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 28 February 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 278 271 304
Rank change year-on-year -7 +33 +14
Permanent jobs citing Security Operations 499 528 728
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.71% 1.12% 0.96%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.90% 1.20% 1.09%
Number of salaries quoted 306 344 594
10th Percentile £43,000 £42,500 £36,265
25th Percentile £51,250 £51,251 £48,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £70,000 £65,000 £62,500
Median % change year-on-year +7.69% +4.00% -6.72%
75th Percentile £80,000 £82,500 £76,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £110,000 £97,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £65,000 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +18.18% - -8.33%

All Process & 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 55,198 43,957 67,041
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 78.83% 93.01% 88.40%
Number of salaries quoted 33,132 22,050 51,588
10th Percentile £29,000 £33,125 £29,490
25th Percentile £38,750 £45,000 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +9.09% -12.00%
75th Percentile £76,250 £81,250 £75,000
90th Percentile £97,500 £102,500 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £55,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -9.09% +10.00% -9.09%

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 28 February 2026.

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 28 February 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 -3 460 £70,000 +7.69% 123
UK excluding London +13 296 £65,000 +18.18% 96
Work from Home +51 232 £62,750 +0.40% 73
London -13 167 £75,000 - 42
South East +29 108 £65,000 +4.00% 37
North of England -31 63 £65,500 +31.00% 19
Midlands +11 52 £51,500 -6.36% 24
South West +5 33 £75,000 +36.15% 3
West Midlands +1 27 £55,000 - 16
North West -15 27 £63,000 +26.00% 16
Yorkshire -46 26 £65,000 +30.00% 3
East Midlands - 25 £42,000 - 8
East of England -2 18 £80,000 +33.33% 11
Scotland -29 13 £70,000 +12.00% 2
North East -3 10 £105,000 +133.33%
Wales +1 7 £55,000 -37.14% 2
Northern Ireland -24 3 £32,500 - 1

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 9 (1.80%) Microsoft Exchange
2 8 (1.60%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.40%) Palantir Foundry
4 1 (0.20%) Confluence
4 1 (0.20%) IIS
Business Applications
1 1 (0.20%) Exchequer
Cloud Services
1 117 (23.45%) Azure
2 65 (13.03%) AWS
3 43 (8.62%) Microsoft 365
4 35 (7.01%) GCP
5 30 (6.01%) Azure Sentinel
6 25 (5.01%) Entra ID
7 23 (4.61%) SaaS
8 14 (2.81%) Mimecast
8 14 (2.81%) PaaS
9 13 (2.61%) Microsoft Purview
10 12 (2.40%) IaaS
11 10 (2.00%) GitHub
12 9 (1.80%) GitHub Actions
13 7 (1.40%) AWS CloudFormation
14 6 (1.20%) Datadog
14 6 (1.20%) Tessian
15 5 (1.00%) Azure DevOps
15 5 (1.00%) Power Platform
16 4 (0.80%) Dynamics 365
16 4 (0.80%) OneDrive
Communications & Networking
1 82 (16.43%) Firewall
2 64 (12.83%) Network Security
3 33 (6.61%) VPN
4 23 (4.61%) Intrusion Detection
5 22 (4.41%) DNS
6 19 (3.81%) TCP/IP
7 12 (2.40%) DHCP
8 9 (1.80%) SAN
