Introduction. Studying in a higher or secondary specialized educational institution is of particular importance for future career, as it is during this period that a person begins to act as a subject of industrial relations: he develops a system of views on professional activities, formalizes spiritual, moral and social guidelines, and establishes motives related to the performance of certain duties. Methodology of research. The scientific community interprets professional self-determination as a process and result of professional evolution with specific content inherent in each stage. The particular emphasis is on late adolescence (early adolescence), because in this period the question of choice of profession stands up in front of people “in full growth”. Research results. One of the main vectors of modernization of Russian education and the key criteria of its effectiveness is the demand for specialists in the domestic and international labor market, which implies not only a high level of professionalism in the relevant field and awareness of related fields, but also a willingness to achieve results that meet international standards, as well as the development of professional self-determination of graduates and built I-concept of personality. Discussion. The approach to solving the problem of professional self – determination of students of colleges, proposed by the author of this article, is based on the position of L.M. Mitina, according to which the evolution of a professional is inseparable from the evolution of personality: both are based on the principle of self-improvement, which determines the ability of an individual to transform his life into an object of active and productive change, the result of which is the highest form of life – self-realization in creativity. Conclusion. Professional self-determination is a kind of human activity, implemented within the framework of social and age development of the individual and subjected to a certain correction through purposefully formed impact of educational activities, professional orientation, and research work.