Preface
I recently passed the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination, a national qualification exam administered by the IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency).
Due to the timing of the exam, I wasn't sure if I would pass, but I was fortunate enough to get a good result.
I decided to document my study methods so that I can look back on them later when I take on other certification exams in the future.
Also, I hope this will be of some help to others who are facing a similar challenge.
However, starting in fiscal year 2023, the scope and content of the afternoon session of this exam will change significantly, so this information may not be very helpful.
Reasons and objectives for deciding to take the exam
The reason I decided to take the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination was that I wanted to make a firm decision about something within myself.
I passed the IT Passport exam a few years ago, and later took the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination.
I passed the morning exam, but I was unable to pass the afternoon exam.
After that, I was too busy with changes in my personal and work environment to try again.
However, it was decided that the exam scope would change significantly from 2023, and there were rumors that the content would become somewhat easier.
I think the initial motivation was the desire to take the exam as a test of my skills before things got to that point.
(In other words, passing the exam after it becomes easier might diminish its value, so I wanted to pass it now.)
My reason for taking the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination remains the same, both then and now: I wanted to have something that could prove, in some form, that I had studied a little about the IT field.
I have a liberal arts background, and my company is in a non-IT industry. I have never worked in an IT-related field, neither now nor in the past.
Of course, I do use computers for office work, but as long as I can perform basic operations, there shouldn't be any problems.
In other words, obtaining this qualification is purely for one's own self-satisfaction.
However, I believe that this aspect of self-satisfaction is important in life.
If you work hard towards a goal you set for yourself and achieve some kind of result, that successful experience becomes a great source of motivation.
Even if it's an easy qualification with a high pass rate, receiving the certificate still brings a genuine feeling of joy.
If the qualification overlaps with your job duties, even if you don't pass the exam, the experience of studying for it will still be useful.
However, for someone like me who takes the exam purely for personal satisfaction, the focus is largely on whether you pass or fail (either 1 or 0), so the pressure might have been a bit too great.
Overview of the learning period and content
From the time I decided to study until the exam, it was about three months.
Since I had already passed the IT Passport exam and had taken it once before a few years ago, I think my study period was relatively short.
However, since I had pretty much forgotten most of what I had studied, I don't think it was a significant advantage.
My general study plan was to focus on the morning exam for the first two months.
I skim through the purchased textbook the first time, and then from the second time onwards, I focus more on the parts I don't fully understand.
After finishing reading the textbook for the second time, I switched to studying mainly using past exam questions.
I will solve past exam questions and focus on the areas I found difficult, using the textbook as a reference to help me understand them.
The important point here is that you don't need to understand every single field completely.
Since the passing score is 60%, I think it was important not to worry too much about the parts I didn't understand.
Once I was able to score around 80% on past morning exam questions, I focused solely on the afternoon exam.
The afternoon exam requires significantly more energy to study, so I think it might have been better if I had started a little earlier.
The afternoon exam consists of applied problems, and the only study material you should use is past exam questions.
I'll solve one past exam question, read the explanation, and take my time to fully understand it.
To be honest, when I first tried solving past exam questions for the afternoon session, I was overwhelmed with despair because I couldn't understand most of the areas I didn't know.
However, as I worked through other past exam questions, I gradually began to understand the patterns and ways of thinking behind the problems.
Most of the questions require knowledge from the morning session to solve, but there are also many that can be solved with good Japanese language skills.
I felt that the questions required a lot of concentration to understand the meaning, and that my ability to interpret the text was being put to the test.
Specific learning methods
Next, I will write about the textbooks I used and the specific learning methods I employed.
[2022 Academic Year] The Easiest Textbook for Guaranteed Success in the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Exam + Practice Questions in Order of Frequency - by Kyosuke Takahashi
The first textbook I purchased was this one.
This one textbook is all you need to pass the morning exam.
Although it's a thick book with about 800 pages, you can finish it in 160 days if you read 5 pages a day, or in 80 days if you read 10 pages a day.
The speed will increase even further from the second lap onwards.
It consists of 22 chapters, and each chapter contains 2 to 8 items.
The key points of each item are explained using diagrams and examples, making them easy to understand intuitively.
Furthermore, the book provides detailed explanations of study methods and exam strategies, giving a very clear picture of how to actually study.
The textbook is designed to help you understand what aspects will be tested on the exam.
Each chapter includes example questions taken from actual past exams, allowing you to immediately test what you've learned in practice, which is extremely useful for solidifying your knowledge.
