Hybrid/Remote WAN Job Trends

Wide Area Network (WAN)
UK > Work from Home

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for remote or hybrid work requiring WAN skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 195 185 123
Rank change year-on-year -10 -62 +58
Permanent jobs citing WAN 217 238 824
As % of all permanent jobs with remote/hybrid work options 1.24% 1.80% 2.55%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 11.24% 14.45% 16.37%
Number of salaries quoted 154 187 674
10th Percentile £32,802 £31,250 £30,000
25th Percentile £42,000 £41,250 £38,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £59,500 £50,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +19.00% - -9.09%
75th Percentile £77,500 £66,775 £67,500
90th Percentile £87,500 £85,000 £84,919
UK median annual salary £50,000 £50,000 £47,500
% change year-on-year - +5.26% -

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
Work from Home

WAN 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 with remote or hybrid options requiring communications or computer networking skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 1,930 1,647 5,033
As % of all permanent jobs with a WFH option 11.00% 12.48% 15.55%
Number of salaries quoted 960 1,192 3,490
10th Percentile £29,000 £26,250 £31,250
25th Percentile £35,000 £35,000 £39,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £51,500 £51,914 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -0.80% -1.12% -8.70%
75th Percentile £72,500 £68,750 £67,500
90th Percentile £88,750 £85,000 £80,000
UK median annual salary £42,500 £50,000 £47,500
% change year-on-year -15.00% +5.26% -6.86%

WAN
Job Vacancy Trend for Remote/Hybrid Jobs

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing WAN and offering remote or hybrid work options relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

WAN job vacancy trend for remote/hybrid jobs

WAN
Salary Trend for Remote/Hybrid Jobs

Salary distribution trend for jobs with remote/hybrid work options citing WAN.

Salary distribution trend for jobs with remote/hybrid work options citing WAN

WAN
Salary Histogram for Remote/Hybrid Jobs

Salary distribution for jobs with remote/hybrid work options citing WAN over the 6 months to 16 April 2026.

