There is a shortage of special education teachers, particularly in rural locations. The revolving door of special educators is a burden on district taxpayers, administrators, and students in need of special programming. Therefore, increasing and improving special education teacher longevity is a need in most school districts in rural areas. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of veteran special educators in rural Pennsylvania. The three research questions investigated factors that influenced teachers to enter the field of special education and factors that influenced them to remain in the field of special education for over 10 years. This study also researched factors that caused rural special educators to leave the field after earning tenure in Pennsylvania. A phenomenological research design was used to give life to the actual words of the study participants. Ten one-on-one interviews and one focus group were conducted to gain insight into the factors that influence special educators to enter and remain in the field of special education. Higher education institutions near rural school settings will be able to use this study's findings to better prepare beginning special educators. The results can also be used to inform rural school districts' policies and procedures for recruiting and maintaining special educators, including informing onboarding processes for beginning teachers and planning decisions about professional development. [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.]