I decided it was time to really focus on my studies but wasn’t really sure where I needed to start. I took 4 university classes years ago and use Japanese (more and more each day) a bit with the fam so my level is in a pretty weird place. So I decided to sit the N4 to give my self a better starting point to get back into REALLY studying. I currently work in a location where I don’t need any Japanese skills, but we hope to move up to Sapporo in the next few years I’ll need a better JLPT score to even start landing interviews so there are doors to be opened.
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So inspiring 
I love this.
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Came to Japan after ~3 years of self-study and enrolled in a 2 year course at a Japanese language school. Graduated after one year, took and passed the N1 (most probably because of dumb luck).
Never tried to take the test again tho, and I never found a use for my certificate.
I’m a preschool teacher these days and playing with cute little kiddos.
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You sound like you have a good grasp of the JLPT. Are you familiar with the Genki textbook, if so how far into the textbook do you think is sufficient enough to pass the N5?
Decided to take it about 1.5 years ago, end of story.
…just kidding I decided to take the N4 to test my skills after participating on Japanese summer university courses, and to also serve as motivation for my self studying after that summer. Also took the JLPT this december.
EDIT: forgot to mention the JLPT N4 certificate was required for a student exchange program I applied for so even though I took the test to just benchmark my skills etc the certificate actually ended up being helpful
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I actually have this same question. I’m working with IT engineering certs already, and I wanted to add this to my resume eventually. Are tech jobs for foreigners something viable in Japan, or this something they are more preferred to distribute to native Japanese people?
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I have neither used genki nor attempted N5, so it’s a bit difficult to answer your question. I assume finishing genki 1+2 would be enough grammar- and vocabulary-wise. I personally passed N4 after みんなの日本語1+2 as part of 4 semesters of Japanese at university. That being said, we also did other things (mostly kanji, listening, writing and speaking practice), so I had more knowledge than just the content of the book.
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My friend said she was going to take the N4 this year. I’m very competitive. I have to be better in Japanese than my friend! I wasn’t ready. The test was very difficult. I’ll be surprised if I pass. I did study a lot of things I wouldn’t have studied otherwise so studying for the Jlpt and having that pressure was worth it.
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Maybe it’s easier to notice how much you’ve progressed in learning earlier on in your learning journey. I thought I’d made a lot of progress in being able to say what I wanted to say to my penpals in emails and I was using more and more kanji. Maybe with a little extra study I could take on the challenge of N4 and then I’d have a certificate to say I know at least that much Japanese.
Got to be careful though, it can be addictive. I can’t stop until I get the shiny ones.
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The decision to take N4 came to me when I started learning N3 Kanji on WK. I began to worry I would forget some kanji in the future. So I took a break from WK to focus on N4 grammar and listening.
The experience alone was pretty great. There were about 500 like minded people. Talking to them was a bliss. Usually I hardly meet people that are seriously learning Japanese. When do you ever get a chance to meet a N1 candidate fe?
N4 won’t give you crazy results. But my grammar and listening did improve. Knowing the date of the test produced the necessary motivation to study grammar like I never did before.
Lastly you’ll get a pretty good picture on your current ablilities and a new goal to chase → passing the next level.
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after about two years of studying my sister said “you don’t even speak japanese” and i said “bet” and took the N3 two weeks ago the goal is to get certified and spite her
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But passing the JLPT doesn’t prove you can speak Japanese 
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Or write. Shows you can consume, but doesn’t really mean you can produce.
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I decided a few years from now to take it. 
You haven’t taken Time Travel 101?
But seriously, I would like to take the JLPT at some point, I just can’t answer the questions yet, even for N4 (but I can read all the 漢字) 
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I like tests so much I heard about the JLPT first and then decided to learn Japanese so I could take it.
just kidding
no really please believe me it was a joke
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I see some people saying to increase their chance of getting a job. Is this like a way of proving you’re a competent foreigner?
A lot of companies won’t look at resumes that don’t have at least N2 (or something equivalent). I mean… it’s exactly what the name of the test is. It’s a certification of your proficiency in the language.
You’re still going to have to actually interview in person or video or something, but they don’t want to potentially waste time on people who haven’t shown some level of proficiency yet.
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Just dive in head first and you’ll know after it. It’ll probably kick your ass the first time, so be prepared. I think people generally ‘over-report’ their true ability, I think its human nature, so just be true to yourself and set a realistic level and go for it. I think cause I lived in Japan for many years I always thought I could pass it easily, I did pass N4 and N3, but for N2 and above you really gotta study consistently (either at school or strict disciplined self-study), and also read a lot! I took it in the early days over three years ago without being fully prepared, its a huge beast to tackle with time management and focussed test strategies also playing a key role in passing.
I bet that turbo-charged your learning like a scud-missile right? I did a few weeks at language school in Osaka (intermediate level) and remember oozing confidence afterwards and having daily tests really enforced grammar, not only to memory but being able to use it to converse with people daily. I met a girl who was so fluent after a year at language school full-time, she got accepted for a position after interviewing at companies when I left there. That was a few years ago now though.
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when i came here, i had a pretty solid intermediate level, that helped a lot. i believe the more you already know, the more you get out of an immersive environment, and the language school was pretty focused back then… that surely gave me a boost.
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