New professions redefining young people's work, life, play

After tiring of his previous job at an internet company, 35-year-old Chen Yunfei is living his second year as a digital nomad, traveling overseas, blogging, developing apps, and offering artificial intelligence consultancy services.

"I had worked for 10 years at companies following the rules, and felt I was stuck in a rut. I started to acquire some AI knowledge after ChatGPT hit the market around 2022. I gave up my previous job in March 2023 and started to try new types of work and a new lifestyle."

Chen said that in the first month after he quit his job, he shared his experiences of learning AI knowledge on some online communities, and then posted them to platforms like YouTube and Bilibili. "I earned money from these platforms, and got invitations to give paid lectures," he said.

In November, with the use of AI tools he developed an app that provides camera flash fills. "I'm not a good programmer, but AI has helped me turn ideas into practice. I'm lucky, as what I'm doing are my interests and bring me income."

Chen spent almost two thirds of last year overseas, and has about 40,700 YouTube subscribers and 54,000 followers on Bilibili.

He is among the increasing community of Chinese youth, who are not confined to traditional career choices, and are expanding their career prospects in sectors related to new technology or that appeal to the public's real needs.

From drudgery to drones

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Yan Ming, 27, changed his profession from a commercial photographer to a drone pilot doing crop protection work in the summer of 2023.

"I was attracted by the high pay of being a drone pilot at the very beginning, as some of my peers who have the relevant certificates told me they can earn over 20,000 yuan ($2,732) per month. I decided to start professional drone pilot training courses in April and gained a certificate in June," he said, adding that operating a crop protection drone has a lower pilot entry threshold, which makes it easier for him to practice the required skills.

"Crop protection drone pilot pay is good, but the number of orders sees seasonal fluctuations. I was lucky, the summer after I gained my certificate it was a busy season and my monthly income reached 30,000 yuan during that period."

While winter is off-peak season for drone work, Yan doesn't regret jumping out of his comfort zone. "I believe the drone industry will be a new blue ocean (industry), so why not have a try when I'm still young?" he said.

Zhang Mengqi, a 31-year-old social worker, gets "fluffy comfort" from being a part-time "cat sitter" in Beijing, who feeds pets when their owners are not at home.

"I found some posts on Xiaohongshu platform in 2023 of people sharing their experiences of taking care of cats and dogs. I'm a cat person and have two cats myself. In February, I started to book after-work jobs online.

"Usually, we are allowed to visit the house for 15 or 20 minutes, but I can't help playing with the cats for longer as they are adorable and some of them are clingy!"

She said a sitter must do some homework on an individual cat's situation and temperament before paying a visit.

"We need to wear gloves and shoe covers for hygiene, give the cats food and water, and clean up their mess. I used to charge 30 yuan per cat within a 1-kilometer radius and I earned about 1,500 yuan last year. I raised the price to 50 yuan this year, and so far I've had several verbal bookings."

However, she won't be a full-time cat sitter in the future as she doesn't want to be constrained by rigid company rules such as not being allowed to play with customers' cats. "I may land a job in the pet industry if I plan to change jobs."

New professions

Due to the burgeoning digital economy and people's diversified needs, and more precise labor subdivisions, new professions have emerged in recent years, experts said.

Figures from the recruitment portal Zhaopin show that demand for new professions, such as livestreaming anchors and AI trainers, increased by 11 percent and 62 percent respectively from January to October last year. The demand for drone pilots surged by 177 percent over the period.

The life services platform 58.com recently released a report that said over 50 new professions have emerged and developed on its platform from 2021 to 2024. The demand for such professions is continuing to rise, it added. These professions include child companions, medical escorts and elderly care workers, and cover sectors of the platform economy, digital economy and smart manufacturing.

The demand for elderly care workers rose by 21 percent year-on-year in 2024, and 34 percent for child companions, a job that requires developing plans for activities such as learning, sport and play in accordance with parents' requirements. Companions also try to inspire children, and help them kick bad habits.

Zang Yunhe, 21, tried several new jobs including setting up a street stall to braid hair, before she decided to become a nurse for infants last August. She works in Jinan, Shandong province.

"I'm good at interpersonal relationships and have the patience for the work, so I think finding a job in the service industry a good choice for me," Zang said.

