Metal Rolling Workers

How to become a Metal Finishing Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 金属材精整工

Also called: Rolling Mill Finishing Worker, Heavy Rail Processing Worker, Wire Products Finishing Worker, Strip and Foil Finishing Worker

Cools, cuts, straightens, dresses, bundles and dispatches rolled metal products.

Main tasks

Checking information and controlling cooling speed and time on cooling beds or in slow cooling pits
Moving material on roller tables and transfer chains
Straightening and flattening material
Removing surface defects with scarfing torches and grinders
Spray marking products
Packing and strapping finished and semi finished products
Processing heavy rails, tube and sections
Working material with saws, drills, shears and other equipment
Directing cranes to store, load and dispatch products, keeping statistics and taking samples
Maintaining equipment, clearing faults and keeping production records

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥68,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥51,700 to CN¥90,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,200 and one in ten more than CN¥114,500.
This is the figure for the mid group Metal Smelting and Rolling 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¥84,285 a year (2025), middle half CN¥40,442 to CN¥99,540.
This is the figure for the minor group Metal Rolling Workers, 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 Metal Smelting and Rolling Workers holds 0.3% of everyone employed in China; 16.8% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
30.9% are under 35, 60.2% are 35 to 54 and 8.8% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How much does a Metal Finishing Operator earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥68,000 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 Metal Smelting and Rolling Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥84,285 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Metal Finishing Operator?

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