Salespeople

How to become a Cashier

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 收银员

Takes payments from customers in cash, cheque, bank card, mobile payment and vouchers in shops, restaurants and other places.

Main tasks

Taking and checking cash and cheques and processing card, QR code and voucher payments
Spotting counterfeit notes and fake bank cards
Giving receipts and invoices
Totalling personal or department takings, handing in the money and reporting any difference
Counting goods, checking packaging, scanning, sorting and handing them to customers
Approving discounts within their authority and handling refund and return approvals
Using and looking after cash registers, note checkers, POS terminals, calculators and other till equipment

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Foreign Languages (570208). Vocational major 570208 Applied Foreign Languages (应用外语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Japanese (570206). Vocational major 570206 Applied Japanese (应用日语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Korean (570204). Vocational major 570204 Applied Korean (应用韩语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Business Japanese (570205). Vocational major 570205 Business Japanese (商务日语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Rural E-commerce (530705). Vocational major 530705 Rural E-commerce (农村电子商务), 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: Agricultural Products E-commerce Operations; Social E-commerce Operations; Livestream E-commerce; E-commerce Data Analysis; Agricultural Products Supply Chain and Brand Management.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Business Arabic (770208). Vocational major 770208 Business Arabic (商务阿拉伯语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Business English (770201). Vocational major 770201 Business English (商务英语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Business German (770203). Vocational major 770203 Business German (商务德语), 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 China: CN¥57,600 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥42,100 to CN¥84,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥33,100 and one in ten more than CN¥131,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Wholesale and Retail Services 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¥53,046 a year (2025), middle half CN¥40,664 to CN¥61,498.
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Wholesale and Retail Services Workers holds 14.1% of everyone employed in China; 51.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
41.7% are under 35, 49.9% are 35 to 54 and 8.4% 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 Cashier?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Foreign Languages (570208); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Japanese (570206).

How much does a Cashier earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥57,600 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 Wholesale and Retail Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥53,046 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Cashier?

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
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
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