The field of ultra high energy cosmic rays still has many important unresolved questions in spite of the constant accumulation of new data characterized by lower statistical and systematic errors. We discuss the latest experimental observations from the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatories, with emphasis on the structures found in the energy spectra. We also review the latest results on the transition between galactic and extra-galactic cosmic rays, and the latest results on the flux suppression observed at energies above 5 x 10^{19} eV, and its possible interpretation in terms of the GZK effect or the exhaustion of sources. We also present the latest results on the anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra high energy cosmic rays and their correlations with the location of astrophysical sources in the context of our limited knowledge about composition as well as extragalactic and galactic magnetic fields. In particular, we discuss the need to improve the mass determination of the primaries and the efforts that are being implemented by these observatories to achieve this important goal. Finally, we discuss the prospects, both theoretical and experimental, for possible breakthroughs in the field of ultra high energy cosmic rays in the next years.