Almeida, António Fragoso deQuintas, HelenaCampos Goncalves, Teresa Isabel2017-04-072017-04-072016-042446-62202446-6220AUT: AAL01137;http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/9720This article emerges from two research projects focused on non-traditional students in higher education. Our objectives aims to understand the barriers of learning and academic success, considering the perspectives of the several social actors in the academia; and to understand the barriers of the same students had in their transition to the work environment. The results show that a set of situational and institutional factors work as obstacles to these students. The results also show that age is a determinant factor regarding hiring and that the characteristics of the labour market today make hard the professional insertion of non-traditional undergraduates.engjournal article