Approaches to a Scientific Career Vary: The case of physicist Maria Mironova

Maria Mironova entered the NSU Master's Program in 2020 to pursue a scientific path. In the summer of 2022, she completed her studies and continued working as a Junior Researcher at the Laboratory of Functional Diagnostics of Low-Dimensional Structures for Nanoelectronics (LabFDNS). This Laboratory is part of the NSU Physics Department’s Analytical and Technological Research Center "High Technologies and Nanostructured Materials".  Yesterday's student and today's researcher, Mironova, described her life in science which debunks some of the myths and assumptions about a research career at NSU. 

Fundamental science is not just for geniuses 

Often, we hear in the news about exceptional scientists who made an incredible discovery, created a device useful for all mankind, found a cure for a terrible disease, or won international awards. Mironova believes that a scientific career is not only for geniuses. There is a place in science for people who want to be engaged in addressing ordinary problems and who do not need to shine at scientific conferences with reports. 

She shared her thoughts,

Some people finish their Master’s Programs with a lot of scientific articles and others have patents. There are those who want to speak at conferences. These are special, talented people who make high-profile international scientific discoveries. But science is also about ordinary scientists who are engaged in routine activities such as making measurements and writing scientific articles that are useful to the community, even if they are not related to “mega-discoveries”.  Without this routine work there is nothing, especially when it comes to building the country’s knowledge and capacity. This work is necessary and important. 

There is nothing terrible about not making 300 discoveries or not writing 500 articles a year. You need to do what you like. For example, I like working in a laboratory using a microscope, performing daily tasks. I get stability and tranquility earning an income doing my favorite thing and not being squeezed into the framework of an eternal race. Even without making major large-scale discoveries, you can still benefit your city. I will always have time to improve my qualifications, get a degree, and gain experience fr om other colleagues in my field or another, there are plenty of opportunities now. 

A break can be useful not only after graduation from school 

The practice known as a “gap year” is popular among school graduates in other countries. Young people spend this time discovering who they are by working, traveling, or just relaxing and recovering after years of study.  When the year is over, they have made a choice in favor of one or another trajectory for their development and, say, go to university or continue to work. 

After graduating from the NSU Master’s Program, Mironova decided to take a gap year rather than continue graduate school. She is using this time to work in applied science and find the focus in her field that is closest to her heart. 

The Physicist explained,

I decided to work for a year and take a break. Classes-tests-exams, you get really tired of the educational system after so many years of continuous study. I wanted to work and at the same time decide what area I wanted to pursue in more depth.  Next year I think I will continue graduate school at NSU or another appropriate University. 

Science is not only conducted at institutes, but also at universities 

Mironova shared that during her studies she often faced the fact that her classmates quickly burned out and stopped seeing themselves in science. The reasons for this varied from fatigue to dissatisfaction with the outdated infrastructure at the University. For example, due to a lack of equipment at the University, she did not receive practical skills working on her Bachelor's degree. However, this did not affect her motivation to pursue science. 

She continued,

After beautiful films and lectures about space, black holes, the structure of atoms, you end up doing your first laboratory work at the University on old Soviet equipment. For example, when a University has only one diffractometer, students are not allowed to use it. My undergraduate supervisor collected the data on the equipment and then I processed and analyzed it for my thesis. This did not discourage me from pursuing science because the world is not divided into white and black, it is often different shades. It does not happen that everything in life is perfect, or vice versa, bad. There is this and that. We need to be able to see both the dark and bright sides of science and not become apathetic.  

Mironova made up for her lack of practical skills during her Master’s studies when one of her teachers advised her to go to the Laboratory and study under the scientific guidance of Pavel Geidt, a young scientist with experience in international scientific work. There, she got experience working with atomic force and scanning electron microscopes at the ATRC. Today, she is conducting research on a transmission electron microscope as a Junior Researcher. This work not only responds to the needs of the laboratory, but is useful for scientists in other regions and even countries.

Mironova explained, 

ATRC is a shared-use center (SUC). That means, in addition to our specific Laboratory related tasks, we do research for outside entities. Colleagues from scientific institutes turn to us to conduct measurements on certain machines. They send the terms of reference and samples that I work with and I send the report to the customer. This SUC system is used all over the world. 

Studying at NSU to pursue a scientific career 

Of course, studying at a classical university opens opportunities in science for students. For example, at NSU young people start conducting research during their 5th or 6th semester. In Master's and graduate studies, the scientific component increases as students try on the role of young scientists. However, career opportunities are not limited to research. Mironova noted that the fundamental knowledge she gained in the field of physics is universal and applicable in many areas. The choice of this or that job or sphere is for the graduate to consider and decide and not something that spontaneously arises with the final result depending only on the employer. 

Mironova summarized what she learned from her experience,  

As a scientist, you will be useful everywhere. Especially if you are a physicist, chemist, or biologist. You can stay in science, write a doctoral dissertation, and conduct research. You can retrain or learn additional skills and go into cosmetology or do programming. It all depends on what you want, wh ere your passion lies. The foundations are there and further development, whatever it may be, depends on you.