Building and Construction Engineers and Technicians Green occupation

How to become a Sanitation and Waste Management Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 环境卫生工程技术人员

Provides technical development and support for planning, designing, building, running and maintaining urban and rural sanitation systems.

Main tasks

Drawing up system plans for urban and rural sanitation facilities
Researching and designing plans for collecting, transporting, treating and reusing household waste, and analysing their technical and economic performance
Designing construction drawings for sanitation facilities, writing construction plans and guiding construction, supervision and acceptance
Researching and applying processes, technology and equipment for collecting, treating and reusing sewage sludge and household waste
Researching processes, technology and equipment for street cleaning and clearing ice and snow
Choosing sanitation work processes, drafting technical plans and giving technical guidance
Testing and analysing the operating parameters of facilities and equipment and guiding their operation
Setting and revising operating procedures and technical standards for facilities and equipment

Ways in

University: Agriculture & Environment degrees, Offered by 83 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Environmental Science and Engineering (0825); majors such as Environmental Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Ecological Engineering, Environmental Protection Equipment Engineering, Resource and Environmental Science. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: River Training, Port and Waterway Engineering (250204). Vocational major 250204 River Training, Port and Waterway Engineering (治河与港航工程), 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); Registered Civil Engineer; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering (250203). Vocational major 250203 Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering (水利水电工程), 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); Registered Civil Engineer; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM).

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¥110,928 a year (2025), middle half CN¥72,319 to CN¥166,389.
This is the figure for the minor group Building and Construction 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 Sanitation and Waste Management Engineer?

Ways in include: Agriculture & Environment degrees; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: River Training, Port and Waterway Engineering (250204); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering (250203).

How much does a Sanitation and Waste Management 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¥110,928 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Sanitation and Waste Management 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