alt Hacker NewsC1 can be achieved (I did it on 360 hours). C2 is academic level of language proficiency -- you have to either deliberately study for the difficult exam or get an university degree in German. Most of the Germans won't be able to pass a C2 test.
When a company sets C2 as a requirement, it can be interpreted as "must have a degree from German University".
Replies
persedes • yesterday at 11:10 PM
Yeah, not to make light of the tests, but those degrees boil down to paying Goethe Institut to take their classes that prep you for the test.
jgilias • yesterday at 8:43 PM
I have a degree from a German University and don’t have C2. That requirement can be interpreted as “must not be an immigrant”
> Most Germans won't be able to pass a C2 test
That's not true, but it is a commonly shared myth. I've taken and passed C2 with the highest mark in every category (I moved here when I was a young teen, wanted to know if I would pass it after hearing years of people saying things like you're saying).
Most Germans would easily pass C2, although I think they'd have to be well-read/possibly university educated to get high scores (mostly need to be able to read quickly, give a semi-structured presentation and write a persuasive essay).
For what it's worth, I could run linguistic laps around all the other test takers there that day, and I assume at least some of them passed.