHub Actions
15 3 (0.65%) Google App Engine
16 2 (0.43%) Amazon GuardDuty
16 2 (0.43%) Dynamics 365
16 2 (0.43%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 81 (17.53%) Firewall
2 59 (12.77%) Network Security
3 31 (6.71%) DNS
4 30 (6.49%) VPN
5 27 (5.84%) Intrusion Detection
6 23 (4.98%) TCP/IP
7 19 (4.11%) DHCP
8 11 (2.38%) SAN
9 7 (1.52%) Wireshark
10 6 (1.30%) WAN
11 4 (0.87%) LAN
11 4 (0.87%) Wireless
12 3 (0.65%) DMARC
13 2 (0.43%) DKIM
13 2 (0.43%) HTTP
13 2 (0.43%) Wi-Fi
14 1 (0.22%) Bluetooth
14 1 (0.22%) FTP
14 1 (0.22%) SMTP
14 1 (0.22%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (0.65%) Elasticsearch
1 3 (0.65%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.43%) Metadata
3 1 (0.22%) Apache Cassandra
3 1 (0.22%) DTS
3 1 (0.22%) GIS
3 1 (0.22%) MongoDB
3 1 (0.22%) MySQL
3 1 (0.22%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 3 (0.65%) JIRA
2 1 (0.22%) Burp Suite
2 1 (0.22%) CircleCI
2 1 (0.22%) Git
2 1 (0.22%) IDA Disassembler
2 1 (0.22%) Jenkins
2 1 (0.22%) MSBuild
General
1 140 (30.30%) Social Skills
2 81 (17.53%) Finance
3 75 (16.23%) Analytical Skills
4 28 (6.06%) Inclusion and Diversity
5 20 (4.33%) Legal
5 20 (4.33%) Public Sector
6 18 (3.90%) Law
7 15 (3.25%) Banking
8 13 (2.81%) Documentation Skills
9 10 (2.16%) Financial Institution
9 10 (2.16%) Influencing Skills
10 9 (1.95%) Advertising
11 7 (1.52%) Retail
12 6 (1.30%) Back Office
13 5 (1.08%) Local Government
13 5 (1.08%) Police
13 5 (1.08%) Telecoms
14 4 (0.87%) Organisational Skills
14 4 (0.87%) Presentation Skills
15 3 (0.65%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 125 (27.06%) Lead
2 91 (19.70%) Analyst
3 65 (14.07%) Security Engineer
4 63 (13.64%) Security Analyst
5 54 (11.69%) Senior
6 45 (9.74%) Security Manager
7 27 (5.84%) Cybersecurity Engineer
7 27 (5.84%) Operations Manager
8 25 (5.41%) Operational Security Manager
8 25 (5.41%) Security Operations Manager
8 25 (5.41%) SOC Analyst
9 24 (5.19%) Cybersecurity Analyst
10 21 (4.55%) Senior Analyst
11 20 (4.33%) Cybersecurity Manager
12 19 (4.11%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 18 (3.90%) SOC Manager
14 16 (3.46%) Senior Security Engineer
15 15 (3.25%) Senior Security Analyst
16 14 (3.03%) Information Analyst
16 14 (3.03%) Information Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 7 (1.52%) Elastic Stack
2 6 (1.30%) .NET
3 5 (1.08%) ARM Templates
3 5 (1.08%) Software Packaging
4 4 (0.87%) OpenTelemetry
5 3 (0.65%) HTML
5 3 (0.65%) React
6 2 (0.43%) ADO.NET
6 2 (0.43%) AWS CDK
6 2 (0.43%) Django
6 2 (0.43%) EDI
6 2 (0.43%) OAuth
6 2 (0.43%) OpenID
6 2 (0.43%) REST
6 2 (0.43%) SAML
7 1 (0.22%) ASP.NET
7 1 (0.22%) Flash
7 1 (0.22%) LDAP
Miscellaneous
1 180 (38.96%) Security Operations Centre
2 140 (30.30%) Cyber Threat
3 77 (16.67%) Cyber Kill Chain
4 73 (15.80%) Operational Technology
5 65 (14.07%) Security Posture
6 18 (3.90%) Cyber Defence
6 18 (3.90%) Management Information System
7 10 (2.16%) Data Centre
7 10 (2.16%) Virtual Team
8 9 (1.95%) Cyberattack
8 9 (1.95%) Hybrid Cloud
9 8 (1.73%) Cloud Native
9 8 (1.73%) Data Protection Act
9 8 (1.73%) Insider Threat
10 7 (1.52%) Onboarding
10 7 (1.52%) Self-Motivation
11 6 (1.30%) Cloud Security Posture
12 5 (1.08%) Cyber Security Posture
12 5 (1.08%) NHS
13 4 (0.87%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 72 (15.58%) Windows
2 46 (9.96%) Linux
3 25 (5.41%) Windows Server
4 11 (2.38%) Windows Server 2019
5 10 (2.16%) Windows Server 2012