My learning method involved dividing my study sessions into 30-minute segments, and doing this 1 to 3 times a day.
The general idea is to go once or twice on weekdays and two or three times on weekends.
Rather than studying for long periods of time continuously, this method involves studying for short periods several times a day.
Each section can be read in about 10 minutes, so you can cover 2-3 sections in one study session.
Even when I wasn't in the mood, I made a conscious effort to read at least one item and avoid having days where I didn't study at all.
I think this point is very important not only in terms of studying, but also in terms of forming habits in general.
At the end of each chapter, only mark the example problems you got wrong or the ones you got right but didn't understand. Then, on your second pass through the material, focus on studying those specific problems.
During the first round of studying, it's important to get a grasp of the entire scope of the exam, so even if there are parts you don't understand, it's important to just keep going without worrying too much for now.
Thinking, "Do I really have to memorize and understand all of this...?" can be stressful and demotivating.
Much of the content is easy to understand after just one reading, and you can pass if you score 60%, so take it easy on your first pass.
Once you've finished the second round, switch to focusing on past exam questions, using the past questions as a reference when you encounter something you don't understand.
Reiwa 04 (Second Half) Basic Information Technology Engineer Perfect Learning Past Exam Questions (Information Processing Technology Examination) by Mitsuo Yamamoto
After finishing reading the aforementioned text, you will use it to study by solving past exam questions.
Since both the morning and afternoon exams are included with explanations, you can use this for studying for either exam.
After completing your first round of studying the textbook, try taking a practice test to check your level of understanding.
At that time, if you check the problems you don't understand well, you'll be able to study more efficiently when you go through the textbook a second time.
Once you've finished studying the textbook for the second time, all you have to do is work through past exam questions using this book.
If you can score 80% on past exam questions, I think you'll almost certainly pass the actual exam.
In my case, I took the morning exam with a score of around 75-80% on past exam questions, and I scored 82.5 points.
Conversely, if you study for the afternoon exam when you haven't scored 60% or higher, be aware that your foundational knowledge may not be sufficiently solidified.
I think it's less troublesome to solidify your understanding of areas you're unsure of than to try to understand areas you're not good at.
The morning exam consists of individual, independent questions, so you don't necessarily need to solve all 80 questions at once.
It's necessary to do this right before the exam to get a feel for how long it will take, but during the learning phase, doing 5 or 10 questions at a time is fine.
Each major question in the afternoon session takes about 30 minutes, so I think it's fine to tackle them one at a time.
Basic Information Technology Engineer Examination.com
This site provides access to past exam questions and explanations for a considerable number of years.
Currently, the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination is conducted using a computer-based testing (CBT) system, allowing for learning in a format similar to the actual exam.
To be honest, you can study using this website without purchasing the aforementioned past exam question collection, "Basic Information Technology Engineer Perfect Learning Past Exam Question Collection."
Personally, I found the answers and explanations on the Basic Information Technology Engineer Examination website to be more suitable and easier to understand for me.
In particular, when taking the afternoon exam, the screen is split in two and a time limit timer is set, allowing you to study in the same way as the actual exam, which is very helpful for taking the exam without feeling any discomfort.
It's certainly easier to solve problems by writing on the question paper, but that's not possible during the actual exam, so it might be a good idea to get used to this CBT format from the start.
Do or die channel(YouTube video)
This video was very easy to understand and helped fill in the gaps in my understanding of the morning exam.
This will be very helpful for people who have trouble understanding explanations written down.
What I found most helpful was,[Basic Information] Solve this afternoon problem.This is a video titled "[...]."
Thanks to this video, I was able to clearly decide which multiple-choice questions to answer in the afternoon exam, and I think I was able to allocate my study time effectively.
I recommend you take a look at this before you start studying for the afternoon exam.
Additionally, there are many videos on YouTube that explain past questions from the afternoon exam.
Relying entirely on video explanations can be time-consuming and passive, but it's a good idea to use them for parts you absolutely cannot understand.
There are many explanations from different contributors for the same problem, so try to find the explanation that suits you best.
My strategy for the afternoon exam
Just like the morning exam, you will pass the afternoon exam if you score 60% or higher.
While you shouldn't completely abandon any areas, I think it's important to have a strategy for what to focus on and what to let go of.
In my case, I prepared with the following mindset:
Question 1: Information Security (Required) 20 points
Since it was a mandatory question and I had no trouble with it and found it relatively easy to solve, I aimed for 80% to 100%.
In fact, I think this is a field that you can easily get used to early on if you have the knowledge from the morning exam.
