After the proposal on the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) was unveiled, income has become one of the most concerned issues among the Chinese people. Some leading experts have suggested that six jobs are most likely to become the best-paying occupations over the next five years and beyond, according to a Xinhua report.
Software engineer
As the proposal has mentioned, the "Internet Plus" strategy will be adopted to promote the integrative development of the Internet and the economic society.
"During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, occupations that are closely related to Internet and information have a bigger chance to double income," said Mo Rong, director of the Institute of International Labor and Social Security under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
Zhao Peng, former CEO of zhaopin.com said, "The strategy is expected to generate a greater demand for experts in big data and software engineering.
"The plan provides broader development space for the career."
Case: It's been four year since Su graduating from university. Now Su works as a senior R&D engineer in an Internet company with annual salary reaching 350,000 yuan ($54,915).
Cross-fields talent
The proposal says the country should boost the innovation of the industrial organization, business model, supply chain and logistics chain, and all kinds of innovation based on the Internet.
"Under the era of the Internet Plus, cross-fields talents are difficult to find, which is why their income would be increased," Zhao said, "For example, as the Internet finance develops rapidly, those who are good at both the Internet and finance would be very popular."
Case: Cheng, a 31-year-old former banker, earns a monthly salary of 35,000 yuan after changing his job to become a risk manager in a P2P company.
Intelligent hardware engineer
The proposal says to implement intelligent manufacturing engineering, build a new type of manufacturing system and promote the development of industries such as information communication, advanced numerically-controlled machine tools, robots, and aerospace equipment.
"From the Xiaomi smart wristband to the Apple Watch, the intelligent hardware will be used in more devices and equipments, but the cultivation of talents is still lagged behind the industrial development, " Zhao Peng said, "Those working on R&D of the intelligent hardware will be popular over the next few years."
Case: After two years on the job, a hardware circuit engineer surnamed Pan earns 30,000 yuan per month in a smartwear company.
Farm contractor
The proposal says the country should vigorously advance the modernization of agriculture and train new types of professional farmers.
Zhang Weiguo, director of the Economic Institute of the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, said that scale and industrialized operations will see more "decent farmers" in rural areas.
"During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, China will continue to attach importance to the role of agriculture, thus more highly-paid professional farmers will emerge over the years," he said.
Case: A farmer in Gaotang county, Shandong province, has circulated 600 mu (40 hectares) of farmlands and his income this year is estimated to be more than 300,000 yuan.
Designer
The proposal says it will promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as the development of new technologies, industries and commercial activities.
Zhao Peng said as individual needs become the new trend of consumption, industrial design, fashion design, web design and graphic design are likely to experience rapid growth in the next five years.
Case: A junior college graduate started a design company for auto parts after working on industrial design in an auto company for five years. In less than two years, the annual income of his startup became nearly 1 million yuan.
Maternity matron, nurse
China will allow all couples to have two children, abandoning its decades-long one-child policy.
Experts say with the arrival of the aging society and the second-baby boom, the high-end service industry will face a personnel shortage, and the salaries of maternity matrons and nurses will see continual raises.
Case: Liu Aiqun, a maternity matron from Henan province, earns as much as 11,000 yuan per month in Beijing, while her daughter who works as shop assistant can only earn 1,000 yuan in their hometown.
