Industrial Engineering and Management Engineers and Technicians

How to become an Industrial Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 工业工程技术人员

Plans, designs, controls and assesses organisation structures, work methods and operating processes.

Main tasks

Researching, planning and designing organisation structures, work methods and operating processes, and continually improving them
Designing and improving work methods and workplace layout and analysing and refining process methods
Designing and improving production aids, setting the order parts are assembled in, observing how equipment is used and checking it is easy to operate
Setting standard time or output data for typical jobs or representative products
Analysing work time figures, measuring, improving and assessing work and labour standards, and tightening cost control
Analysing and improving suppliers' production processes, systems and quality

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Industrial Engineering (1207); Mechanical Engineering (0802); majors such as Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Forming and Control Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering, Industrial Design. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Management Science and Engineering (1201); Logistics Management and Engineering (1206); majors such as Logistics Engineering, Logistics Management, Management Science, Information Management and Information Systems, Engineering Management, Real Estate Development and Management. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Industrial Engineering Technology (460106). Vocational major 460106 Industrial Engineering Technology (工业工程技术), 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: Intelligent Manufacturing Production Management and Control; Intelligent Manufacturing Shop Floor Data Collection and Applications; Mechanical Engineering Drawing.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Automation Technology and Applications (260305). Vocational major 260305 Automation Technology and Applications (自动化技术与应用), 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: Programmable Controller System Application Programming; Motion Control System Development and Applications; Industrial Robot Application Programming.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Industrial Engineering Technology (260105). Vocational major 260105 Industrial Engineering Technology (工业工程技术), 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: Intelligent Manufacturing Production Management and Control; Intelligent Manufacturing Shop Floor Data Collection and Applications; Mechanical Engineering Drawing.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Smart Forestry Technology (210201). Vocational major 210201 Smart Forestry Technology (智慧林业技术), 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: Forest Firefighter; Environmental Impact Assessment Engineer; Drone Piloting; Surveying and Geographic Information Data Acquisition and Processing.

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¥104,013 a year (2025), middle half CN¥68,273 to CN¥140,387.
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 Industrial Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Business & Commerce degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Industrial Engineering Technology (460106); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Automation Technology and Applications (260305).

How much does an Industrial 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¥104,013 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Industrial 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