This report from the Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education (SPeNSE) provides a profile of the characteristics, qualifications, work experiences, and career plans of teachers with fewer than 3 years of experience. Findings indicate: (1) beginning teachers were more likely to work in suburban systems (50 percent); (2) the majority do not relocate to accept teaching positions; (3) the average first-year salary was $27,667 for those with a bachelors degree and $30,468 for those with a masters degree; (4) 71% were not fully certified for their main assignments; (5) a higher percentage of beginning teachers who serve students with emotional disturbances enter through alternative certification programs (27%); (6) 84% rate the quality of their teacher preparation programs as exceptional, good, or very good; (7) beginning special educators were less positive than more experienced teachers in characterizing their own job performance; (8) 65% report having a formal mentoring program available to them; (9) teachers were significantly less likely to indicate intent to stay in teaching than their more experienced colleagues, with only 54% planning to stay until retirement; (12) variables that predicted intent to leave teaching included not having any teaching certificate, paperwork that interferes with teaching, and age. (CR)