This study explores different perceptions of pre-service and beginning teachers' professional identity in relation to their decisions to leave the profession. Teachers' professional identity was further broken down into six factors: value, efficacy, commitment, emotions, knowledge and beliefs, and micropolitics. This study employed mixed-methods which included 84 participant surveys, and 27 interviews from four groups of participants at different stages of teaching. The findings of this study showed that pre-service teachers tended to have naive and idealistic perceptions of teaching, and dropout teachers showed most emotional burnout. Implications for improvement of teacher education and retention of beginning teachers are discussed. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)