This article presents four student teacher cases using an examination of the nature of shifts in student teachers' motivation for choosing teaching as a career in relation to the development of their sense of self-as-teacher. The analysis relates positive and negative shifts in teaching motivation and sense of self-as-teacher to variation in professional learning experiences in initial teacher education (ITE) that constituted the four student teachers' development of classroom competence and wider professional competence. Rich learning experiences in fieldwork, student teachers' active stance in learning-to-teach, productive interactions with various agents in professional learning, co-curricular activities in higher education, as well as modeling by mentors and teacher educators constituted productive learning experiences that might bring positive shifts in teaching motivation and strengthen sense of self-as-teacher. Implications for maximizing student teachers' professional learning in ITE are discussed.