Social Workers

How to become a Social Worker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 社会工作者

Develops and designs social service programmes and delivers professional social services such as casework, group work and community building.

Main tasks

Finding out what social services people need and developing and designing programmes to match
Assessing clients' needs and drawing up service plans
Giving clients support such as practical help, emotional support, comfort, behaviour change, rehabilitation, protecting their rights, crisis intervention, repairing relationships, resolving conflicts, connecting them with resources, building their abilities and helping them fit into society
Helping people facing the same difficulties or needs build mutual support networks
Helping community groups grow, running community activities, joining community discussions, mediating disputes and helping communities develop
Giving professional supervision to improve the team's reflective practice and service skills
Evaluating how well services work

Ways in

University: Social Work & Community degrees, Offered by 54 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Sociology (0303); majors such as Sociology, Social Work, Anthropology, Women's Studies, Home Economics, Gerontology. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Social Work (590101). Vocational major 590101 Social Work (社会工作), 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: Social Worker Qualification; Community Governance; Dementia Care for Older People; Social Psychological Services; Career Planning Guidance; Household Management.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Party Affairs Work (390101). Vocational major 390101 Party Affairs Work (党务工作), 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: Social Worker Qualification; Community Governance; Dementia Care for Older People; Social Psychological Services; Career Planning Guidance; Household Management.
National qualification: National professional qualification: Social Worker Qualification. A national qualification that shows your level; it is not required to work. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Social Worker Qualification (社会工作者职业资格), run by Ministry of Civil Affairs; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥84,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥55,000 to CN¥156,100. One in ten earn less than CN¥36,900 and one in ten more than CN¥246,000.
This is the figure for the mid group Supervisory, Legal, Social and Religious Professionals, 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.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Supervisory, Legal, Social and Religious Professionals holds 0.24% of everyone employed in China; 48.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
43% are under 35, 48.1% are 35 to 54 and 8.9% 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 Social Worker?

Ways in include: Social Work & Community degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Social Work (590101); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Party Affairs Work (390101).

How much does a Social Worker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥84,000 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 Supervisory, Legal, Social and Religious Professionals.

Will AI change the work of a Social Worker?

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
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