Natural Science and Earth Science Researchers

How to become a Biologist

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 生物学研究人员

Studies living things and the processes of life, in both theoretical and applied research.

Main tasks

Researching the structure, function, origins, reproduction, evolution, genetics, cognition and health of living things and how they relate to each other
Observing the features and behaviour of living things in the field
Identifying, classifying, preserving and supplying biological and biological type samples for biological and disease research
Experimenting on biological specimens using anatomy, histochemistry and molecular biology techniques, and bioinformatics and systems biology methods

Ways in

University: Science degrees, Offered by 99 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Physics (0702); Chemistry (0703); Astronomy (0704); Biological Sciences (0710); Geology (0709); Bioengineering (0830); majors such as Bioinformatics, Synthetic Biology, Biotechnology, Physics, Applied Physics, Nuclear Physics. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Bioinformatics Technology (470107). Vocational major 470107 Bioinformatics Technology (生物信息技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in Guangzhou: CN¥93,636 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥84,800 to CN¥157,152. One in ten earn less than CN¥56,465 and one in ten more than CN¥207,341.
This is the figure for the minor group Natural Science and Earth Science Researchers, not for this job alone.
Guangzhou only, not a national figure: wage prices of enterprise employees in the city. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Scientific Researchers holds 0.07% of everyone employed in China; 41.6% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
48.6% are under 35, 44.1% are 35 to 54 and 7.4% 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.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Biologist?

Ways in include: Science degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Bioinformatics Technology (470107).

How much does a Biologist earn in China?

In Guangzhou, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥93,636 a year (Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025). This is a Guangzhou figure, not a national one. It is the figure for the minor group Natural Science and Earth Science Researchers.

Will AI change the work of a Biologist?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

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 4 October 2026