After satisfying the compulsory military service in the Soviet Army (November 1979 to May 1981), he worked as an assistant at the Department of Physical Geography of the above-mentioned institute.

In 1982 he enrolled to pursue a post-graduate course in the field of economic, social and political geography at the Leningrad State University, which he graduated in 1985.

In the same year he defended his thesis as a candidate in geographic sciences entitled: Economic and transport links of the agro-industrial complex of Moldovan SSR and ways of rationalization.

During the period 1982–1985, he took part in the development of the project "Forecasting the possible changes of the Moldovan RSS environment influenced by the economic activity of man until 2000".

Between 2 January 1986 and 30 November 2003, Mihail Burla worked at the Department of Economic Geography and Regional Economy of the State Pedagogical Institute "TG Shevchenko" in Tiraspol (since 1992 State University of Transnistria) in the following positions: assistant (up to April 1988), lecturer (until April 1991), associate professor (until 14 March 2003) and head of department (until 14 March 2003).