Surveying and Mapping Services Workers Digital occupation Green occupation

How to become a Photogrammetrist

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 摄影测量员

Captures and processes aerial, satellite and remote sensing images with large and medium aircraft, digital photogrammetry equipment and other tools, draws topographic base maps and produces digital image products.

Main tasks

Capturing aerial, satellite and remote sensing images from large and medium aircraft platforms
Laying out control point markers in the field, surveying control points and mapping ground features and landforms
Carrying out block aerial triangulation to add the control points and data mapping needs
Processing images, correcting geometry, interpreting images and doing stereo mapping on photogrammetry workstations, and drawing topographic base maps at a range of scales
Correcting, registering and adjusting satellite images with remote sensing software and graphics workstations, then merging, mosaicking and clipping them
Producing digital terrain models (DTM), digital orthophotos (DOM), digital elevation models (DEM) and other products
Operating mobile or fixed ground observation platforms and remote sensing equipment to collect data on targets
Maintaining instruments, equipment and tools

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Drone Surveying and Mapping Technology (420307). Vocational major 420307 Drone Surveying and Mapping Technology (无人机测绘技术), 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: Drone Piloting; Drone Photogrammetry; Drone Operation Applications.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Technology (420304). Vocational major 420304 Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Technology (摄影测量与遥感技术), 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: Surveying and Geographic Information Data Acquisition and Processing; Drone Photogrammetry; Real Estate Data Collection and Database Building.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Aerial Photogrammetry (620304). Vocational major 620304 Aerial Photogrammetry (航空摄影测量), 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: Drone Piloting; Drone Photogrammetry; Drone Operation Applications.

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¥81,552 a year (2025), middle half CN¥62,000 to CN¥114,247.
This is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services 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 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 a Photogrammetrist?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Drone Surveying and Mapping Technology (420307); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Technology (420304).

How much does a Photogrammetrist 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¥81,552 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Photogrammetrist?

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
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), 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