Research on climate change adaptation has matured rapidly over the past decade. This knowledge base provides a theoretical foundation for what adaptation means and how it could be implemented successfully in different contexts (Adger, Arnell, & Tompkins, 2005; Adger et al., 2007; Burton, Huq, Lim, Pilifosova, & Schipper, 2002; Fu¨ssel & Klein, 2006; Smit, Burton, Klein, & Street, 1999; Smit & Wandel, 2006). Despite these conceptual and theoretical advancements in adaptation research (Smit, Burton, Klein, & Wandel, 2000), the actual process of adaptation remains messy and confusing in its conceptualization and practical application (Adger & Barnett, 2009). Several researchers have recently stressed the need for closer integration of adaptation theory and practice, which if left unchallenged is likely to constrain the outcomes for communities and end-users (Eakin & Patt, 2011; Patwardhan, Downing, Leary, & Wilbanks, 2009; Preston & Stafford-Smith, 2009). Traditionally, to address issues of environmental change, scientists begin their careers by studying and specializing inaspecificdiscipline(e.g.geography,anthropology, ecology) and it is with these disciplinary backgrounds that their skills and knowledge have been transferred and applied recently to examining contemporary issues such as climate change adaptation. However, as many early career researchers now step directly into ‘climate change adaptation’ as a standalone and emerging discipline, several challenges and opportunities have emerged. Here, we discuss some of these disjunctions and emerging prospects with a particular focus on early career researchers who are navigating through the ever-increasing field of ‘adaptation science’. Our discussion draws onthe literature andourpersonal experiences as early career researchers in Australia, Guatemala, Mexico, South Africa, the Netherlands and the Pacific, each of us having contributed to a panel session at the Adaptation Futures conference held at the University of Arizona in May 2012. While we do not claim to be the first to note these challenges, we see, however, little discussion of their implications for current adaptation research and practice.