Building and Construction Engineers and Technicians

How to become a Civil and Building Construction Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 土木建筑工程技术人员

Manages and supervises the construction of factories, homes and public buildings, and municipal infrastructure.

Main tasks

Writing project briefs and tender documents and organising tenders
Preparing and managing bills of quantities and cost estimates, budgets and final accounts
Writing construction technical documents and organising and guiding construction
Managing construction progress and controlling costs
Writing quality plans and controlling, inspecting and assessing the quality of the work
Writing site safety and good practice plans and managing construction safety
Checking materials and equipment delivered to site
Organising testing of raw materials, finished and part finished products
Collecting and organising construction technical records

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Civil Engineering (0810); majors such as Civil Engineering, Intelligent Construction, Urban Underground Space Engineering, Road, Bridge and River Crossing Engineering, Water Supply and Drainage Science and Engineering, Building Environment and Energy Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
University: Architecture & Built Environment degrees, Offered by 52 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Architecture (0828); majors such as Architecture, Historic Building Conservation Engineering, Urban and Rural Planning, Smart Building and Construction, Landscape Architecture, Human Settlements Science and Technology. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Architectural Decoration Engineering Technology (440102). Vocational major 440102 Architectural Decoration Engineering Technology (建筑装饰工程技术), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Interior Design; Construction Drawing Reading; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Building Engineering Technology (440301). Vocational major 440301 Building Engineering Technology (建筑工程技术), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Cost Engineer; Construction Drawing Reading; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Building Construction Process Implementation and Management.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Civil Engineering Testing Technology (440306). Vocational major 440306 Civil Engineering Testing Technology (土木工程检测技术), 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: Building Information Modelling (BIM); Road and Bridge Nondestructive Testing; Construction Quality Testing.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Construction Technology (440304). Vocational major 440304 Intelligent Construction Technology (智能建造技术), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Supervising Engineer; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Intelligent Construction Design and Integration.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Prefabricated Building Engineering Technology (440302). Vocational major 440302 Prefabricated Building Engineering Technology (装配式建筑工程技术), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Construction Drawing Reading; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Prefabricated Building Component Fabrication and Installation.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Steel Structure Building Engineering Technology (440303). Vocational major 440303 Steel Structure Building Engineering Technology (建筑钢结构工程技术), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Construction Drawing Reading; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Building Construction Process Implementation and Management.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Underground and Tunnel Engineering Technology (440305). Vocational major 440305 Underground and Tunnel Engineering Technology (地下与隧道工程技术), 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: Building Construction Process Implementation and Management; Prefabricated Building Component Fabrication and Installation; Tunnel Boring Machine Operation.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Village and Town Development and Management (440203). Vocational major 440203 Village and Town Development and Management (村镇建设与管理), 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: Registered Urban and Rural Planner; Construction Quality Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building.
National qualification: Licence to practise: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer). You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer) (建造师), run by Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

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¥107,133 a year (2025), middle half CN¥71,484 to CN¥159,275.
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.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Civil and Building Construction Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Architecture & Built Environment degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Architectural Decoration Engineering Technology (440102); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Building Engineering Technology (440301).

How much does a Civil and Building Construction 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¥107,133 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Civil and Building Construction 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