An interview study using research on work design and employee turnover as an analytical framework was undertaken to investigate the career and work perceptions of new teachers of varying promise and ability (assessed by principals' ratings and adjusted college GPA) and the influence of new work structures on these perceptions. Findings suggest that teachers with high promise and of high academic ability make sense of their work using different criteria than teachers of lesser ability and promise and may, consequently, respond to school organizations differently and leave in different proportions. Impatient for opportunities and disenchanted with seniority systems, they assess the quality and potential of teaching work in relationship to access to power and leadership, professional growth opportunities, and a focus on student outcomes. They are comfortable with judgments resulting in differential rewards for teachers and judge new tasks and roles on the basis of their contribution to teaching and learning. This group of new teachers might therefore respond to very different incentives and career designs than their less able peers, and they are likely to reject the equality and civility norms that some argue dominate teachers' workplace values. Implications for the development of teacher incentive structures and new designs for schools that address the work values of target populations are discussed.