Educating for professional work presents challenges related to knowledge and skilled know-how, - to prepare the students for practice in their specific field. Yet there is more to the social contract of the professions. Throughout a career, we expect a professional to have for example integrity, a sense of purpose and meaning, and to engage in their work for the good of society. We expect professionals to collaborate with others in the best interests of those they serve and to uphold the telos of their profession. A common aim of higher education is to educate for active, engaged and responsible citizens and workers. Yet evidence from educational efforts across a spectrum of professions in Europe and the United States indicate great difficulties in meeting these aims. Aims such as these are central to the discourses on Bildung and Liberal Education, and this paper explores ways in which these traditions may help education for the professions meet formative challenges. By drawing on existing discussions on formation processes in higher education, we identify and explore some central concepts and discussions. Further, we discuss how these ideals of professional formation may be challenged by influences from e.g. the knowledge economy and related rhetoric.