"Do what you have to do": teachers' candid advice on how to pass the Unified State Exam and not be disappointed in the future

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev sets a task: The Russian Engineering School should train not just "techies", but leaders who are able to take responsibility. The industry will need 300,000 such specialists by 2030. But how to grow them out of today's schoolchildren who are afraid of the Unified State Exam and do not understand where to go? And what does the Energogroup project have to do with it? The system Operator of the Unified Energy System, who helps students prepare for the Unified State Exam, enroll in university and build a career as an energy engineer?

Teachers Energogroup they give frank answers to uncomfortable questions and honestly explain why it is impossible to learn computer science from scratch in a year, how Olympiad tasks save on the exam and what is more important than any score. Their leitmotif coincides with the position of the head of the Ministry of Energy: prepare not memory, but thinking. It is the ability to solve real, rather than educational, tasks that is the basis of the Russian Engineering school, which will not let you be disappointed in the profession after receiving the coveted points.

Preparation for the Unified State Exam has long been overgrown with myths, fears and hundreds of contradictory tips. Schoolchildren panic, make mistakes, burn out - but sometimes they really grow up. Teachers of the "Energy Groups" rarely give template recommendations. Their answers turned out to be uncomfortable, honest, and very practical. At the same time, we'll tell you why you need to solve Olympiad tasks, why it's harmful to think that "an energy engineer is an electrician," and what question about salary almost everyone asks.

What is changing in the Unified State Exam in 2026

If you are preparing for Unified State Exam in Computer Science Please note: two important replacements will take place as early as 2026. Task No. 12 is changing and task No. 13 is becoming significantly more complicated. But the main thing is the software. For example, in the Sverdlovsk region, IdOls are no longer installed on exam computers. It's a small thing, but for someone who has studied there for a year, this will become a serious problem. therefore, find out in advance which programs are allowed in your region, and get used to working in the conditions that will be on the real exam.

Concerning Unified State Exam in mathematics No drastic changes are expected in 2026. This means that graduates can safely rely on existing materials and techniques.

Is it possible to prepare in a year? The frank answer

Alexander Beisel, a computer science teacher at Gymnasium No. 2 in Yekaterinburg, honestly admits: "If you don't have computer science knowledge, a year of training may not be enough". A subject in which theory is inseparable from practical programming takes time, and therefore it is better to start preparing for the Unified State Exam not in the eleventh grade in a panic, but in the tenth - calmly, without racing for results.

Is it possible to prepare for the Unified State Exam in a year? If there is a base, it is quite possible, but if there is no base, the chances are almost zero. And in six months - only if you already know the basics and are ready to study intensively. Therefore, do not make plans for a year or six months ahead, but simply solve the tasks and analyze them. Gradually, step by step, without panic.

Tenth and eleventh grades: there is a difference, and it is important

In the tenth grade if you have almost no knowledge, you need to start with the basics: the theory of computer science and the basics of programming. No difficult tasks, no race, just the foundation. The ideal goal is to learn how to confidently solve standard low- and medium-level tasks.

In the eleventh working out to automatism is important - but with one caveat. Automatism is insidious: it helps to quickly solve familiar tasks, but sometimes it leads to the fact that, having got used to one method, you stop noticing that the conditions have changed a little and a different logic is required. Therefore Andrey Verkhozin, a leading engineer at UrFU advises: bring solutions to automatism, but every time you look at the final solution with a fresh look, as if you are seeing it for the first time.

Strategy for difficult tasks: study to a higher level

Complex USE tasks are almost never born out of the mind of the compilers. Their prototypes are classic Olympiad tasks, only slightly simplified. Teachers advise: if you want to solve difficult tasks on the Unified State Exam, prepare for the Olympiads. Even if you never planned to participate, the very non-standard style of tasks - multi-step, with unobvious connections - trains exactly the kind of thinking that saves you on the exam.

And one more important thought: difficult tasks are not really difficult. Each such task consists of many simple ones that are interconnected in a way that is not always obvious. The main strategy is not to be afraid to start pulling the right thread. In the process of solving, one action clings to another, and gradually the picture becomes clearer. As Andrey Verkhozin says: "The main thing is to start, and then something should work out."

Theory and practice: how to make friends with them

The contradiction between "understanding" and "being able to solve" is the pain of many students. Teachers offer a simple analogy: remember how you learned to count. First, you understood the principle of addition and subtraction, and then you practiced the actions a lot of times until they became natural. It's the same with the multiplication table: no one teaches it at the level of philosophical comprehension, it's just learned through practice.

"A deep understanding of theory is the foundation for solving problems. Practice is necessary to consolidate knowledge and develop skills in applying formulas and methods. Without theory it is impossible to solve, without practice it is impossible to consolidate theory", - comments on Olga Pichugova, teacher of Energogroup, research technician at Prosoft Systems LLC.

Time management on the exam: It's not speed that saves, but tactics.

The most common question is: "how to do everything?". Our teachers are sure that you should not try to do everything. Decide what is being decided. If the task doesn't go well, postpone it and come back later. Experience shows that solving other problems sometimes "wakes up" thoughts for an unsolved one.

Specific recommendations for computer science: build your own order. Someone starts with tasks that are solved by hand, then moves on to Excel and game theory, then to simple and medium programming. Make sure to take a short break between blocks, relax, and check what you've already done. And only then take on difficult tasks. It is useful to solve tasks in training in a shorter time than stipulated by the regulations, this creates a margin of safety.

Olga Pichugova recommends: start with the first part and those tasks of the second part that you are confident in. Put off difficult tasks for now. Do not rush to write down the answers in the form - first fix everything on the draft. After the first "run", proceed to completing complex tasks and checking. Start completing the forms about 1.5–2 hours before the end of the exam, leaving time for the final check.

