Fachinformatiker/in (IT Specialist, dual-trained)

The vocational route into IT: three years of paid, employer-based training with an IHK qualification at the end. The standard German alternative to a CS degree.
Official title Fachinformatiker/in
Protected title No — but the IHK qualification itself is formally defined
Category it
Typical qualification Duale Ausbildung, 3 years, IHK exam
Regulated No
Last reviewed 2026-09

Four specialisations

Restructured in 2020, adding two new directions to the original pair:

Fachrichtung Focus
Anwendungsentwicklung Software development — the most common, and the closest to a developer role
Systemintegration Infrastructure, networks, servers, IT operations
Daten- und Prozessanalyse Data analysis, process modelling, reporting
Digitale Vernetzung Networked systems, IoT, industrial digitalisation

Pick deliberately: the specialisation is on the certificate and employers read it.

Qualification route

  • 3 years dual: employed by a company (typically 3 days/week) and schooled at a Berufsschule (2 days/week), with block variants
  • Entry: mittlerer Schulabschluss in practice; formally no fixed requirement
  • Paid throughout: roughly €1,000–1,250/month gross depending on year and sector. IG Metall and public-sector trainees are at the top of that range.
  • Ends with the IHK Abschlussprüfung, now a two-part exam spread across the training rather than one final

Pay after qualifying

Stage Annual gross
Newly qualified €38,000 – €46,000
A few years in €48,000 – €60,000
Senior, or with Weiterbildung €60,000 – €75,000+

The trajectory converges with degree holders after roughly five years in most companies — with two caveats. Some large corporates still gate senior and management bands on a degree, and the EU Blue Card requires one.

Common upgrades afterwards: IT-Fachwirt, Fachinformatiker + Bachelor part-time, or vendor certifications for the Systemintegration track.

For foreign candidates

An Ausbildung place is a legitimate immigration route (§16a AufenthG for vocational training) and requires B1–B2 German, since Berufsschule is taught in German. It is a slower but much cheaper path than a degree, and you are paid throughout.

If you already hold a foreign IT qualification, you do not need it recognised to work — IT is unregulated. You may still want a Gleichwertigkeitsfeststellung from the IHK (under the BQFG) because it helps with visa paperwork and with conservative employers.

Pitfalls

  • Training quality varies enormously. A good Ausbildungsbetrieb rotates you through real projects; a bad one uses trainees as cheap helpdesk. Ask what the last three trainees do now.
  • Berufsschule is in German, including the exam. No exceptions.
  • The degree gate is real in parts of the corporate world, and in the Blue Card rules.

Sources

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