9 5 (1.00%) WAN
10 4 (0.80%) Wireshark
11 3 (0.60%) Cisco ISE
11 3 (0.60%) HTTPS
11 3 (0.60%) Internet
11 3 (0.60%) LAN
11 3 (0.60%) SCCP
11 3 (0.60%) Wireless
12 2 (0.40%) DKIM
12 2 (0.40%) DMARC
12 2 (0.40%) SD-WAN
12 2 (0.40%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (0.80%) Elasticsearch
2 3 (0.60%) Power BI
3 2 (0.40%) Metadata
4 1 (0.20%) Apache Cassandra
4 1 (0.20%) MongoDB
4 1 (0.20%) MySQL
4 1 (0.20%) SQL Server
4 1 (0.20%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 6 (1.20%) CircleCI
1 6 (1.20%) Jenkins
2 3 (0.60%) Bitbucket
2 3 (0.60%) Metasploit
3 2 (0.40%) JIRA
4 1 (0.20%) Git
4 1 (0.20%) IDA Disassembler
4 1 (0.20%) MSBuild
General
1 125 (25.05%) Social Skills
2 91 (18.24%) Finance
3 71 (14.23%) Analytical Skills
4 41 (8.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
5 24 (4.81%) Law
6 21 (4.21%) Banking
6 21 (4.21%) Legal
7 17 (3.41%) Retail
8 15 (3.01%) Influencing Skills
8 15 (3.01%) Public Sector
9 11 (2.20%) Financial Institution
10 10 (2.00%) Back Office
11 9 (1.80%) Advertising
12 7 (1.40%) Organisational Skills
12 7 (1.40%) Presentation Skills
13 3 (0.60%) Aviation
13 3 (0.60%) Documentation Skills
13 3 (0.60%) Pharmaceutical
14 2 (0.40%) Games
15 1 (0.20%) Military
Job Titles
1 120 (24.05%) Lead
2 102 (20.44%) Analyst
3 72 (14.43%) Security Analyst
4 63 (12.63%) Senior
5 62 (12.42%) Security Engineer
6 50 (10.02%) Security Manager
7 38 (7.62%) Cybersecurity Analyst
8 29 (5.81%) Cybersecurity Manager
9 25 (5.01%) SOC Analyst
10 21 (4.21%) Senior Security Engineer
11 19 (3.81%) Consultant
11 19 (3.81%) Cybersecurity Engineer
11 19 (3.81%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 19 (3.81%) Operational Security Manager
11 19 (3.81%) Operations Manager
11 19 (3.81%) Security Operations Manager
11 19 (3.81%) SOC Manager
12 18 (3.61%) Infrastructure Manager
12 18 (3.61%) Senior Analyst
13 16 (3.21%) Information Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (1.60%) ARM Templates
2 2 (0.40%) Elastic Stack
2 2 (0.40%) OAuth
2 2 (0.40%) OpenID
2 2 (0.40%) OpenTelemetry
2 2 (0.40%) REST
2 2 (0.40%) SAML
3 1 (0.20%) .NET
3 1 (0.20%) ASP.NET
3 1 (0.20%) EDI
3 1 (0.20%) Flash
3 1 (0.20%) LDAP
3 1 (0.20%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 192 (38.48%) Security Operations Centre
2 115 (23.05%) Cyber Threat
3 77 (15.43%) Cyber Kill Chain
4 72 (14.43%) Operational Technology
5 66 (13.23%) Security Posture
6 34 (6.81%) Cyber Defence
7 20 (4.01%) Management Information System
8 19 (3.81%) Cloud Native
9 12 (2.40%) CSOC
10 10 (2.00%) Analytical Mindset
11 9 (1.80%) Onboarding
12 8 (1.60%) Cyberattack
13 7 (1.40%) Cyber Security Posture
13 7 (1.40%) Hybrid Cloud
14 6 (1.20%) Data Protection Act
14 6 (1.20%) Driving Licence
14 6 (1.20%) Enterprise Software
14 6 (1.20%) Insider Threat
14 6 (1.20%) PKI
14 6 (1.20%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 73 (14.63%) Windows
2 45 (9.02%) Linux
3 18 (3.61%) Windows Server
4 13 (2.61%) Windows 10
5 11 (2.20%) Unix
6 9 (1.80%) Windows Server 2012
6 9 (1.80%) Windows Server 2019
7 5 (1.00%) Mac OS
8 3 (0.60%) Kali Linux
9 1 (0.20%) Data ONTAP
