Bryan M. Maitland Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H1 Steven J. Cooke Fish Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Ottawa–Carleton Institute of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1S 5B6 Mark Poesch Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 751 General Service Building, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2H1. E- mail: [email protected] The path to a successful graduate and research career is a complex and difficult one. Early career researchers (ECRs) have myriad choices and tasks to prioritize and complete as they build their CV but are often confronted with unfamiliar situations in which advice from more senior researchers can be extremely valuable. Here, we summarize a recent workshop held for ECRs by the Canadian Aquatic Resource Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) with support from the Education Section. Sessions touched on (1) getting published, (2) science communication and outreach, (3) scoring a job or grad school position, and (4) working within the science–policy interface. The decades of collective experience brought to the table should be shared with the broader readership of AFS because it may prove useful to ECRs as well as stimulate meaningful conversations on these important and timely issues. Click here for the Spanish abstract.