May 2026​ – South East UK – IT, Tech and AI Salary & Contractor Rates

  • The Tech Corridor: The M4 and M3 belts are seeing a surge in “Managed Service Transition” roles. As London costs peak, we’re seeing firms move their SOC and NOC operations to Reading and Guildford.

  • Regional Resilience: Unlike London’s volatile day rates, the South East remains the stronghold for permanent staff loyalty. The 10% premium over National remains the “sweet spot” for enticing London-tired commuters.

  • Market Pulse: South East clients are prioritising “Longevity.” They aren’t looking for the Shoreditch job-hopper; they want the architect who’s going to stay for the full three-year transformation roadmap.
  • The Hybrid Advantage: South East firms offering “1-day per week” office attendance are currently out-hiring London firms offering higher bases but requiring 3+ days on-site.
  • Market Pulse: While London fights over the fancy titles, the South East is quietly hoovering up the talent that actually builds the stuff. A 3rd Line Engineer in Reading is now taking home more disposable income than their London counterpart after travel—and they don’t have to deal with the Central Line. It’s a “win-win” for our Reading-based clients.
  • Category
    Job Title
    Yearly Low
    Yearly Median 
    Yearly High 
    Yearly Salary Change
    Contractor Day Rate 
    Day Rate Change
    LEADERSHIP
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CTO
    £115,500
    £154,000
    £198,000
    1.50%
    £1,155
    2.30%
     
    CIO
    £104,500
    £143,000
    £181,500
    1.50%
    £1,100
    2.30%
     
    IT Director
    £82,500
    £104,500
    £132,000
    1.50%
    £825
    2.30%
     
    Head of Data / AI
    £99,000
    £137,500
    £170,500
    1.50%
    £935
    2.20%
     
    Head of IT
    £71,500
    £88,000
    £110,000
    1.50%
    £715
    2.30%
     
    ICT Manager
    £66,000
    £82,500
    £99,000
    1.40%
    £660
    2.10%
     
    CISO
    £104,500
    £137,500
    £176,000
    1.80%
    £1,210
    2.50%
     
    IT Ops Director
    £88,000
    £110,000
    £143,000
    1.40%
    £880
    2.20%
    OPERATIONS
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    3rd Line (SysAdmin)
    £41,800
    £49,500
    £60,500
    3.90%
    £413
    5.20%
     
    2nd Line Support
    £30,800
    £37,400
    £46,200
    3.90%
    £275
    5.10%
     
    1st Line Support
    £24,200
    £28,600
    £35,200
    3.80%
    £204
    5.00%
     
    IT Support Manager
    £46,200
    £57,200
    £71,500
    3.90%
    £523
    5.20%
     
    Infrastructure Eng
    £49,500
    £60,500
    £77,000
    4.10%
    £550
    5.40%
     
    Network Engineer
    £44,000
    £55,000
    £71,500
    3.70%
    £495
    5.10%
     
    Service Desk Lead
    £38,500
    £46,200
    £55,000
    3.80%
    £385
    5.00%
     
    M365 / Azure Admin
    £44,000
    £57,200
    £71,500
    4.20%
    £495
    5.50%
     
    Mac Engineer
    £41,800
    £52,800
    £63,800
    3.50%
    £413
    4.80%
     
    NOC Engineer
    £35,200
    £44,000
    £55,000
    3.20%
    £358
    4.50%
    ARCHITECTURE
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Enterprise Architect
    £82,500
    £104,500
    £132,000
    3.80%
    £935
    5.70%
     
    Solution Architect
    £77,000
    £93,500
    £115,500
    3.80%
    £825
    5.70%
     
    Cloud Architect
    £82,500
    £110,000
    £137,500
    3.80%
    £880
    5.70%
     
    Security Architect
    £88,000
    £115,500
    £143,000
    3.80%
    £990
    5.70%
     
    Data Architect
    £86,075
    £98,725
    £112,475
    3.90%
    £853
    5.80%
     
    Software Architect
    £82,500
    £104,500
    £126,500
    4.00%
    £880
    5.90%
    ENGINEERING
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    AI / ML Engineer
    £77,000
    £104,500
    £132,000
    3.00%
    £880
    4.40%
     
    DevOps / SRE
    £71,500
    £93,500
    £115,500
    3.10%
    £770
    4.50%
     
    Cyber Security Eng
    £60,500
    £77,000
    £99,000
    2.90%
    £688
    4.60%
     
    Software Dev (Snr)
    £66,000
    £88,000
    £115,500
    3.10%
    £688
    4.50%
     
    Full Stack Dev
    £55,000
    £71,500
    £93,500
    3.20%
    £605
    4.70%
     
    Platform Engineer
    £68,200
    £85,800
    £104,500
    3.30%
    £743
    4.80%
     
    QA Automation Eng
    £46,200
    £57,200
    £74,800
    3.40%
    £468
    4.90%
    DATA & PM
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Data Engineer
    £60,500
    £82,500
    £104,500
    3.00%
    £688
    4.60%
     
    Data Scientist (Snr)
    £71,500
    £93,500
    £121,000
    3.20%
    £798
    4.90%
     
    Data Analyst
    £38,500
    £46,200
    £57,200
    3.10%
    £413
    4.90%
     
    IT Project Manager
    £60,500
    £77,000
    £93,500
    3.20%
    £633
    4.80%
     
    Business Analyst
    £49,500
    £63,800
    £77,000
    3.20%
    £523
    4.70%
     
    Technical PM
    £71,500
    £88,000
    £110,000
    3.50%
    £743
    5.10%
     
    Product Manager
    £66,000
    £85,800
    £106,700
    3.40%
    £715
    4.90%

If your company is thinking of hiring, do it now. As demand rises, so too with the rates of pay and the difficulty levels of attracting and securing the right talent.

If, however, your company is slowing down – beware! If your IT staff start to feel insecure, talent competitors and recruiters will find it very easy to persuade your staff to interview elsewhere. Despite the stress and negativity that may exist, take the time to focus on reassuring your team and, where appropriate, reward their loyalty. It’s a false economy to avoid salary increases for your best people. Doing so risks leave yourself vulnerable to losing key staff and the larger costs in both time and money of replacing them.

Should you be considering recruitment or simply would like some advice on anything recruitment related, please do not hesitate to give us a call and see how we can really help you to Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.

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