This articler examines the transition that classroom teachers experience moving into the academy as teacher educators. The authors outline the findings of a qualitative case study that utilised self-study and teacher narrative to explore the road travelled by a group of new teacher educators in a regional university in rural Australia. The research explored patterns of experience between the authors themselves and the other participants. The authors conclude that it is important to recognise both the context and process of the transition in order to retain teacher educators in higher education.