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The story
A thread that started when a 5ch user, who’d been taking the IT Passport exam lightly, opened an actual textbook and was floored by its sheer thickness. Coworkers on the job had casually told them “you’ll pass that, no problem,” but once they actually started studying, the sheer breadth of material caught them off guard.
The thread split between those arguing “it’s gotten harder than it used to be” and those insisting “anyone with experience can pass with zero studying,” and the discussion eventually spiraled into a broader debate over how much the certification actually helps with job changes or performance evaluations.
What people said
Finally finished reading the whole thing — who the hell said you could pass this with zero studying?
I was picturing something like a kanji-test booklet, but what they're selling in bookstores is basically a dictionary at this point. I have no idea what's supposed to be "easy" about this.
Re: #4
My boss said you could pass with zero studying too.
I'm just not cut out for this industry.
Gotta remember to bring a pencil.
— I was totally looking down on it, but it's genuinely hard.
Yeah, I underestimated it too, but I looked at the past exams and had to apologize.
Re: #9
Is it just that everyone and their dog is taking it now, so they made it harder?
Re: #10
Guess contract engineers (SES, staffing-agency IT workers) get no respect… that's the gap with real in-house SEs, huh.
This is for real.
Honestly it feels like it's gotten harder than the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer exam at this point.
That one looks tough in its own way too, but at least the zero-studying option is off the table now, so I'll think it over.
Re: #12
Speaking as a contract engineer (SES) myself, the stiff old-guard IT guys love throwing around random loanwords, so maybe this'll help that stuff click a bit easier.
Well, "we" here are basically a bunch of highly-educated people, so of course.
These days kids need the Applied exam just to reach the starting line in job hunting, not even Fundamental, right?
Tough world out there.
By the way, the Applied exam is getting scrapped soon.
Also, bro, on top of that AI's come a long way now — if anything, it feels like the emphasis is shifting from your own knowledge to how well you can actually use AI.
Re: #23
This one's right! If I'm wrong, somebody correct me!
Most people haven't even gotten Fundamental, even in IT-related majors.
I figured it'd help a little with job-hopping… or maybe not…
It'd be more worthwhile to practice explaining your track record clearly in interviews. If you've got no track record, well, I dunno then.
I'm a section-chief-level guy at a huge company, and honestly, if someone put "IT Passport" on their business card I'd be laughing on the inside — that's the level we're talking about. If you've got time to get that, get a CCNA instead, I'd think. Maybe it's different now though.
Wha!?
Seriously!?
What's gonna happen to it?
The advanced-level exams are getting scrapped too. They're getting folded into some mystery exam called "Professional Digital Skills."
Well, real talk — companies make you get certifications so they can gauge employee loyalty and motivation.
Though if you can't actually deliver, you'll literally die once you're in.
Really? I got Fundamental myself, though I'm not even doing IT work now.
But the sharp folks around here were all like "Fundamental? Trash,"
so I guess I got played.
That's true of anything — of course it takes longer for beginners.
Even if Fundamental's content is easy, there's a time limit, so if you get stuck in the afternoon session it gets hard.
There's a lot of "real-world experience beats certifications!" types out there.
That's just what people who can't pass the certs tell themselves.
Both Fundamental and Applied are basically IQ tests — if you're not sharp, you don't score.
So yeah, "you don't need the cert to do the job" is true, but "the cert is meaningless" is just sour grapes.
The topic's "psychological safety" in organizational theory, but honestly this question's just a reading-comprehension test at this point.
What even is "IT" anymore.
The guys giving serious answers to this bait are terrifying.
That's exactly the problem with you people.
What's everyone gonna do — switch careers to SE?
Well, SE I guess.
Systems engineering's only got about 5 years left too.
Honestly I think SIers will stubbornly survive thanks to that industry structure.
Contract-staffing shops (SES) and web-dev outfits, though, those look pretty shaky.
Background and key points of this discussion
The IT Passport is a national certification administered by the IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency), serving as the entry-level tier of basic IT knowledge. It was long regarded as “a cert you can pass without studying,” but in recent years the exam has expanded to cover non-IT areas like management strategy, law, and organizational theory, and many feel it has gotten noticeably harder as a result. The thread’s central disagreement was over how much real-world benefit the certification actually delivers for job changes or performance evaluations, with some crediting it and others countering that “real-world experience matters more than certifications.” The Fundamental and Applied Information Technology Engineer exams also came up, since Japan’s METI and the IPA are reportedly reorganizing the exam categories, with plans to eventually fold the Applied exam into a separate new certification system. It’s true that the passing line sits around 60% and the format is multiple-choice, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the exam is “easy” — a common misconception.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “A guy on the job: “IT Passport? You could pass that, right?” Me: “…Huh.”“
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