The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to determine if and to what extent a statistically significant difference existed between traditionally certified special education teachers and alternatively certified special education teachers in the burnout scales of depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment as well as intent to stay in Illinois. The concept of burnout through the theoretical lens of Maslach's burnout theory and intent to stay used Thibaut and Kelley's social exchange theory was used in this study to address the problem, purpose, and significance of the study. Four research questions examined if a difference existed between traditionally and alternatively certified special education teachers. The sample consisted of 169 participants (89 traditionally certified and 80 alternatively certified special education teachers) that completed MBI-ES and ITSS. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney "U" test to determine if a statistically significant difference existed between the two special education teacher groups, p = <0.001 (RQ1), p = <0.001 (RQ2), p = <0.001 (RQ3), and p = <0.001 (RQ4).This study suggests a statistically significant difference between traditionally certified special education and alternatively certified special education teachers in depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment and intent to stay. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]