General Chemical Process Workers Digital occupation

How to become a Chemical Plant Control Room Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 化工总控工

Uses instruments and automatic control systems to monitor and adjust the reactions and each operating step in a chemical plant, turning raw materials into products.

Main tasks

Starting up, shutting down and keeping the plant running smoothly from the control room using instruments and automatic controls
Adjusting process settings and judging from the data whether production is normal
Working with field operators to keep the process and instruments on site running properly
Taking part in plant trial runs and acceptance
Calculating the plant's material and energy balances, product yields and consumption figures
Checking and maintaining equipment regularly and spotting and clearing problems and faults quickly
Keeping production records and the related data

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Chemical Technology (470201). Vocational major 470201 Applied Chemical Technology (应用化工技术), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chemical Safety Technology (420902). Vocational major 420902 Chemical Safety Technology (化工安全技术), 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: Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis; Chemical Distillation Safety Control.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Chemical Processes (670201). Vocational major 670201 Chemical Processes (化学工艺), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Chemical Manufacturing Engineering Technology (270202). Vocational major 270202 Intelligent Chemical Manufacturing Engineering Technology (化工智能制造工程技术), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis; Big Data Analysis and Applications.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥85,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥67,000 to CN¥116,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥56,400 and one in ten more than CN¥146,000.
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¥93,642 a year (2025), middle half CN¥62,231 to CN¥119,547.
This is the figure for the minor group General Chemical Process 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 Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers holds 0.24% of everyone employed in China; 30.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
33.9% are under 35, 57.1% are 35 to 54 and 9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Chemical Plant Control Room Operator?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Chemical Technology (470201); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chemical Safety Technology (420902).

How much does a Chemical Plant Control Room Operator earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥85,000 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥93,642 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Chemical Plant Control Room Operator?

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
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), 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