WAN salary histogram for jobs with remote/hybrid work options

WAN
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Remote/Hybrid Jobs 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 48 (22.12%) Microsoft Exchange
2 41 (18.89%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.92%) Apache
3 2 (0.92%) Confluence
3 2 (0.92%) IIS
3 2 (0.92%) nginx
4 1 (0.46%) OpenStack
Applications
1 12 (5.53%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (1.84%) Microsoft Excel
2 4 (1.84%) MS Visio
3 3 (1.38%) AutoCAD
3 3 (1.38%) SOLIDWORKS
4 1 (0.46%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.92%) SAP HR
2 1 (0.46%) Oracle Payables
Cloud Services
1 124 (57.14%) Azure
2 84 (38.71%) Microsoft 365
3 63 (29.03%) AWS
4 42 (19.35%) Entra ID
5 17 (7.83%) Google Workspace
6 16 (7.37%) OneDrive
7 13 (5.99%) GCP
7 13 (5.99%) SaaS
8 11 (5.07%) AWS Direct Connect
9 9 (4.15%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 5 (2.30%) Azure Monitor
11 4 (1.84%) Azure Sentinel
11 4 (1.84%) OCI
12 2 (0.92%) Dynamics 365
12 2 (0.92%) IaaS
12 2 (0.92%) Microsoft Purview
12 2 (0.92%) PaaS
12 2 (0.92%) Power Platform
12 2 (0.92%) SuccessFactors
13 1 (0.46%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 146 (67.28%) LAN
2 100 (46.08%) SD-WAN
3 94 (43.32%) Firewall
4 93 (42.86%) VPN
5 76 (35.02%) DNS
6 64 (29.49%) DHCP
7 58 (26.73%) TCP/IP
8 56 (25.81%) Wi-Fi
9 38 (17.51%) VLAN
10 33 (15.21%) BGP
11 32 (14.75%) MPLS
12 28 (12.90%) Network Security
13 27 (12.44%) Cisco Firepower
13 27 (12.44%) WLAN
14 25 (11.52%) Wireless
15 23 (10.60%) VoIP
16 22 (10.14%) Cisco ASA
17 20 (9.22%) OSPF
18 19 (8.76%) Cisco ISE
19 13 (5.99%) NX-OS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.92%) Power BI
1 2 (0.92%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.46%) Azure SQL Database
2 1 (0.46%) InfluxDB
2 1 (0.46%) MariaDB
2 1 (0.46%) MySQL
2 1 (0.46%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.46%) RDBMS
2 1 (0.46%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 4 (1.84%) JIRA
2 1 (0.46%) Jenkins
General
1 69 (31.80%) Social Skills
2 41 (18.89%) Finance
3 27 (12.44%) Public Sector
4 17 (7.83%) Retail
5 14 (6.45%) Banking
5 14 (6.45%) Organisational Skills
6 13 (5.99%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 13 (5.99%) Manufacturing
7 12 (5.53%) Telecoms
8 9 (4.15%) Analytical Skills
9 8 (3.69%) Marketing
10 6 (2.76%) Presentation Skills
11 5 (2.30%) Law
12 4 (1.84%) Aerospace
12 4 (1.84%) Electronics
13 3 (1.38%) Automotive
13 3 (1.38%) Police
14 2 (0.92%) Legal
14 2 (0.92%) Military
14 2 (0.92%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 61 (28.11%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 51 (23.50%) Network Engineer
3 50 (23.04%) Senior
4 41 (18.89%) IT Engineer
5 29 (13.36%) IT Support
5 29 (13.36%) Support Engineer
6 27 (12.44%) Architect
7 25 (11.52%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
8 24 (11.06%) IT Support Engineer
9 21 (9.68%) 2nd Line Support
10 20 (9.22%) Network Infrastructure Engineer
11 18 (8.29%) 2nd Line Engineer
11 18 (8.29%) 2nd Line Support Engineer
12 17 (7.83%) Infrastructure Operations Engineer
12 17 (7.83%) Operations Engineer
12 17 (7.83%) Senior Network Engineer
13 13 (5.99%) Analyst
14 11 (5.07%) Network Operations Engineer
14 11 (5.07%) Support Analyst
15 10 (4.61%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 7 (3.23%) XMPP
2 4 (1.84%) LDAP
3 2 (0.92%) Web Services
4 1 (0.46%) ARM Templates
4 1 (0.46%) JSON
Miscellaneous
1 36 (16.59%) Data Centre
2 16 (7.37%) Driving Licence
3 12 (5.53%) Onboarding
4 11 (5.07%) Hybrid Cloud
4 11 (5.07%) Video Conferencing
5 10 (4.61%) Management Information System
6 9 (4.15%) Enterprise Software
6 9 (4.15%) PKI
6 9 (4.15%) Self-Motivation
7 7 (3.23%) FlexPod
7 7 (3.23%) Replication
8 6 (2.76%) Social Media
9 5 (2.30%) Product Ownership
10 4 (1.84%) Cloud Native
10 4 (1.84%) iPad
10 4 (1.84%) iPhone
10 4 (1.84%) Mobile App
