Chinese Humanoid Robot Talent Becomes a 'Golden Job' as Companies Offer Nearly 90 Million Won Average Salaries

As the humanoid robot industry rapidly grows in China, competition for related talent has intensified. It has been reported that the average annual salary for workers in the humanoid robot sector is approaching 90 million won.

Inspire Robotics' humanoid robot demonstrated calligraphy on the 28th (local time) at the humanoid robot industrial base in Beijing, China. Photo by AP Yonhap News

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On April 29, Chinese economic media outlet Caixin, citing a report titled "2026 Robot Talent Supply and Demand Trend" by the Big Data Research Institute of Chinese employment information company Liepin, reported these findings.

According to the report, over the past year, the number of new jobs in the robotics sector increased by 75.26% compared to the previous year. The average annual salary for these jobs was found to be 328,000 yuan (70.86 million won). In particular, the number of new job postings in the humanoid robot sector surged by 215.8%, and the average annual salary in this field was calculated at 406,100 yuan (87.75 million won). According to a report by MyCOS, a Chinese higher education data analysis institution, the average monthly salary for college graduates six months after graduation in 2024 was 6,199 yuan (approximately 1.2 million won). This amounts to about 14.4 million won per year.

The related market is also expanding rapidly. With 2026 expected to be the "first year of mass production" for the global robot market, the market size is projected to reach nearly 30 billion dollars. The Chinese market alone is expected to exceed 11 billion dollars. According to data provider ITjuzi, as of April 21, the number of investments in the embodied intelligence sector reached 151. Among them, there are 18 large-scale projects in which more than 1 billion yuan was invested.

The problem is the shortage of available workers for immediate deployment in the industry. According to the report, China is already facing a shortage of more than 5 million AI professionals. The demand for robotics technical personnel exceeds supply by more than five times. In response, the Ministry of Education of China has decided to introduce new majors such as "embodied intelligence" and "brain-computer interface," and to establish related departments at nine universities, including Beihang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Zhejiang University. In addition, relevant majors will be newly established at vocational colleges and technical education institutions.

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