*Select a total of 2 questions from questions 2 to 5.
Questions 2-4: Hardware, software,Database Confusion NetworkSoftware design (choose 1-2 questions) 15 points x 2
Since you are required to answer question 5, which will be discussed later, for questions 2 through 4, you will choose one question from either hardware, software, or software design.
I didn't get the impression that there were any problems that I couldn't handle at all, so I aimed for around 80%.
Therefore, we will not be studying databases and networks for the afternoon exam.
Question 5: Management and Strategy (Choose 0-1 question) 15 points x 1
Since this question can be solved primarily using Japanese language skills, I will definitely choose it.
We aimed for around 80% here as well.
Question 6: Algorithms (Required) 25 points
It was one of my biggest hurdles.
Since this is a weak area for me, I'll aim for 50%, and even 20-30% will be acceptable.
Even during exams, I only spend time on this after I've finished solving the other problems.
There are always a few easy questions included, so make sure you don't miss any of them.
Questions 7-11: Software Development (Choose one question) - 25 points
Since I use it regularly for work, I'll choose a spreadsheet program because it's easy to get started with.
The questions have many options, which can easily lead to mistakes, but they are relatively solvable if you take your time and think carefully, so aim for 60% to 80%.
The last sub-question involves macros, so it's okay if you can't solve that part.
As I learned, I realized that it's important to replace notations like "C1" in the answer choices with specific values, such as "product price (¥1200)."
I think that rewriting what the cell numbers refer to and what specific numbers are entered into them, thereby transforming the options, which are merely strings of characters, into something that can be understood in meaning, was quite helpful in solving the problem.
I studied using roughly the strategies outlined above.
During the latter half of the afternoon exam, I diligently worked through about 10 sets of past exam questions on the Basic Information Technology Engineer Exam website.
The method involves solving a problem once, carefully reading the explanation, and then gradually tackling past problems.
Basically, I didn't solve the same problems twice; I only solved the most recent ones from 2019 (Reiwa 1) right before the exam.
Rather than reading the explanation and fully understanding it, I think what was important was to concentrate on reading the problem statement carefully and tackling the challenge while trying to solve it.
By repeating this process, I became able to approach unfamiliar problems more easily.
However, by the time I took the afternoon exam, I felt like my chances of passing were fifty-fifty, so it was the most nerve-wracking final stage.
At the same time, I got the impression that my grades wouldn't improve any further even if I spent more time on it, so in a way, it might have been just the right timing.
Exam reservation
The exam format had changed from the one I took in the past; it was now a computer-based test (CBT).
This is a system where you take the exam using a computer.
However, this doesn't mean you take the exam at home via the web; you go to a test center of your choice and take the exam on a computer there.
You can check in advance on the operating company's website what the exam screen will look like.
You should definitely watch it at least once so you don't get confused on the day.
A major advantage of the CBT (Computer-Based Testing) method is that it allows you to schedule the morning and afternoon exams on different days.
Taking two 150-minute exams on the same day would be a huge strain on my body, and I wasn't confident I could maintain my concentration for that long.
Therefore, once I felt confident that I could pass the morning exam, I decided to book the morning session in advance.
If you've already passed the morning exam, you'll have the advantage of being able to focus your remaining studies on the afternoon exam.
However, I was shocked when I saw how quickly the exam slots filled up when I tried to book them.
Perhaps because I booked towards the end of the reservation period, most of the major venues and dates were already booked.
Ultimately, the situation was resolved by making a reservation for a weekday,I felt that if I kept putting off deciding on an exam date, I might not be able to take the exam at all.
I booked a morning exam for about two weeks later, and then booked an afternoon exam for about three weeks after that.
I was pretty sure I would pass the morning exam, so I continued to study only for the afternoon exam.
In the week leading up to the exam, I did a thorough review of the morning session material.
Actual Exam
Now, let's talk about the day of the exam.
Since it was a weekday, the exam venue wasn't very crowded.
After presenting your identification at the reception, you will be asked to wait in the waiting room until the start time.
In that case, you'll end up putting almost all of your belongings in the locker.
The only things you are allowed to bring are the slip of paper given to you at registration and your identification.
You must put your smartphone, watch, handkerchief, tissues, and other items in your locker, leaving your pockets empty.
The paper and mechanical pencil used for the exam will be those provided on the desk.
If you run out of paper, you can get more by pressing the staff call button on the desk.
After the exam, you must return your mechanical pencil and notepad to the test center.
