Wide Area Network (WAN)
UK

The following table provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies with a requirement for WAN skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered in vacancies that have cited WAN over the 6 months to 10 December 2023 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
10 Dec 2023
Same period 2022 Same period 2021
Rank 96 196 215
Rank change year-on-year +100 +19 -75
Permanent jobs citing WAN 1,688 2,419 2,179
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 3.23% 1.98% 1.71%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 21.27% 15.95% 13.27%
Number of salaries quoted 1,247 1,973 1,890
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,000 £27,750
25th Percentile £36,250 £36,250 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £49,000 £50,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -2.00% +11.11% -2.44%
75th Percentile £60,750 £65,625 £60,000
90th Percentile £77,500 £79,750 £77,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £45,000 £45,000 £42,500
% change year-on-year - +5.88% -

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK

WAN is in the Communications and Computer Networking category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 7,935 15,167 16,426
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 15.18% 12.41% 12.93%
Number of salaries quoted 6,194 10,320 11,502
10th Percentile £26,500 £28,528 £27,500
25th Percentile £34,000 £37,500 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -
75th Percentile £67,500 £72,500 £70,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £88,750 £85,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £45,000 £46,000 £45,000
% change year-on-year -2.17% +2.22% -

WAN
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing WAN as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for WAN in the UK

WAN
Salary Trend

3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing WAN.

Salary trend for WAN in the UK

WAN
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing WAN over the 6 months to 10 December 2023.

Salary histogram for WAN in the UK

WAN
Top 17 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing WAN within the UK over the 6 months to 10 December 2023. 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 +109 1,500 £49,000 -1.01% 506
UK excluding London +88 1,137 £45,000 - 385
Work from Home +78 634 £50,000 -4.76% 205
London +123 486 £60,000 +9.09% 124
Midlands +87 280 £46,750 -1.58% 109
South East +73 241 £42,500 -15.00% 87
South West +91 229 £47,500 +10.47% 52
North of England +29 206 £41,500 -2.35% 105
West Midlands +101 191 £45,750 -3.68% 83
North West +43 100 £45,000 +6.51% 42
East Midlands +48 89 £50,000 +11.11% 26
Yorkshire +22 88 £45,000 +5.88% 52
Scotland +53 68 £40,000 -0.37% 14
East of England +58 63 £41,000 -2.96% 25
Wales +54 54 £50,000 +11.11% 1
North East +36 20 £39,563 -3.51% 17
Northern Ireland +24 15 £34,625 -1.07%