She has different "missions" to assist in the baby's growth and development. "For my current family, also my first client, I'm responsible for giving the baby her milk and cooking her food. It's also my job to let her listen to music, take her for walks and to get some sun, and give her some early childhood education.

"I've seen many young people doing baby nursing work and I'm happy that my client doesn't doubt my qualifications and work ability because of my younger age," she said. "I've also noticed that more of my company's new recruits are young people. Their work extends to escorting the elderly for medical services and home-based care for the elderly."

Feng Shuaizhang, dean of the Institute for Economic and Social Research at Jinan University in Guangdong province, said social professions have always changed with the times. A profession's decline or emergence is affected by people's needs and technological development, he said.

"Young people usually have the energy and interest to explore new professions, which is worth encouraging. Their explorations of new careers will also help boost economic development," he said.

To develop new job growth areas and better protect the rights of people working in emerging professions, authorities have stepped up efforts to improve the nation's profession classifications and work recognition in recent years.

In 2024, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recognized 19 new professions, including biological engineering technician, dental hygienist, generative artificial intelligence system operator, and livestreaming anchor. About 74 new professions have gained official recognition from 2019 to 2022 after the ministry started profession classification and recognition work in 2019.

Future careers explored

"New professions are usually closely related to new technology development and new social trends, and appeal to youths' pursuits or are 'in-vogue'," said Li Qiang, vice-president of recruitment portal Zhaopin.

"Young people can get easier access to career promotion and faster self-growth serving new professions, as these professions are in an early development stage and have lighter competition. Also, some new professions have great flexibility in work time and work space, fitting youths' desire for freer work and lifestyles," he added.

He encouraged potential employees to learn new work skills to enter emerging professions, as there is still a structural imbalance in the workforce. "Getting involved in new professions by grabbing new knowledge or work abilities can help optimize the human resources allocation and let talent flow to industries with potential.

"The emergence and development of new professions may also increase innovation and entrepreneurship, and offer new choices to young people," he added.

Liu Long, a 35-year-old software developer for Nokia in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, hopes he can pursue a career in the AI sector. "Young people are facing pressure to land jobs, as are we as senior workers," he said.

He believes professions such AI trainers and engineers have promising career prospects because of burgeoning technologies such as the internet, big data, cloud computing and AI. These technologies also have strong ties and applications to people's daily life. "It's important for us to learn new knowledge and skills and seek possible new self-growth and careers," Liu said.

He recently finished training courses and lectures at the Hangzhou Innovation Institute of Beihang University where he has gained knowledge about AI systems. "I will try new professions related to AI if I have the opportunity. It's a different life experience," he said.

Lin Tao, 27, a software developer from Hundsun Technology in Hangzhou, is very interested in AI and eager for a chance to get involved in new AI-related professions.

"I've learned some AI knowledge by myself and also took training courses at the Hangzhou Innovation Institute of Beihang University. I think it's necessary for us young people to jump out of our 'comfort zone' and keep fresh and curious about new professions."

Zhu Yanlin, 23, is in her second year of postgraduate study at Beijing Normal University. She is focusing on art therapy. She said she may use her knowledge of film and images to work in psychological therapy after graduation.

"We have different healing ways. For example, for a patient with stress from academic study or family relations, we grab some film clips in which the characters have similar experiences to the patient and we talk about stress and help her or him to ease their psychological problems," she said. "Or we help the patient to shoot or record some video clips about him or herself and find the crux (of their problems) in the recorded films."

Although it's a very new and niche profession, Zhu hopes to explore it as her future career. "The public acceptance and higher cost of psychological consultancy and healing are still problems, but I'd like to have a try in the future," she said.

To encourage more people to get involved in new professions, experts called for clearer job definition and stronger work rights protection.

Li Qiang, from Zhaopin, said that many new professions lack official recognition, which may lead to ambiguity defining labor relations and work contributions. He suggested workers and those wishing to take up these new professions acquire basic knowledge of labor laws and sign contracts with employers that clarify work content, work hours, payments, and rights.

"They can use some digital tools or apps to record the work hours or contributions, and seek legal assistance whenever facing labor disputes," he said.

Fang Biling and Shi Yudie contributed to the story.