Mariya Lyubenova is an astronomer researching galaxy evolution at the European Southern Observatory (ESO). She is also head of media relations at ESO, science adviser to ESO’s communication department, and editor of ESO’s science and technology journal The Messenger.
What skills do you use every day in your job?
Science is a highly creative endeavour and also requires logical problem solving, so what I use most often are my analytical skills and creativity. In both my science communication work and my research, these skills are indispensable.
Another skill that I use on a daily basis is the ability to learn fast about research in other fields and disciplines. My own scientific expertise is in the area of galaxy evolution. However, my work as a science adviser and editor of a science and technology journal confronts me with a variety of fields in astronomy and engineering, and often with other natural sciences (and sometimes even social sciences). So I need to learn quickly about those fields to understand what I’m reading.
Last, but not least, I rarely have a day in which I don’t need strong diplomacy and negotiation skills; these are very important in all areas of my work. Combined with analytical skills, they give me the ability to get to the root of a problem and find common ground, so we can reach a mutually beneficial outcome for all.
What do you like best and least about your job?
I like the variety that my job offers, and that I am working at the forefront of astronomy research. Making sure that new science results reach as broad an audience as possible is really rewarding. Due to the nature of my position, I wear several hats at once, which guarantees that I never get bored. My daily job can change completely in the course of a few hours.
My various tasks include reviewing scientific manuscripts for publication in our science and technology journal, or as a press release, or in another communication product; providing science and strategy advice to stakeholders regarding their communication activities; discussing new ways to visualize scientific concepts with our visual artists; meeting my students to ponder puzzling questions that come up in their science projects; and making progress on my own scientific research. I love the constant supply of food for thought that research offers, as well as having the opportunity to work and interact with a diverse range of colleagues in terms of expertise and cultural backgrounds.
I love the constant supply of food for thought that research offers, and working with diverse colleagues in terms of expertise and cultural backgrounds
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What I don’t enjoy is the time pressure of deadlines, which can often be very tight. A key to meeting the deadlines is having good self-discipline and distributing tasks to the members of my team who are best suited to accomplishing them.
What do you know today, that you wish you knew when you were starting out in your career?
I wish I knew that one failure is not the end of everything. There is really no need to be absolutely perfect from the beginning in whatever you do – if you were, you would miss vital opportunities to learn from mistakes. I know this sounds a bit cliché, but I really wish I had internalized this understanding earlier. I don’t mean to promote sloppiness – quite the contrary. I have come to realize that I learn best and fastest when I am able to quickly analyse a mistake and then move on to apply what I have just learned to my next endeavour, and ultimately achieve a better result.
