A paucity of literature focuses on the experiences of early career faculty (pre-tenure) who are practiced education professionals and who choose higher education as a second career. This exploratory, qualitative study examined the perceptions of former education professionals' integration into academic responsibilities, connections to and experiences with their university community, and relationships with their colleagues. A majority of participants described ambivalence about feeling prepared to teach, to conduct research, or to publish and nearly all of the interviewees experienced difficulty balancing their work life with their home life. The participants also discussed their understanding of expectations of the academy and reported they had at least one supportive relationship that helped them with their adjustment to their second career in academia. Recommendations are provided for preparing second career academics and for future research. (Contains 1 table.)