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The truth behind high salaries at data centers on the grasslands: DeepSeek offers monthly pay of 30000 for operations roles, while ordinary shift operators earn just 6000 BlockBeats news,AI: Daily People interviewed a data center operations engineer who has worked in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, for 5 years. Local AI data centers are still being built on a large scale, but hiring demand at his company has fallen markedly: it hired several thousand people in 2025, but in 2026 had hired only 3 new employees as of the interview.
The engineer, who uses the pseudonym Zhang Liwei, previously tightened screws on an automobile factory assembly line. When he first changed careers, his internship paid just 2000 yuan per month, rising to 4500 yuan after graduation. After 5 years of changing jobs and earning promotions, he is now an engineer earning more than yuan a month.
In April this year, DeepSeek recruited senior data center operations engineers and senior delivery managers in Ulanqab, offering monthly salaries of 15000 to 30000 yuan, with 14 months of pay per year. But these are senior positions requiring extensive data center operations and project management experience. In Zhang Liwei's observation, ordinary local shift operators still earn just 6000 yuan per month, while assistant engineers can earn more than 10000 yuan.
Entry requirements are also rising. In 2024, some data centers were still willing to hire newcomers without a relevant academic background. This year, some companies have begun requiring relevant qualifications and work experience, and an age limit of 35 has also appeared for entry-level shift positions.
The job-seeking boom has even spawned a training business. Zhang Liwei said a former colleague he knows started an operations training course, charging each participant nearly 20000 yuan and starting a class only when 60 people enroll. On that basis, fees per cohort come to nearly 1200000 yuan. But the so-called internal referral can at most help participants secure an interview.