This article aims to discuss the meanings attributed by beginning teachers to their experiences in initial and continuing teacher education. It builds on data collected in a study titled O trabalho docente e a aprendizagem da profissão nos primeiros anos da carreira [The Teaching Profession and its Learning in Early Career Years], which investigated how teachers who entered the public education system in Rio de Janeiro from 2010 to 2012 experienced teaching and the work socialization process. That study had as its main interlocutors authors who have been studying teaching and teacher education (Gatti and Nunes, André, Nóvoa, Zeichner, Tardif, Tedesco and Fanfani). The studied subjects were teachers in their early years in basic education. The data collection instruments consisted of an interview with an education department official, questionnaires, and discussion groups with teachers. Data analysis showed a positive evaluation of initial teacher education in terms of the opportunities it provided for reflecting about different aspects of the educational reality, as well as participating in research/ extension activities at supervised internships. However, teachers also evidenced a disconnection between academic knowledge and the practical dimension in their teacher education. The study also found an absence of public policies dedicated to support teachers who are beginning their career, and an absence of on-the-job education initiatives that could offer those teachers favorable and suitable conditions regarding their needs as they begin teaching. KeywordsBeginning teachers -Teacher education -Teaching.