WAN
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 199 (11.79%) MS Exchange
2 87 (5.15%) SharePoint
3 59 (3.50%) IIS
4 9 (0.53%) OpenStack
5 7 (0.41%) Confluence
6 5 (0.30%) Apache Spark
7 4 (0.24%) Exchange Server 2010
7 4 (0.24%) Skype for Business
8 3 (0.18%) Apache
8 3 (0.18%) Exchange Server 2003
8 3 (0.18%) SharePoint 2010
8 3 (0.18%) SharePoint 2013
9 2 (0.12%) Exchange Server 2007
9 2 (0.12%) nginx
10 1 (0.059%) CMS
10 1 (0.059%) Exchange Server 2013
10 1 (0.059%) SAS
10 1 (0.059%) WebSphere
Applications
1 117 (6.93%) Microsoft Office
2 23 (1.36%) Microsoft Excel
3 10 (0.59%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.36%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.12%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.12%) Trello
6 1 (0.059%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.059%) Revit
Business Applications
1 4 (0.24%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.12%) Epicor Tropos
3 1 (0.059%) PlanetPress Connect
3 1 (0.059%) Sage X3
Cloud Services
1 570 (33.77%) Azure
2 560 (33.18%) Microsoft 365
3 202 (11.97%) AWS
4 130 (7.70%) Entra ID
5 69 (4.09%) IaaS
6 67 (3.97%) Cloud Computing
7 49 (2.90%) SaaS
8 48 (2.84%) PaaS
9 41 (2.43%) OneDrive
10 36 (2.13%) GCP
11 35 (2.07%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 27 (1.60%) Azure Sentinel
13 19 (1.13%) Mimecast
14 17 (1.01%) Nutanix
15 16 (0.95%) WhatsApp
16 14 (0.83%) Power Platform
17 13 (0.77%) AWS Direct Connect
17 13 (0.77%) Google Workspace
18 12 (0.71%) Azure DevOps
19 9 (0.53%) Rubrik
Communications & Networking
1 1,202 (71.21%) LAN
2 716 (42.42%) Firewall
3 502 (29.74%) SD-WAN
4 442 (26.18%) VPN
5 439 (26.01%) Wireless
6 266 (15.76%) DNS
7 250 (14.81%) Network Security
8 249 (14.75%) Wi-Fi
9 237 (14.04%) DHCP
10 234 (13.86%) TCP/IP
11 214 (12.68%) BGP
12 200 (11.85%) MPLS
13 187 (11.08%) OSPF
14 184 (10.90%) VLAN
15 162 (9.60%) Internet
16 157 (9.30%) Cisco IOS
17 120 (7.11%) Cisco ASA
18 117 (6.93%) WLAN
19 116 (6.87%) SAN
20 107 (6.34%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 112 (6.64%) SQL Server
2 32 (1.90%) Amazon RDS
3 28 (1.66%) NoSQL
4 13 (0.77%) MySQL
5 9 (0.53%) Power BI
6 8 (0.47%) PostgreSQL
7 6 (0.36%) InfluxDB
8 5 (0.30%) Apache Hive
8 5 (0.30%) Big Data
8 5 (0.30%) Data Warehouse
8 5 (0.30%) Hadoop
8 5 (0.30%) MariaDB
9 4 (0.24%) Oracle Database
9 4 (0.24%) Relational Database
10 3 (0.18%) Azure SQL Database
10 3 (0.18%) GIS
11 2 (0.12%) Amazon Redshift
11 2 (0.12%) MongoDB
11 2 (0.12%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 1 (0.059%) DynamoDB
Development Applications
1 20 (1.18%) Visual Studio
2 11 (0.65%) JIRA
2 11 (0.65%) Sonatype Nexus
3 8 (0.47%) LabVIEW
4 7 (0.41%) Git
5 5 (0.30%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.12%) Fiddler
6 2 (0.12%) GitLab
7 1 (0.059%) DBeaver
7 1 (0.059%) Robot Framework
General
1 512 (30.33%) Social Skills
2 149 (8.83%) Analytical Skills
3 132 (7.82%) Telecoms
4 126 (7.46%) Finance
5 107 (6.34%) Games
6 85 (5.04%) Retail
7 65 (3.85%) Organisational Skills
8 63 (3.73%) Public Sector
9 45 (2.67%) Law
10 44 (2.61%) Legal
