In accordance with the competence-based approach, a specialist developing professionally should be able to create something new in his profession, even in a small way. The solution to the problem of professional self-determination of the individual is carried out in two dimensions: theoretical-oriented and practice-oriented. Recently, the interest of professional educational organizations to the problem of self-determination of students has increased due to the fact that timely and reasonable choice of profession, training specialty is a guarantee of both personal success of future professionals and sustainable development of society. The main characteristics of self-determination as a psychological and pedagogical phenomenon are: belonging to the subject, processuality, consciousness, independence. Self-determination is a conscious, independent, purposeful process of identification and disclosure of the essential forces of personality, ways of development and realization of its capabilities and abilities, carried out in interaction with other people. Analysis of the essence of professional self-determination from the standpoint of philosophy, psychology, sociology, acmeology, pedagogy confirms the complexity and diversity of this phenomenon, the need for a systematic approach to its study.