Processes & Methodologies
1 206 (41.28%) Cybersecurity
1 206 (41.28%) Incident Response
2 175 (35.07%) SIEM
3 147 (29.46%) Threat Intelligence
4 136 (27.25%) Vulnerability Management
5 129 (25.85%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
6 109 (21.84%) Risk Management
7 108 (21.64%) Mentoring
8 105 (21.04%) Continuous Improvement
9 101 (20.24%) Roadmaps
10 99 (19.84%) Threat and Vulnerability Management
11 98 (19.64%) Stakeholder Management
12 93 (18.64%) Information Security
13 92 (18.44%) ITIL
14 80 (16.03%) Cyber Intelligence
15 79 (15.83%) Coaching
16 75 (15.03%) Business Strategy
17 74 (14.83%) Cloud Security
18 72 (14.43%) Technology Roadmap
19 71 (14.23%) Problem-Solving
Programming Languages
1 68 (13.63%) PowerShell
2 61 (12.22%) Python
3 23 (4.61%) Bash
4 16 (3.21%) Kusto Query Language
5 11 (2.20%) SQL
6 9 (1.80%) Bicep
7 3 (0.60%) JavaScript
7 3 (0.60%) Shell Script
8 2 (0.40%) Perl
9 1 (0.20%) C
9 1 (0.20%) C#
9 1 (0.20%) C++
9 1 (0.20%) PHP
Qualifications
1 87 (17.43%) CISSP
2 71 (14.23%) Security Cleared
3 63 (12.63%) Degree
4 58 (11.62%) SC Cleared
5 45 (9.02%) CompTIA Security+
6 36 (7.21%) CISM
7 30 (6.01%) GIAC
8 28 (5.61%) Cisco Certification
9 21 (4.21%) GCIH
10 18 (3.61%) CEH
10 18 (3.61%) Computer Science Degree
11 17 (3.41%) CREST Certified
12 16 (3.21%) CompTIA CySA+
13 14 (2.81%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 14 (2.81%) CCNA
14 13 (2.61%) DV Cleared
15 12 (2.40%) Azure Certification
15 12 (2.40%) CISA
15 12 (2.40%) Microsoft Certification
15 12 (2.40%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 169 (33.87%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 162 (32.46%) NIST
3 68 (13.63%) ISO/IEC 27005
4 56 (11.22%) GDPR
5 47 (9.42%) Cyber Essentials
6 37 (7.41%) PCI DSS
7 29 (5.81%) GRC
8 23 (4.61%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 20 (4.01%) SOC 2
10 15 (3.01%) NCSC
11 11 (2.20%) SLA
12 6 (1.20%) SOC 3
13 4 (0.80%) COBIT
13 4 (0.80%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
14 3 (0.60%) Accessibility
14 3 (0.60%) ITGC
14 3 (0.60%) Sarbanes-Oxley
15 2 (0.40%) QA
16 1 (0.20%) Actionable Recommendations
16 1 (0.20%) HIPAA
System Software
1 21 (4.21%) Active Directory
2 16 (3.21%) Docker
3 11 (2.20%) VMware ESXi
4 2 (0.40%) VMware Infrastructure
Systems Management
1 25 (5.01%) Kubernetes
1 25 (5.01%) Terraform
2 22 (4.41%) SCCM
3 18 (3.61%) Microsoft Intune
4 15 (3.01%) Ansible
5 13 (2.61%) QRadar
6 9 (1.80%) Single Sign-On
6 9 (1.80%) vCenter Server
7 6 (1.20%) Grafana
8 5 (1.00%) CASB
8 5 (1.00%) Computer Incident Response Team
8 5 (1.00%) CSIRT
9 3 (0.60%) ArcSight ESM
10 2 (0.40%) Nessus
10 2 (0.40%) Prometheus
11 1 (0.20%) Host Intrusion Detection System
Vendors
1 135 (27.05%) Microsoft
2 39 (7.82%) ServiceNow
3 28 (5.61%) Splunk
4 23 (4.61%) SolarWinds
5 19 (3.81%) CrowdStrike
6 15 (3.01%) VMware
7 11 (2.20%) Tenable
8 10 (2.00%) NetApp
9 9 (1.80%) 3PAR
9 9 (1.80%) Qualys
9 9 (1.80%) Veeam
10 7 (1.40%) Palo Alto
11 6 (1.20%) Cisco
11 6 (1.20%) Google
12 5 (1.00%) Okta
13 4 (0.80%) CheckPoint
13 4 (0.80%) LogRhythm
13 4 (0.80%) McAfee
14 3 (0.60%) ArcSight
14 3 (0.60%) LogLogic