The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of how veteran elementary level teachers perceive burnout as they understand their self-efficacy while returning to face-to-face instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, veteran teachers shared their lived experiences which included increased workloads, a need for additional teaching resources, lack of relevant teacher support to assist in meeting teaching demands that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and student learning gaps. The theories that guided this study were burnout theory with a focus on the exhaustion component and self-efficacy theory with a focus on the mastery of skill concept. According to Freudenberger (1984) exhaustion becomes evident when an individual attempts to meet demands that require mental and physical distress. Mastery of skill is the component of self-efficacy that deals with the belief a person has in their ability to use the skills and knowledge they have gained to fulfill a task such as educating students (Bandura,1977). The phenomenon of burnout is a construct that is being explored in this study through the feelings and experiences of individuals which makes a phenomenological study appropriate. This study was conducted in a rural school district located in the southeastern part of the United States. The participants in this study were 12 veteran elementary level teachers whose years of teaching ranged from 5 to 25 years. The two research questions that guided this study are focused on the perception veteran teachers have of burnout, exhaustion, self-efficacy, and mastery of skill as they returned to face-to-face instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic in a southeastern part of the United States. The data collection method used for this study was a semi-structured open-ended one on one interview. The data was analyzed using Moustakas' (1994) modified phenomenological analysis procedure. [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.]