This article reports the findings of a survey examining the social and psychological characteristics of future specialists of agriculture who were enrolled as students in Tuva State University. The study was carried out by the Tuva State Institute for Cadre Retraining and Upgrading of Qualifications under the Government of the Republic of Tuva. The survey was participated in by 80 percent of first-year students in the faculty of agriculture using a questionnaire developed by the Academy of Information Technologies. All the students have the following specialties: scientific agronomist; livestock engineer; and technologist of agricultural production. Women made up 58.8 percent of the sample and men 41.2 percent. The findings of the survey include the following: (1) Most students plan to work in their chosen sphere of activity; (2) Agronomy students have the most positive professional orientations; and (3) The following values turned out to be the most preferred by the students: "work that is interesting" (41.3 percent); "having a loved one" (32.5 percent); "a family and children" (32.2 percent); "a high salary" (29.2 percent). For the most part, the study reveals that young people are oriented toward material and social success rather than toward a professional career. (Contains 3 tables.)