This article presents the results from the third study in a longitudinal research project examining newly qualified teachers' (NQTs) motivation for teaching and how they retrospectively value their teacher education. The findings indicate that teachers enjoy the profession one-and-a-half years after graduation. They are motivated both by working with their subject matter and by teaching. Retrospectively, NQTs criticize parts of the post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) course. Although the teachers seem content in their profession, this study reveals a high rate of attrition, with 40 percent having left the profession, and a prevalent ambivalence about their professional future. (Contains 2 tables.)