Currently Australia is experiencing an unprecedented teacher shortage. Increasing and retaining the number of mid-career Initial Teacher Education entrants has been identified as one strategy to combat the shortage. This study examines the psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) innate to autonomous forms of motivation to support retention. While there is much research investigating how universities support students' psychological needs using questionnaires, few have gathered data examining how students articulate their lived experiences, and fewer have examined mid-career students' perspectives. This paper contributes to the literature by sharing 26 Master of Teaching (Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary) mid-career student perspectives on how a university promoted or hindered their psychological needs. The data, analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis, highlighted moments that students identified as maximising or minimising their autonomy and motivation. Similarities were found with previous research on supporting students' psychological needs. Additional findings indicated mid-career students desired more control over the pace of their course, and workload issues in some schools during professional experience eroded their teacher-efficacy. Recommendations on how to support mid-career retention are suggested.