11 42 (2.49%) Aerospace
12 38 (2.25%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 38 (2.25%) Presentation Skills
13 34 (2.01%) Manufacturing
14 21 (1.24%) Documentation Skills
15 19 (1.13%) Police
16 16 (0.95%) Banking
16 16 (0.95%) Marketing
17 13 (0.77%) Local Government
17 13 (0.77%) Military
Job Titles
1 418 (24.76%) Network Engineer
2 348 (20.62%) Senior
3 200 (11.85%) Infrastructure Engineer
4 191 (11.32%) IT Support
5 170 (10.07%) Analyst
6 124 (7.35%) Support Engineer
7 121 (7.17%) Senior Network Engineer
8 117 (6.93%) IT Engineer
9 104 (6.16%) Support Specialist
10 103 (6.10%) Architect
11 102 (6.04%) IT Support Specialist
12 75 (4.44%) 2nd Line Support
13 74 (4.38%) Senior Manager
14 72 (4.27%) Security Manager
15 67 (3.97%) Network Architect
16 61 (3.61%) Systems Engineer
17 60 (3.55%) Business Manager
17 60 (3.55%) Senior Business Manager
17 60 (3.55%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
18 59 (3.50%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (1.95%) HTML
2 31 (1.84%) Node.js
2 31 (1.84%) XML
3 30 (1.78%) LDAP
4 27 (1.60%) REST
5 24 (1.42%) React
6 23 (1.36%) AngularJS
6 23 (1.36%) CSS
6 23 (1.36%) Express.js
6 23 (1.36%) HTML5
7 21 (1.24%) WebRTC
8 20 (1.18%) 802.1X
9 13 (0.77%) JSON
10 11 (0.65%) Kafka
11 10 (0.59%) .NET
12 6 (0.36%) Elastic Stack
12 6 (0.36%) SAML
13 5 (0.30%) Apache NiFi
13 5 (0.30%) JDBC
13 5 (0.30%) ODBC
Miscellaneous
1 240 (14.22%) Data Centre
2 105 (6.22%) Video Conferencing
3 104 (6.16%) Wiki
4 93 (5.51%) Security Operations Centre
5 67 (3.97%) Public Cloud
6 56 (3.32%) Clustering
7 55 (3.26%) PKI
8 44 (2.61%) Driving Licence
9 39 (2.31%) Self-Motivation
10 32 (1.90%) Analytical Mindset
11 31 (1.84%) Cyber Threat
11 31 (1.84%) NHS
12 27 (1.60%) Management Information System
13 26 (1.54%) GNSS
14 23 (1.36%) Distributed Systems
15 21 (1.24%) Onboarding
15 21 (1.24%) Replication
16 19 (1.13%) Private Cloud
17 17 (1.01%) Virtual Team
18 11 (0.65%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 736 (43.60%) Windows
2 329 (19.49%) Windows Server
3 255 (15.11%) Windows 10
4 151 (8.95%) Linux
5 122 (7.23%) Android
6 97 (5.75%) Unix
7 94 (5.57%) Windows Server 2019
8 78 (4.62%) Windows Server 2016
9 59 (3.50%) Windows Server 2012
10 34 (2.01%) Apple iOS
11 32 (1.90%) Windows Server 2003
12 22 (1.30%) Mac OS
13 20 (1.18%) Ubuntu
14 19 (1.13%) VMS
15 15 (0.89%) CentOS
15 15 (0.89%) Windows 7
16 12 (0.71%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
17 9 (0.53%) Windows Server 2008
18 4 (0.24%) Windows NT
18 4 (0.24%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 336 (19.91%) Problem-Solving
2 270 (16.00%) ITIL
3 266 (15.76%) Cybersecurity
4 246 (14.57%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 218 (12.91%) Customer Service
6 202 (11.97%) Business Continuity
7 175 (10.37%) SIEM
8 155 (9.18%) Computer Science
9 119 (7.05%) Mobile Device Management
10 115 (6.81%) Contract Negotiation
11 114 (6.75%) Load Balancing
12 111 (6.58%) Disaster Recovery
13 109 (6.46%) High Availability
13 109 (6.46%) Incident Management
14 106 (6.28%) Network Design
14 106 (6.28%) Service Management
