How to become an Early Childhood Teacher

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 幼儿园教师

Cares for and educates young children in kindergartens and other early learning settings.

Main tasks

• Observing and getting to know each child, and planning and delivering learning that suits their stage of development and interests
• Creating a good environment, planning the children's day and running suitable play and learning activities
• Following the kindergarten's safety, hygiene and health rules and caring for the children's daily needs with the childcare assistants
• Talking with parents about learning at home, agreeing on approaches that suit each child and working together on their education

Ways in

• University: Education & Teaching degrees, Offered by 48 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Education (0401); majors such as Education, Science Education, Humanities Education, Educational Technology, Art Education, Preschool Education. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
• Vocational majors: Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Preschool Education (370101). Vocational major 370101 Preschool Education (学前教育), 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: Teacher Qualification; Early Childhood Care; Maternal and Infant Care; Study Tour Planning and Management (EEPM); Social Psychological Services; Instrumental Music Coaching.
• National qualification: Licence to practise: Teacher Qualification. 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 Teacher Qualification (教师资格), run by Ministry of Education. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥53,100 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥39,000 to CN¥82,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥30,000 and one in ten more than CN¥133,300.
• This is the figure for the mid group Teaching Staff, 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¥64,418 a year (2025), middle half CN¥50,756 to CN¥83,249.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Teaching Staff holds 3.38% of everyone employed in China; 67.4% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 45.4% are under 35, 48.6% are 35 to 54 and 5.9% 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.

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Early Childhood Teacher?

Ways in include: Education & Teaching degrees; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Preschool Education (370101).

How much does an Early Childhood Teacher earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥53,100 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 Teaching Staff. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥64,418 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Early Childhood Teacher?

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