Only my very first job found me. A teacher of seminars about electrodynamics asked me once if I would be interested in visiting their lab and maybe doing my coursework there next semester. At Novosibirsk State University, every semester, students must do a small research work, which was fun, but finding every semester a new place to do the course work was challenging. So, I was thrilled to solve this challenge even before the semester started. Also, I was flattered to be invited to the lab at the famous Nuclear Physics Institute, which I've never been to before. My happiness level went out of the roof when, during the visit, I got an offer to help out in the lab as a laboratory assistant during the summer (the electrodynamics teacher turned out to be the lead of the lab). Paid job at the research institute - my dream at that time - became true!
I got this job simply because I was a good student: I wanted to learn, I regularly participated in seminars, I asked questions, and I got a good grade.
Later on, I was teaching, working at the leading research institutes and various companies, and I'm often disappointed with how rare the "good student" type is. This is sad because the first step to becoming exceptional is to become good. And if you think nobody notices you, because you are only good and not exceptional yet, you're wrong: someone is always paying attention 😉
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