Environmental Protection Engineers and Technicians Green occupation

How to become an Environmental Monitoring Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 环境监测工程技术人员

Monitors and tests changes in the environment and assesses their effects on human health and ecosystems.

Main tasks

Analysing and assessing the environmental quality of an area
Monitoring surface water, urban drinking water sources, urban air, acid deposition, rural environments, environmental background levels, coastal waters and the physical and ecological environment
Carrying out compliance monitoring of key monitored businesses and environmental completion monitoring of building projects
Carrying out emergency monitoring and giving technical guidance at pollution incidents
Building the technical system for regional environmental monitoring and giving technical support for monitoring networks and monitoring quality

Ways in

University: Agriculture & Environment degrees, Offered by 83 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Environmental Science and Engineering (0825); majors such as Environmental Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Ecological Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Protection Equipment Engineering, Resource and Environmental Science. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Green and Low Carbon Technology (420807). Vocational major 420807 Green and Low Carbon Technology (绿色低碳技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment (450402). Vocational major 450402 Intelligent Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment (水环境智能监测与治理), 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: Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment; Smart Water Plant Operation and Control; Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering Technology (250101). Vocational major 250101 Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering Technology (水文与水资源工程技术), 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: Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays); Building Information Modelling (BIM).

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¥101,075 a year (2025), middle half CN¥74,217 to CN¥131,028.
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 an Environmental Monitoring Engineer?

Ways in include: Agriculture & Environment degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Green and Low Carbon Technology (420807); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment (450402).

How much does an Environmental Monitoring 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¥101,075 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Environmental Monitoring 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
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