Veterinary and Veterinary Drug Technicians

How to become a Companion Animal Veterinarian

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 宠物医师

Diagnoses and treats illness in pets and prevents and controls infectious diseases in pets, including those that can pass between animals and people.

Main tasks

Taking a history from the owner or carer, running lab tests, imaging, needle sampling and other examinations, and writing up medical records
Analysing test results, making a diagnosis and planning treatment
Writing prescriptions and showing owners how to give medicine and care for their pet
Treating pets with medical equipment, instruments and medicines
Isolating pets with diseases that can pass to people or other infectious diseases, taking preventive steps and reporting outbreaks
Issuing veterinary certificates for pets

Ways in

University: Veterinary & Animal Science degrees, Offered by 15 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Veterinary Medicine (0904); majors such as Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Pharmacy, Animal and Plant Quarantine, Laboratory Animal Science, Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Public Health. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Pet Medical Technology (410305). Vocational major 410305 Pet Medical Technology (宠物医疗技术), 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: Licensed Veterinarian.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Pet Medicine (210303). Vocational major 210303 Pet Medicine (宠物医疗), 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: Licensed Veterinarian.
National qualification: Licence to practise: Licensed Veterinarian. 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 Licensed Veterinarian (执业兽医), run by Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥53,400 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥39,300 to CN¥73,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥29,400 and one in ten more than CN¥108,400.
This is the figure for the mid group Agricultural 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¥146,021 a year (2025), middle half CN¥134,208 to CN¥155,499.
This is the figure for the minor group Veterinary and Veterinary Drug 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 Agricultural Technical Personnel holds 0.08% of everyone employed in China; 30.6% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
25.8% are under 35, 52.6% are 35 to 54 and 21.6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 45 to 49.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Companion Animal Veterinarian?

Ways in include: Veterinary & Animal Science degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Pet Medical Technology (410305); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Pet Medicine (210303).

How much does a Companion Animal Veterinarian earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥53,400 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 Agricultural Technical Personnel. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥146,021 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Companion Animal Veterinarian?

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