11 3 (1.38%) Analytical Mindset
11 3 (1.38%) CMDB
11 3 (1.38%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 86 (39.63%) Windows
2 72 (33.18%) Windows Server
3 35 (16.13%) Windows 10
4 25 (11.52%) Linux
5 21 (9.68%) Mac OS
6 18 (8.29%) Windows Server 2016
7 16 (7.37%) Windows Server 2012
8 15 (6.91%) Windows Server 2019
9 12 (5.53%) Apple iOS
10 4 (1.84%) CentOS
10 4 (1.84%) Unix
11 2 (0.92%) OpenWrt
11 2 (0.92%) Oracle Linux
11 2 (0.92%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.92%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.46%) Mac OS X
12 1 (0.46%) Windows 7
12 1 (0.46%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 77 (35.48%) Problem-Solving
2 67 (30.88%) Infrastructure Engineering
3 44 (20.28%) ITIL
4 39 (17.97%) Disaster Recovery
5 38 (17.51%) Continuous Improvement
6 29 (13.36%) Mentoring
6 29 (13.36%) Service Delivery
6 29 (13.36%) Zero Trust
7 28 (12.90%) Migration
8 24 (11.06%) Customer Service
9 23 (10.60%) Cloud Security
9 23 (10.60%) Service Management
10 21 (9.68%) Stakeholder Management
11 19 (8.76%) Change Management
11 19 (8.76%) Presales
11 19 (8.76%) Root Cause Analysis
12 17 (7.83%) Kalman Filter
13 16 (7.37%) Cybersecurity
13 16 (7.37%) Roadmaps
14 15 (6.91%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 20 (9.22%) Python
2 15 (6.91%) PowerShell
3 7 (3.23%) SQL
4 4 (1.84%) Bash
5 2 (0.92%) C
5 2 (0.92%) C++
5 2 (0.92%) Java
5 2 (0.92%) Perl
6 1 (0.46%) PL/SQL
6 1 (0.46%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 37 (17.05%) Cisco Certification
2 28 (12.90%) Security Cleared
3 26 (11.98%) SC Cleared
4 22 (10.14%) CCNP
5 21 (9.68%) Degree
6 20 (9.22%) Microsoft Certification
7 18 (8.29%) CCNA
8 12 (5.53%) DV Cleared
9 11 (5.07%) Azure Certification
9 11 (5.07%) CCIE
9 11 (5.07%) Computer Science Degree
10 9 (4.15%) BPSS Clearance
11 6 (2.76%) DBS Check
12 5 (2.30%) MCSA
13 4 (1.84%) CCSA
13 4 (1.84%) CCSE
13 4 (1.84%) Network+ Certification
14 3 (1.38%) Master's Degree
14 3 (1.38%) MCSE
14 3 (1.38%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (6.45%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 13 (5.99%) SLA
3 11 (5.07%) Cyber Essentials
3 11 (5.07%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
4 5 (2.30%) QA
5 3 (1.38%) ISO/IEC 20000
5 3 (1.38%) PCI DSS
6 2 (0.92%) GDPR
6 2 (0.92%) NCSC
6 2 (0.92%) NIST
7 1 (0.46%) Accessibility
7 1 (0.46%) Basel III
7 1 (0.46%) GRC
7 1 (0.46%) MiFID
7 1 (0.46%) PMO
System Software
1 66 (30.41%) Active Directory
2 32 (14.75%) Hyper-V
3 31 (14.29%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (4.61%) vSphere
5 9 (4.15%) Virtual Machines
6 8 (3.69%) Virtual Servers
7 5 (2.30%) Firmware
7 5 (2.30%) Microsoft Virtual Server
7 5 (2.30%) VMware NSX
8 4 (1.84%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.92%) Docker
10 1 (0.46%) Citrix Hypervisor
10 1 (0.46%) KVM
10 1 (0.46%) QEMU
10 1 (0.46%) Slurm Workload Manager
10 1 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
10 1 (0.46%) Xen
Systems Management
1 33 (15.21%) Microsoft Intune
2 21 (9.68%) Ansible
3 17 (7.83%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 16 (7.37%) Terraform
5 14 (6.45%) FortiGate
6 7 (3.23%) Cisco CUCM
6 7 (3.23%) Grafana
7 6 (2.76%) Endace
8 5 (2.30%) Jamf Pro
8 5 (2.30%) Kubernetes
8 5 (2.30%) vCenter Server
9 4 (1.84%) PaperCut
10 3 (1.38%) Autotask
11 2 (0.92%) Dell DRAC
11 2 (0.92%) OpenView
11 2 (0.92%) QRadar
11 2 (0.92%) Red Hat Satellite
11 2 (0.92%) Red Hat Spacewalk
11 2 (0.92%) SCCM
11 2 (0.92%) Tivoli
Vendors
1 96 (44.24%) Cisco
2 91 (41.94%) Microsoft
3 51 (23.50%) Fortinet
4 45 (20.74%) VMware
5 34 (15.67%) Meraki
6 27 (12.44%) Palo Alto
7 17 (7.83%) CheckPoint
7 17 (7.83%) Google
8 16 (7.37%) SolarWinds
9 14 (6.45%) Juniper
10 13 (5.99%) Splunk
11 11 (5.07%) Dynatrace
12 10 (4.61%) ServiceNow
13 7 (3.23%) F5
13 7 (3.23%) Zscaler
14 5 (2.30%) Apple
14 5 (2.30%) Aruba
14 5 (2.30%) Dell
14 5 (2.30%) NetApp
14 5 (2.30%) Red Hat