In our rapidly developing modern world, where there are trends of high growth in science and technology, there is an acute need for professionally motivated and highly qualified specialists. This article discusses the features of professional motivation of students of pedagogical specialties. To determine the specifics of the formation of professional motivation of future teachers, an experimental study was conducted. The research consisted of 256 third-year students in natural sciences at the Abai Kazakh Pedagogical University in Kazakhstan. In forming the structure of professional motivation of students of pedagogical specialties in our research, we relied on the motivation structure developed by Ilyin. The data obtained made it possible to determine the features of the formation of professional motivation of students of pedagogical specialties, depending on the features of vocational training.