6 4 (0.87%) Windows 10
7 3 (0.65%) Mac OS
8 2 (0.43%) Unix
9 1 (0.22%) Kali Linux
9 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 200 (43.29%) Cybersecurity
2 183 (39.61%) Incident Response
3 156 (33.77%) SIEM
4 147 (31.82%) Vulnerability Management
5 145 (31.39%) Threat Intelligence
6 127 (27.49%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
7 112 (24.24%) Information Security
8 102 (22.08%) Risk Management
9 99 (21.43%) ITIL
10 98 (21.21%) Mentoring
11 93 (20.13%) Roadmaps
12 91 (19.70%) Threat and Vulnerability Management
13 88 (19.05%) Stakeholder Management
14 84 (18.18%) Cyber Intelligence
15 80 (17.32%) Business Strategy
15 80 (17.32%) Problem-Solving
16 77 (16.67%) Continuous Improvement
17 71 (15.37%) Coaching
18 70 (15.15%) Technology Roadmap
19 69 (14.94%) Change Advisory Board
Programming Languages
1 41 (8.87%) Python
2 37 (8.01%) PowerShell
3 17 (3.68%) Bash
3 17 (3.68%) Kusto Query Language
4 15 (3.25%) SQL
5 6 (1.30%) Bicep
6 4 (0.87%) C#
7 3 (0.65%) Java
8 2 (0.43%) Perl
9 1 (0.22%) C
9 1 (0.22%) C++
9 1 (0.22%) JavaScript
9 1 (0.22%) PHP
9 1 (0.22%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 74 (16.02%) CISSP
2 73 (15.80%) Degree
3 66 (14.29%) Security Cleared
4 49 (10.61%) SC Cleared
5 45 (9.74%) CompTIA Security+
6 28 (6.06%) Cisco Certification
6 28 (6.06%) CISM
7 22 (4.76%) GIAC
8 21 (4.55%) CCNA
9 20 (4.33%) GCIA
9 20 (4.33%) GCIH
10 18 (3.90%) CCNP
10 18 (3.90%) CEH
10 18 (3.90%) DV Cleared
11 14 (3.03%) Computer Science Degree
12 13 (2.81%) CompTIA CySA+
13 12 (2.60%) Microsoft Certification
13 12 (2.60%) SANS
14 11 (2.38%) Network+ Certification
15 10 (2.16%) CREST Certified
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 159 (34.42%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 153 (33.12%) NIST
3 68 (14.72%) ISO/IEC 27005
4 67 (14.50%) GDPR
5 55 (11.90%) Cyber Essentials
6 26 (5.63%) PCI DSS
7 24 (5.19%) GRC
8 21 (4.55%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 11 (2.38%) SLA
10 10 (2.16%) SOC 2
11 9 (1.95%) NCSC
12 6 (1.30%) Accessibility
13 5 (1.08%) QA
14 4 (0.87%) Data Quality
15 3 (0.65%) COBIT
15 3 (0.65%) ITGC
16 2 (0.43%) ISO 22301
16 2 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
16 2 (0.43%) SOC 3
17 1 (0.22%) NIST 800
System Software
1 33 (7.14%) Active Directory
2 14 (3.03%) VMware ESXi
3 13 (2.81%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (2.16%) Docker
5 7 (1.52%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.43%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 20 (4.33%) QRadar
2 19 (4.11%) Kubernetes
3 17 (3.68%) Microsoft Intune
4 16 (3.46%) Terraform
5 14 (3.03%) SCCM
6 10 (2.16%) Single Sign-On
6 10 (2.16%) vCenter Server
7 9 (1.95%) CSIRT
8 8 (1.73%) Nessus
9 6 (1.30%) Computer Incident Response Team
10 5 (1.08%) Ansible
10 5 (1.08%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
11 4 (0.87%) Prometheus
12 3 (0.65%) ArcSight ESM
13 2 (0.43%) CASB
14 1 (0.22%) Grafana
14 1 (0.22%) Kibana
14 1 (0.22%) ZENworks
Vendors
1 118 (25.54%) Microsoft
2 36 (7.79%) Splunk
3 26 (5.63%) VMware
4 25 (5.41%) CrowdStrike
5 23 (4.98%) ServiceNow
6 14 (3.03%) SolarWinds
7 13 (2.81%) Tenable
8 11 (2.38%) Qualys
9 10 (2.16%) 3PAR
9 10 (2.16%) NetApp
9 10 (2.16%) Veeam
10 9 (1.95%) Palo Alto
11 7 (1.52%) LogRhythm
11 7 (1.52%) Rapid7
12 5 (1.08%) ArcSight
12 5 (1.08%) Cisco
13 4 (0.87%) Foundry
13 4 (0.87%) McAfee
13 4 (0.87%) Palantir
14 3 (0.65%) LogLogic