How to become a Medical Researcher

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 医学研究人员

Researches basic, clinical, preventive, dental and specialised medicine, as well as pharmacy, traditional Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese and Western medicine.

Main tasks

• Researching the structure and function of the human body and how health turns into disease and back
• Researching new techniques and methods for diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating disease
• Researching new techniques and methods to stop the causes of disease arising and spreading and to strengthen the resistance and immunity of people at risk
• Researching new techniques and methods in oral health care and the diagnosis and treatment of dental disease
• Researching medical problems that arise in special environments such as sport, diving, aviation and spaceflight
• Researching the ingredients, structure and biological activity of medicines
• Researching and developing traditional Chinese medicine and the medicine of China's ethnic minorities
• Researching the theory, techniques and methods of integrated Chinese and Western medicine

Ways in

• University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 38 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Basic Medicine (1001); Clinical Medicine (1002); majors such as Basic Medicine, Biomedicine, Biomedical Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Anaesthesiology, Medical Imaging. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in Guangzhou: CN¥97,997 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥63,873 to CN¥149,392. One in ten earn less than CN¥51,750 and one in ten more than CN¥210,000.
• This is the figure for the mid group Scientific Researchers, not for this job alone.
• Guangzhou only, not a national figure: wage prices of enterprise employees in the city. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Scientific Researchers holds 0.07% of everyone employed in China; 41.6% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 48.6% are under 35, 44.1% are 35 to 54 and 7.4% 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.

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a Medical Researcher?

Ways in include: Medicine & Dentistry degrees.

How much does a Medical Researcher earn in China?

In Guangzhou, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥97,997 a year (Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025). This is a Guangzhou figure, not a national one. It is the figure for the mid group Scientific Researchers.

Will AI change the work of a Medical Researcher?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• 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
• 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

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 4 October 2026