How to become a meter reader or vending-machine collector
Official title: Meter readers and vending-machine collectors
Also called: Meter reader, Vending-machine collector
Meter readers and vending-machine collectors stock vending machines and collect money from them or from parking meters and other coinboxes, or read electricity, gas or water meters.
Main tasks
- Filling storage areas of vending machines and collecting money from their containers
- Collecting money from parking meters and similar coinboxes
- Reading electricity, gas or water meters and recording consumption
- Keeping records of merchandise distributed and money collected
- Proceeding along established routes to take readings of meter dials
- Verifying readings in cases where consumption appears to be abnormal, and recording possible reasons for fluctuations
- Inspecting meters for unauthorized connections, defects and damage such as broken seals
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$14,400 a month
- About 337,600 people in 2025, and about 334,700 projected by 2028. (-0.8%)
- Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a meter reader or vending-machine collector?
Usually not. Only 5% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a meter reader or vending-machine collector?
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey): Monthly and hourly wage percentiles by occupational group (5 groups) (Tables 220-23014, 220-23024, 220-23003) (2025 (May to June 2025), released 2026-03-23), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), 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
Updated 4 October 2026