Since test takers are bound by a confidentiality agreement and are not allowed to disclose the contents of the exam, it seems they are not allowed to take out any memo paper that could be used as a tool for leaking information.
When it's time for the exam, each group will be guided into the examination room.
Once you sit in front of the designated computer, you can start the exam at your own pace.
The test ends when you press the end button on the test software or when the time limit is reached.
The examination room is quiet, with only the sound of mouse clicks being audible.
I don't use keyboards that make a clicking sound, so as long as the clicking noise doesn't bother me, it should be fine.
However, if the person sitting next to you has a cold, you might be bothered by the sound of them sniffling or coughing.
At the venue where I took the afternoon exam, there was a service where you could borrow earplugs (large ones like headphones) if you wanted them.
However, I think this is something that may vary depending on the venue.
Now, regarding the actual exam, I had plenty of time left over during the morning session.
With 80 questions and 150 minutes, that means you can solve each question in just under 2 minutes.
The first half of the questions contains many time-consuming calculation problems, but the second half mostly consists of questions asking about the meaning of words, so many of them can be solved very quickly.
Therefore, I think that if you answer the latter half of the questions first and leave the time-consuming questions for later, you'll be able to approach the test with more ease.
I finished in about 90 minutes, including the review, so I pressed the end button and left at that point.
Since it's definitely going to be a long day, I recommend that you make sure to use the restroom beforehand.
If you're not slightly thirsty, you might need to go to the bathroom during the latter half of the exam, which could make it difficult to concentrate.
I strongly recommend avoiding caffeine-containing products with diuretic effects beforehand, and sticking to throat lozenges or similar sugar supplements.
I had anticipated that the afternoon exam would be more time-constrained than the morning exam.
However, in the end, we were able to finish with just under 30 minutes to spare.
There are five major questions in 150 minutes, so you should aim to spend about 30 minutes on each question.
However, I was able to finish the solutions for everything except the algorithms and spreadsheets in about 20 minutes, so I don't think you need to be too afraid of running out of time.
I had a bad experience with needing to urinate during the latter half of a morning exam, so I tried to drink very little water beforehand, but I still felt the urge to go to the bathroom during the second half.
It may have been partly due to nervousness.
result
The exam results are available immediately as a score report after the exam is completed.
The fact that you know the score immediately is good because it reduces the period of uncertainty.
(The image has been edited by cutting and pasting the necessary parts.)
First of all, I managed to score over 60% on the morning exam.
Although I felt I had done well, I was unsure whether I had actually scored any points, so this result was very encouraging.
Next, let's talk about the afternoon exam.
Due to confidentiality agreements, the specific areas covered in the exam have been concealed for privacy reasons (they were probably randomized for each test-taker).
Contrary to our initial strategy, the algorithm, which we were only aiming for 50%, scored over 70%, a pleasant surprise that allowed us to achieve an overall score of over 70%.
In the afternoon exam, I often found that I scored lower than expected due to minor misunderstandings and mistakes during the pre-exam preparation stage.
Therefore, I often thought I had gotten it right, but I wasn't, although the opposite rarely seemed to happen.
My algorithm focused less on carefully tracing and solving the problem, and more on meta-reading and eliminating options to arrive at the correct answer. I guess I was lucky to get a good score.
I can only describe it as lucky.
The tension I felt before opening the page containing my score report after finishing the exam was among the highest I've experienced in years.
When I saw the score, I felt a surge of positive brain chemicals, even more so than when I made a last-minute comeback and won with a single draw in mahjong.
Afterword
That concludes my account of passing the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination.
As I mentioned earlier, passing this exam doesn't necessarily mean it will be directly useful in any way.
However, I was able to gain a sense of self-satisfaction from setting my own goals, studying, and achieving them.
I think this was a good experience in terms of self-improvement.
This experience has been a great source of inspiration, and I've started studying something else.
Whether or not it bears fruit depends on what I do from now on, but I intend to continue working hard.
Summary of lifestyle-related articles
参考書: 【令和4年度】いちばんやさしい 基本情報技術者 絶対合格の教科書+出る順問題集（高橋京介・著）(Amazon)
過去問題集: 令和04年【下期】基本情報技術者 パーフェクトラーニング過去問題集（山本三雄・著）(Amazon)
Rakuten Market: 【令和8年度】 いちばんやさしい 基本情報技術者 絶対合格の教科書＋出る順問題集 [ 高橋 京介 ]／令和08年 基本情報技術者 パーフェクトラーニング過去問題集 [ 山本 三雄 ]