Specialised Design Services Workers

How to become an Interior Designer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 室内装饰设计师

Also called: Renovation Pollution Control Specialist

Designs interior spaces in buildings, aircraft, vehicles and ships, assesses and controls renovation pollution in advance and oversees construction.

Main tasks

Designing the look of interior spaces in buildings, aircraft, vehicles and ships with material technology and artistic techniques
Completing interior fit out designs and designing the physical environment such as light, sound and heat
Dividing and combining interior spaces and planning furnishings and fittings as part of decor design
Analysing indoor microclimate such as temperature, humidity, adsorption and desorption and the release of key pollutants, and choosing methods to control air pollution
Guiding and checking fit out works and taking part in final acceptance
Collecting, organising and submitting the related documents

Ways in

University: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 87 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Design (1305); Drama, Film and Television (1303); Fine Arts (1304); majors such as Visual Communication Design, Film and Television Cinematography and Production, Environmental Design, Painting, Fine Arts, Arts and Crafts. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Architectural Decoration Engineering Technology (440102). Vocational major 440102 Architectural Decoration Engineering Technology (建筑装饰工程技术), 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: Constructor (Registered Construction Engineer); Interior Design; Construction Drawing Reading; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Ethnic Fine Arts (550302). Vocational major 550302 Ethnic Fine Arts (民族美术), 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: Digital Creative Modelling.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Interior Design (440106). Vocational major 440106 Interior Design (建筑室内设计), 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: Interior Design; Digital Design for Building Decoration and Fit Out.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Computer Graphic Design (710210). Vocational major 710210 Computer Graphic Design (计算机平面设计), 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: Interface Design; Digital Image Processing.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Architectural Decoration Engineering (240102). Vocational major 240102 Architectural Decoration Engineering (建筑装饰工程), 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; Supervising Engineer; Interior Design; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Construction Drawing Reading.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Fine Arts (350107). Vocational major 350107 Fine Arts (美术), 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: Digital Creative Modelling.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥67,400 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥49,200 to CN¥96,500. One in ten earn less than CN¥38,000 and one in ten more than CN¥140,900.
This is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services Workers, 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¥77,900 a year (2025), middle half CN¥63,000 to CN¥131,818.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Technical Support Services Workers holds 0.75% of everyone employed in China; 36.7% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
64.4% are under 35, 33.1% are 35 to 54 and 2.5% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 30 to 34.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Interior Designer?

Ways in include: Creative Arts & Design degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Architectural Decoration Engineering Technology (440102); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Ethnic Fine Arts (550302).

How much does an Interior Designer earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥67,400 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 Technical Support Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥77,900 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Interior Designer?

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