Building and Construction Engineers and Technicians

How to become a Highway, Bridge and Tunnel Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 道路与桥隧工程技术人员

Plans, surveys and designs roads, bridges and tunnels, and guides their construction and maintenance.

Main tasks

Planning and surveying road routes
Planning, surveying and designing roads, bridges, tunnels and culverts and guiding construction
Researching and designing ways to protect the ecology, historic sites and landscape along roads
Setting construction specifications and safe working procedures for roads, bridges, tunnels and culverts
Drawing up construction plans and working out construction costs
Testing and rating the traffic safety of roads, bridges, tunnels and culverts
Planning maintenance of roads, bridges, tunnels, culverts and related facilities and guiding their management and repair

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 Road, Bridge and River Crossing Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Water Supply and Drainage Science and Engineering, Building Electrical and Intelligent Systems, Urban Underground Space Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Road and Bridge Engineering Technology (500201). Vocational major 500201 Road and Bridge Engineering Technology (道路与桥梁工程技术), 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 Information Modelling (BIM); Road and Bridge Nondestructive Testing.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Road Engineering Testing Technology (500204). Vocational major 500204 Road Engineering Testing Technology (道路工程检测技术), 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: Road and Bridge Nondestructive Testing; Construction Quality Testing; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Municipal Engineering (240601). Vocational major 240601 Municipal Engineering (市政工程), 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); Cost Engineer; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; 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: Road and Bridge Engineering (300201). Vocational major 300201 Road and Bridge Engineering (道路与桥梁工程), 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: Building Information Modelling (BIM); Road and Bridge Nondestructive Testing.; 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¥138,084 a year (2025), middle half CN¥105,757 to CN¥210,010.
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 Highway, Bridge and Tunnel Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Road and Bridge Engineering Technology (500201); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Road Engineering Testing Technology (500204).

How much does a Highway, Bridge and Tunnel 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¥138,084 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Highway, Bridge and Tunnel 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