Exam Stress: A simple but Tough Formula

Tips for dealing with stress often sound like empty consolations. Andrey Verkhozin speaks harshly: "Worrying is just a waste of your precious time. It's better to let him have more creative thoughts.". And he adds a Latin saying: "Do what you have to do, and come what may." This is not fatalism. This is the removal of unnecessary responsibility for something that you cannot influence at the time of the exam.

Alexander Beisel adds a practical thing: stress resistance is trained like muscles. Regular tests in conditions close to real ones, time restrictions, and a ban on peeking at answers - all this makes a real exam familiar and not so scary anymore.

What is the most important thing for a successful study of the subject

When teachers are asked about their main skills, they rarely mention talent or innate abilities. They are most often referred to as diligence, calmness, and self-study in relation to technical subjects. A teacher cannot give you all the knowledge, he can only show you the direction. Then you go by yourself. And the sooner you accept this, the easier it will be for you not only on the Unified State Exam, but also at the university and in your profession.

Strong students are distinguished not so much by the amount of knowledge as by the speed of understanding the material and the ability to see what others do not see. For example, noticing what you've learned at school in real life. We saw a graph of the load on the power system in the news, and we remembered the dependence of the values. When we heard about the algorithm, we tried to use it to sort friends by age. It sounds like a game, but that's how real understanding is born, not memorized formulas.

The Energogroup project: where preparation for the Unified State Exam is not the main goal

Energogroups was originally conceived as career guidance courses. Yes, exam preparation takes most of the time, and the participants' scores are indeed above average. But this, as the teachers themselves say, is a "pleasant addition", not a goal.

The main task is to help the student understand whether he wants to connect his life with energy. To do this, they do not give boring lectures, but invite employees of the System Operator of the Unified Energy System, discuss real cases, get acquainted with the work of power facilities, participate in the School League of the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship, specialized "energy" shifts in the All-Russian children's centers "Eaglet" and "Smena". The result that is most appreciated is not high scores, although they also exist, but a conscious choice: a graduate goes to university not because his parents advised him or for the company, but because he really knows what he has to do.

"Unlike traditional courses aimed at solving test tasks, Energogroup aims to give students a deep understanding of who an energy engineer is and what role energy plays in the modern world. Classes include elements of EXAM preparation, but also focus on student motivation, helpful tips, and life hacks.", - Olga Pichugova shares.

Andrey Verkhozin gives a sad example: there are cases when students enrolled in the direction they chose blindly, and only by the third or fourth year realized that it was not theirs. Lost years, and you have to start from scratch. Starting from scratch is not scary, but why complicate your life if you can try your profession at school?

What changes in students after the course

Andrey Verkhozin: "If a student goes through the entire program, electricity ceases to be something abstract for him". Energy for most is a switch button and a line in the receipt. For those who have completed the course, it becomes a complex, multi-layered system: generation, dispatching, distribution, design, commissioning. Where not only "electricians" work, but dozens of different specialists.

According to another stereotype, energy engineering is not a specialty for girls. Veronika Bershatskaya, a specialist of the 2nd category of the Electrical Modes Service of the Branch of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" of the UDE of the South, notes: "The situation has changed a lot in recent years, and girls are welcome at any energy company. Another stereotype is that an energy engineer is necessarily a man with a helmet who is fixing something on a pole. In fact, the range of professions is huge, and many of them do not require field work.".

When the guys first dive into the topic, they are struck not so much by the fact that "it's hard without electricity" (everyone already knows this), but by the scale and complexity of the system. How everything is interconnected, how dispatchers manage energy flows in real time, and how digital technologies are changing the industry. Separately, teachers note a steady interest in nuclear energy. And energy today is not only physics, but also big data, automation, and artificial intelligence. In addition to physics and mathematics, computer science will be very useful for future engineers. And for thermal power engineering, there is also chemistry and even biology.

Career paths and soft skills

Teachers answer the question about the career ladder with humor, but in essence: "High school student → student → specialist → highly qualified specialist → boss → big boss → biggest boss." Seriously, the course "Introduction to the specialty" shows all possible ways: dispatching, generation, distribution, design, operation.

And the soft skills that employers value in engineers are not the "communication skills" from a resume. This is the ability to find a common language, defend one's point of view and at the same time understand someone else's. Energy, like life, is full of compromises. A broad outlook, the ability to work in a team, organize work and solve problems sensibly - these skills make it easier to join a team and cope with tasks, avoiding routine.

The most unexpected questions and honest advice are a thing of the past

What questions do students ask most often? "Why did you choose a profession?", "What do you like?", "Do you regret your choice?", "What is the salary?". The last question is asked by almost everyone, and this is normal, which means that the guys are serious about their future.

And what would teachers advise themselves if they were preparing for the Unified State Exam again? The answer is not about mathematics or computer science, but about the daily routine: "Eat right and get enough sleep." This answer contains all the wisdom: no amount of knowledge will help if the body is at its limit. And no stress will be terrible if you get enough sleep and eat properly before the exam.

Instead of a conclusion: how to understand that you are a future engineer

"Engineer, humanitarian, programmer - these are the labels that people use to label their superiority or justify their lack of knowledge in a particular industry"- Andrey Verkhozin answers. Therefore, we can say that everyone is an engineer in some way. But only the time you devote to studying engineering will unlock your true potential. The only way to figure out if it's yours or not is to try, not in theory, but in practice. To find out how the industry works from the inside, to talk to those who work in it, to try to solve a real, not a learning task - it's better at school, when you still have the right to make mistakes and time to change the trajectory.

In the end, returning to the Latin wisdom: "Do what you must, and come what may." It's not about indifference. It's about calm confidence that you've done everything you can. And the rest is not really about you anymore.