As China’s spring hiring season kicks off, tech companies’ push into artificial intelligence has led to soaring demand and salaries for a relatively narrow subset of skills.

AI expertise is one of the most sought-after skills in the current job market, according to data from recruitment platform Liepin shared with Sixth Tone Friday. Postings for AI-related technical positions increased by 22.5% year on year in the first two months of 2025, with algorithm engineers, image algorithm specialists, machine learning experts, deep learning experts, and natural language processing specialists in particular demand. 

AI technical positions are already among the highest-paying jobs in China, with 36.8% of posted positions offering annual salaries above 500,000 yuan ($69,000). Shanghai’s per capita disposable income in 2024 was less than 88,400 yuan.

China’s tech giants have rushed into the AI sector in the months since DeepSeek shook up the industry with the release of its R1 model in January. E-commerce giant Alibaba announced it planned to recruit for over 3,000 positions this spring, with AI-related jobs accounting for nearly 50% of the total. 

Leading startups, including DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics, are also recruiting for AI positions, with annual salaries in excess of 1 million yuan.

These AI positions typically come with significantly higher academic requirements than other fields, Liepin found. According to the platform’s data, nearly half of AI-related roles require master’s or doctoral degrees, compared to fewer than 5% of positions in the overall job market. 

The high threshold of entry has posed difficulties for the country’s growing number of AI majors, as grads realize their bachelor’s degrees are not enough to break into the industry.

Nevertheless, universities across China have promised to expand admissions for AI-related majors in recent weeks. Jin Li, president of Fudan University in Shanghai, told local media in early March that the school planned to cut liberal arts admissions by as much as half while refocusing on STEM education, including AI. 

AI and interdisciplinary education are also at the center of a recent central government push to expand undergraduate enrollment at China’s elite universities and better align it with the job market’s needs, education researcher Chu Zhaohui told Sixth Tone in an interview last week.

“The disciplines where enrollment is expanded will align with market demand, particularly the needs of employers,” Chu said. 

(Header image: A job fair at Tsinghua University in Beijing, March 14, 2025. VCG)