Here, he discusses the varied benefits of his role as an Academic Editor with PLOS, exciting new developments in his research, and provides three top tips for early-career researchers. Being an Academic Editor with an open-access journal like PLOS One gives me an opportunity to directly impact the quality of published research and ensure that well-conducted studies are published. There are many classic pieces of advice for early-career researchers working in the plant protection and IPM field, but from my modest background, my advice can be distilled in three key points: