How to become a Cable and Optical Fibre Engineer
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 电缆光缆工程技术人员
Designs electrical and optical cable products, develops materials, tests and inspects them, and guides production.
Main tasks
- Researching and designing cable products and setting production process flows
- Testing materials and products and issuing test reports
- Designing, maintaining and improving specialised manufacturing equipment and tooling
- Supervising production processes and giving technical guidance
- Developing and improving new materials, products, technologies, processes and equipment
- Writing and applying standards for cable products
Ways in
- University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Electrical Engineering (0806); Automation (0808); Transportation (0818); Electronic Information (0807); majors such as Electrical Engineering and Automation, Automation, Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Control, Ship Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Electronic Information Engineering, Communication Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
- Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electrical Automation Technology (460306). Vocational major 460306 Electrical Automation Technology (电气自动化技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Programmable Controller System Application Programming; Motion Control System Development and Applications; Substation and Distribution Operation and Maintenance.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Marine Communication Equipment Technology (460507). Vocational major 460507 Marine Communication Equipment Technology (船舶通信装备技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Electrical Engineering and Automation (260302). Vocational major 260302 Electrical Engineering and Automation (电气工程及自动化), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Motion Control System Development and Applications; Industrial Robot Application Programming; Programmable Control System Integration and Applications.
Pay · AI and this job
- Median pay in China: CN¥79,500 a year (2025).
- Middle half: CN¥55,200 to CN¥123,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥192,300.
- This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, 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¥110,880 a year (2025), middle half CN¥70,495 to CN¥143,419.
- This is the figure for the minor group Electrical Engineers and Technicians, 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 Engineering and Technical Personnel holds 2.35% of everyone employed in China; 17.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 48.9% are under 35, 45.1% are 35 to 54 and 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 do I become a Cable and Optical Fibre Engineer?
Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electrical Automation Technology (460306); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Marine Communication Equipment Technology (460507).
How much does a Cable and Optical Fibre Engineer earn in China?
Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥79,500 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 Engineering and Technical Personnel. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥110,880 a year (2025).
Will AI change the work of a Cable and Optical Fibre Engineer?
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
