Building and Construction Engineers and Technicians Green occupation

How to become a Water and Wastewater Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 供水排水工程技术人员

Provides technical development and support for planning, designing, building, running and maintaining water supply and drainage systems for towns, cities and industry.

Main tasks

Drawing up plans for choosing water sources and for treating and discharging wastewater, and analysing their technical and economic performance
Researching the form of water supply and drainage systems and planning the layout of water treatment plants, recycled water plants, wastewater treatment plants, pipe networks and sludge disposal sites
Designing water supply and drainage facilities, writing construction plans and guiding construction, supervision and acceptance
Forecasting water quality and quantity, writing operating plans and guiding operation
Writing maintenance plans for water supply and drainage facilities and guiding maintenance work
Writing emergency plans for water supply, drainage and urban flooding and guiding the emergency response
Improving how end users use mains water, recycled water and drainage, and giving technical support
Researching and applying new technology, equipment, materials and processes in water supply and drainage

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Civil Engineering (0810); Agricultural Engineering (0823); Water Conservancy (0811); majors such as Water Supply and Drainage Science and Engineering, Agricultural Water Conservancy Engineering, Water Affairs Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Building Electrical and Intelligent Systems. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: 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: Intelligent Inspection and Maintenance of Municipal Pipe Networks (440604). Vocational major 440604 Intelligent Inspection and Maintenance of Municipal Pipe Networks (市政管网智能检测与维护), 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: Building Information Modelling (BIM).; 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).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Water Supply and Drainage Engineering Technology (440602). Vocational major 440602 Water Supply and Drainage Engineering Technology (给排水工程技术), 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: Building Information Modelling (BIM); Wastewater Treatment.; 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).
National qualification: Licence to practise: Registered Survey and Design Engineer. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Registered Survey and Design Engineer (勘察设计注册工程师), run by Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

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¥122,359 a year (2025), middle half CN¥93,822 to CN¥203,809.
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 Water and Wastewater Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electromechanical Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Technology (450206); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Inspection and Maintenance of Municipal Pipe Networks (440604).

How much does a Water and Wastewater 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¥122,359 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Water and Wastewater 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