How to become an Air Navigation Systems Technician
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 航空通信导航监视员
Also called: Tower Central Control Technician, NDB and Marker Beacon Technician, VOR and DME Technician, ILS and DME Technician, Primary Radar Technician, Secondary Radar Technician, Air Traffic Automation Systems Technician, Air Traffic Voice Communications and Recorder Technician, Power Equipment Technician, Message Switching and Air Traffic Information Systems Technician, Air Traffic Information Network Technician, Multilateration Systems Technician, Air Traffic Satellite Communications Technician, Air Traffic Data Communications and Links Technician, ADS Surveillance Systems Technician
Operates, monitors, maintains and repairs aviation communication, navigation and surveillance equipment.
Main tasks
- Processing, switching and transmitting data and voice traffic on the civil aviation telecoms network with ground and satellite networks, automatic message switching systems and air traffic information systems
- Providing radio voice or data communication between the ground and aircraft
- Monitoring aircraft in the air and vehicles on the airport surface with multilateration, surface movement radar, primary radar, secondary radar and ADS-B
- Providing navigation for aircraft with satellite navigation ground equipment and ground based radio beacons, and monitoring and raising alarms when signal integrity fails
- Providing dedicated fixed or mobile radio communication in airport operating and administrative areas with trunked radio systems
- Monitoring flights and providing operational information and alerts for air traffic management with air traffic information processing systems
- Developing software for communication, navigation and surveillance systems and giving technical support
- Maintaining and repairing communication, navigation and surveillance equipment and support equipment and systems
Pay · AI and this job
- Median pay in China: CN¥74,600 a year (2025).
- Middle half: CN¥56,600 to CN¥104,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥43,900 and one in ten more than CN¥153,100.
- This is the figure for the mid group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers, not for this job alone.
- National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
- Guangzhou only: median CN¥95,780 a year (2025), middle half CN¥72,130 to CN¥127,252.
- This is the figure for the mid group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers, not for this job alone.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- The census group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers holds 0.67% of everyone employed in China; 7.5% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 42.9% are under 35, 50.5% are 35 to 54 and 6.6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
- Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How much does an Air Navigation Systems Technician earn in China?
Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥74,600 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥95,780 a year (2025).
Will AI change the work of an Air Navigation Systems Technician?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
- Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.
Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.
Updated 5 October 2026
