Professional self-determination as a scientific concept

In the modern society, the contradiction between personal preferences and social demands is manifested, that leads to the emergence of socially significant problems of professional self-determination of personality. Solving these problems requires not only bringing the attention of society and the state to them, but also scientific understanding of the processes that contribute to their resolution. On studying the historical views on the phenomenon of professional self-determination, it is possible to identify the essential prerequisites for determining the concept of professional self-determination of a student. Our goal was to determine the characteristics, content and scope of the concept of professional self-determination of a student that are essential for pedagogy. To achieve this goal the following methods were used: the analysis of the historical development of the concept, the comparison of different views on the concept of professional self-determination. As a result, we revealed the significant properties of the concept of professional self-determination of a student. The content of the concept can be used as a basis for designing pedagogical means of educational and pedagogical interaction within the framework of the scientific and educational process at the university.