Building and Construction Engineers and Technicians

How to become a Water Resources and Hydropower Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 水利水电建筑工程技术人员

Plans, surveys, designs, builds, supervises and checks the quality and safety of water projects such as reservoirs, hydropower stations, water supply schemes, irrigation and drainage and levees, and their supporting facilities.

Main tasks

Investigating how water resources and hydropower are developed and used, understanding farm irrigation, the water environment and water ecology, and assessing the safety of dams and levees
Planning, surveying and designing water and hydropower projects
Handling the technical work in tendering, construction, quality testing and safety monitoring
Writing construction plans and method statements and guiding and checking construction
Writing cost estimates, preliminary estimates, tender reference prices, tender ceiling prices, contract settlements and final accounts
Controlling construction quality, safety, progress and spending
Setting technical standards, specifications and procedures for water and hydropower projects

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); Civil Engineering (0810); majors such as Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Water Science and Engineering, Port, Waterway and Coastal Engineering, Road, Bridge and River Crossing Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Environment and Energy Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: 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: Water Conservancy and Hydropower Construction Engineering (450205). Vocational major 450205 Water Conservancy and Hydropower Construction Engineering (水利水电建筑工程), 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: Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering Technology (450203). Vocational major 450203 Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering Technology (水利水电工程技术), 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); Cost Engineer; Civil Engineering Concrete Materials Testing; Building Information Modelling (BIM).; 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¥117,300 a year (2025), middle half CN¥75,600 to CN¥179,400.
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 Resources and Hydropower Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: River Training and Waterway Engineering Technology (450207); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Smart Water Conservancy Technology (450202).

How much does a Water Resources and Hydropower 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¥117,300 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Water Resources and Hydropower 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

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