15 103 (6.10%) BCP
16 102 (6.04%) Business Continuity Planning
16 102 (6.04%) Project Delivery
17 101 (5.98%) Security Operations
Programming Languages
1 126 (7.46%) PowerShell
2 120 (7.11%) SQL
3 117 (6.93%) Python
4 40 (2.37%) Bash
5 28 (1.66%) PHP
6 26 (1.54%) JavaScript
7 25 (1.48%) Java
8 24 (1.42%) VB
9 23 (1.36%) JSX
10 20 (1.18%) Perl
11 18 (1.07%) C#
12 17 (1.01%) C++
13 8 (0.47%) Go
13 8 (0.47%) MATLAB
14 3 (0.18%) C
15 2 (0.12%) Bicep
15 2 (0.12%) Shell Script
16 1 (0.059%) Delphi
16 1 (0.059%) T-SQL
16 1 (0.059%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 381 (22.57%) Cisco Certification
2 301 (17.83%) Degree
3 243 (14.40%) Security Cleared
4 233 (13.80%) CCNA
5 226 (13.39%) CCNP
6 146 (8.65%) SC Cleared
7 130 (7.70%) Computer Science Degree
8 104 (6.16%) Master's Degree
9 96 (5.69%) CISSP
10 91 (5.39%) Microsoft Certification
11 67 (3.97%) CCIE
11 67 (3.97%) CISM
12 63 (3.73%) SSCP
13 58 (3.44%) DV Cleared
14 40 (2.37%) MCSE
15 39 (2.31%) Network+ Certification
16 33 (1.95%) MCP
17 27 (1.60%) MCITP
18 25 (1.48%) A+ Certification
19 24 (1.42%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 97 (5.75%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 85 (5.04%) SLA
3 76 (4.50%) GDPR
4 52 (3.08%) Cyber Essentials
5 24 (1.42%) PMO
6 19 (1.13%) NIST
7 10 (0.59%) QA
8 7 (0.41%) PCI DSS
9 6 (0.36%) ISO 9001
10 5 (0.30%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 4 (0.24%) NCSC
12 3 (0.18%) SOC 2
13 1 (0.059%) ISO/IEC 20000
13 1 (0.059%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 1 (0.059%) SOC 3
System Software
1 582 (34.48%) Active Directory
2 241 (14.28%) VMware Infrastructure
3 132 (7.82%) VMware ESXi
4 119 (7.05%) Hyper-V
5 114 (6.75%) XenApp
6 111 (6.58%) XenDesktop
7 106 (6.28%) Microsoft App-V
8 59 (3.50%) VMware NSX
9 40 (2.37%) vSphere
10 21 (1.24%) Virtual Desktop
11 17 (1.01%) Firmware
11 17 (1.01%) Virtual Servers
12 16 (0.95%) Virtual Machines
13 15 (0.89%) Terminal Services
14 13 (0.77%) Docker
15 9 (0.53%) Terminal Server
16 6 (0.36%) VMware Server
17 5 (0.30%) Citrix Hypervisor
17 5 (0.30%) HDFS
17 5 (0.30%) Microsoft Virtual Server
Systems Management
1 163 (9.66%) SCCM
2 147 (8.71%) FortiGate
3 100 (5.92%) Microsoft Intune
4 92 (5.45%) AirWatch
5 55 (3.26%) Ansible
6 43 (2.55%) Terraform
7 22 (1.30%) Single Sign-On
8 17 (1.01%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 16 (0.95%) ServiceCenter
10 14 (0.83%) Cisco CUCM
10 14 (0.83%) Kubernetes
11 12 (0.71%) Nessus
12 10 (0.59%) Microsoft Clustering
13 9 (0.53%) Stealthwatch
14 6 (0.36%) Icinga
14 6 (0.36%) Jamf Pro
14 6 (0.36%) SolarWinds Orion
14 6 (0.36%) vCenter Server
14 6 (0.36%) ZABBIX
15 5 (0.30%) Puppet
Vendors
1 791 (46.86%) Cisco
2 697 (41.29%) Microsoft
3 390 (23.10%) VMware
4 213 (12.62%) Meraki
5 183 (10.84%) Citrix
6 177 (10.49%) CheckPoint
7 165 (9.77%) Juniper
8 161 (9.54%) Palo Alto
9 134 (7.94%) Fortinet
10 124 (7.35%) F5
11 115 (6.81%) Aruba
12 87 (5.15%) HP
13 73 (4.32%) SolarWinds
14 53 (3.14%) Apple
15 52 (3.08%) Veeam
16 50 (2.96%) Google
16 50 (2.96%) Splunk
17 43 (2.55%) Dell
18 31 (1.84%) IBM
18 31 (1.84%) Mitel