Across America, school districts face a problem of numbers: too many students, too few educators. In some areas, the shortage of classroom teachers is approaching crisis proportions. One solution designed to address the recruitment side of the problem is found in the creation of Non-University Certification Programs (NUCPs). The designs and requirements of NUCPs, often referred to as alternative certification, vary, but their shared goal is to provide entry into the teaching profession to those who lack formal, professional teacher education. The NUCP solution has sparked a multitude of conversations both within and outside the field of education. This article explores a little-examined, but significant aspect of the current teacher shortage: the effect of the NUCP phenomenon and similar stopgap measures on those who are charged with inducting alternatively certified individuals into the classroom: America's experienced classroom teachers. NUCP teachers often find themselves in need of significant professional support, and experienced teachers are the ones who must shoulder this new mentoring burden, under far different conditions than those that exist for normal student teachers and often without adequate resources. We are exacting a high price, in terms of time and energy, from our experienced teachers, and we must ask ourselves whether the returns are worth the price.