Water Resources Engineers and Technicians Green occupation

How to become a River and Water Ecology Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 水生态和河湖治理管护工程技术人员

Protects and restores water ecology, patrols and manages rivers, lakes and their banks, manages sand dredging in rivers, and tackles groundwater overuse and soil erosion.

Main tasks

Protecting and restoring water ecology and assessing the health of rivers, lakes and reservoirs
Managing, protecting and making good use of rivers, lakes and their banks
Writing and applying plans, standards and procedures for protecting and managing rivers, lakes and their banks
Writing and carrying out plans for sand dredging in rivers
Writing and carrying out plans for integrated river and lake management, tackling pollution at source, and patrols and upkeep
Researching and forecasting how river channels scour and silt up and how sediment settles, and suggesting remedies and uses for the sediment
Monitoring and preventing soil erosion and drawing up control plans and engineering measures
Collecting basic information for managing and protecting rivers and lakes and advising on where management boundaries should lie
Tackling groundwater overuse and writing and applying the related plans, standards and procedures

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Water Conservancy (0811); Agricultural Engineering (0823); Civil Engineering (0810); majors such as Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Water Science and Engineering, Agricultural Water Conservancy Engineering, Port, Waterway and Coastal Engineering, Road, Bridge and River Crossing Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Aquatic Ecological Restoration Technology (450403). Vocational major 450403 Aquatic Ecological Restoration Technology (水生态修复技术), 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: Supervising Engineer; Cost Engineer; Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment; Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electromechanical Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Technology (450206). Vocational major 450206 Electromechanical Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Technology (机电排灌工程技术), 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: Water Resources Engineering Quality Inspector Qualification; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM); Digital Applications in Construction Cost Engineering.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Hydrology and Water Resources Technology (450101). Vocational major 450101 Hydrology and Water Resources Technology (水文与水资源技术), 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: Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Management of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Projects (450204). Vocational major 450204 Intelligent Management of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Projects (水利水电工程智能管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment (450402). Vocational major 450402 Intelligent Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment (水环境智能监测与治理), 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: Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment; Smart Water Plant Operation and Control; Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: River Training and Waterway Engineering Technology (450207). Vocational major 450207 River Training and Waterway Engineering Technology (治河与航道工程技术), 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); Supervising Engineer; Cost Engineer; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Smart Water Conservancy Technology (450202). Vocational major 450202 Smart Water Conservancy Technology (智慧水利技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Smart Water Utility Management (450208). Vocational major 450208 Smart Water Utility Management (智能水务管理), 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: Water Resources Engineering Quality Inspector Qualification; Smart Water Plant Operation and Control; Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment; Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays).

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¥150,533 a year (2025), middle half CN¥102,000 to CN¥269,889.
This is the figure for the minor group Water Resources Engineers and Technicians, 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 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 a River and Water Ecology Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Aquatic Ecological Restoration Technology (450403); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electromechanical Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Technology (450206).

How much does a River and Water Ecology 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¥150,533 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a River and Water Ecology 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
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