Building and Construction Engineers and Technicians Digital occupation

How to become a Geotechnical Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 工程勘察与岩土工程技术人员

Investigates and assesses the geology, groundwater and ground conditions of building sites, handles ground investigation, design, remediation, testing, monitoring and engineering surveys, and gives specialist advice.

Main tasks

Organising engineering geology mapping, geological and hydrological investigation and ground environment surveys, assessing whether a site is stable and suitable for building, giving feasibility and site selection advice and issuing reports
Carrying out ground and environmental ground investigation from construction through to operation, doing site exploration, in situ testing and laboratory soil and groundwater tests, advising on design, construction and operation, and submitting investigation results
Completing designs for geotechnical works, groundwater control and use of site foundations and submitting the designs
Organising ground remediation, groundwater control and environmental ground remediation and delivering the results
Organising ground testing, monitoring and surveying at each stage and submitting reports
Giving geotechnical advice across the whole project and carrying out special studies, and submitting advice or research reports

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); Geological Engineering (0814); majors such as Geological Engineering, Exploration Technology and Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Water Supply and Drainage Science and Engineering, Building Electrical and Intelligent Systems. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Engineering Geological Investigation (420201). Vocational major 420201 Engineering Geological Investigation (工程地质勘查), 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: Geotechnical Engineering Technology (420205). Vocational major 420205 Geotechnical Engineering Technology (岩土工程技术), 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: Construction Drawing Reading.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Geotechnical Investigation and Construction (620204). Vocational major 620204 Geotechnical Investigation and Construction (岩土工程勘察与施工), 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: Construction Drawing Reading.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: River Training, Port and Waterway Engineering (250204). Vocational major 250204 River Training, Port and Waterway Engineering (治河与港航工程), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Registered Civil Engineer; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering (250203). Vocational major 250203 Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering (水利水电工程), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Registered Civil Engineer; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM).
National qualification: Licence to practise: Registered Survey and Design 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 Registered Survey and Design Engineer (勘察设计注册工程师), 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¥110,928 a year (2025), middle half CN¥72,319 to CN¥166,389.
This is the figure for the minor group Building and Construction Engineers and 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 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 Geotechnical Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Engineering Geological Investigation (420201); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Geotechnical Engineering Technology (420205).

How much does a Geotechnical 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¥110,928 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Geotechnical 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