The Wonders of a Career Change

Consisting of a professional retraining programme for IT which answers specific business needs, the initiative strives to fill a gap in the market caused by a lack of fully trained IT professionals. The initiative also looks to encourage those who have struggled to find work to explore a career in IT.  

Rigorous selection, excellence in training, and sustainable employability are the three core values of "Acertar o Rumo", closely resonating with the ones we promote at Critical Software.

We’re proud to contribute to “Acertar o Rumo”. So far, our journey with them has been filled with proud moments, self-development, and a relentless will to always do more and do better. We’re happy to be surrounded by people who share the same drive. This motivates us to continue to develop the full potential of our students, treasuring diversity (we’ve had dentists, anthropologists, teachers and more take part in this initiative), and providing a helping hand in their learning, growth, and overall contribution to IT.

But don’t just take it from us – let’s hear what some of our people have to say about “Acertar o Rumo”! All of our examples took the plunge to reinvigorate their careers – and their lives – by journeying into IT. Wherever they are now, they are and will always be part of the Critical family. 

For those who are considering joining the bright side of IT, registration for this year’s “Acertar o Rumo” is now open. But hurry, registration closes on 21st May! Check out more information about the initiative here.

Keen to find out more about the initiative? Let’s take a look at what our previous participants have to say!

1. What were you doing before you decided to change your career? 

Vitor Pereira, Project Engineer: Before joining this programme, I was a Maths and IT teacher for around 12 years.

Edgar Gouveia, Project Engineer: I was in civil engineering.

Márcia Seabra, Project Engineer: I was a Maths teacher.

2. What made you decide to take part in this requalification initiative? 

Vitor Pereira: I was a teacher when I decided to requalify for IT. This career was very precarious and often meant moving to another school, another town... for instance, in one year, I taught at a total of 4 schools. 

I first had experience with programming (PASCAL language) at college, and I remember liking it at the time. So, when I read in a newspaper that the "Acertar o Rumo" course was opening, I took the opportunity to redirect my professional career to the IT area.

Edgar Gouveia: I decided to join the requalification programme mainly because I was struggling to find a job opening in my area of study, and already had an interest in IT gained through some of my college courses.

3. What would you say about the experience of joining Critical after the “Acertar o Rumo”? 

Edgar Gouveia: I knew the company was one of the main national companies during the course, so I did my best to be able to choose the internship offered at the time. After joining, I discovered a great culture, community and people and it has been a very rewarding experience so far.

Márcia Seabra: It was a very interesting experience. I had never worked in a company before and Critical is a very good place to work. I joined an interesting project and was well received by my colleagues.

4. If you could go back in time, would you still choose to follow an IT career? Why? 

Márcia Seabra: I would probably have taken an IT course at college and follow this career right away. There are many good job opportunities for software developers.

5. How ‘Acertar o Rumo’ and Critical Software changed your personal and professional life? 

Márcia Seabra: ‘Acertar o Rumo’ opened a door for me in a difficult time of my life. This programme gave me opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be available for me. I have more economic and emotional stability now, and I feel part of a community and can make plans for the future.

Edgar Gouveia: I’d have to say that my decision to be a part of the programme and then joining Critical was one of the best I’ve taken in my life. It’s been a great journey so far and there’s plenty of miles ahead!

6. What are you doing now?

Vitor Pereira: For the last 6 years, I have been working as QA Engineer (performing manual/automated software testing), on online ordering and delivery solutions, and on projects in the banking/insurance sector.

This month, I started working as a Technical Analyst on a new Customer in relation to fraud prevention.

Edgar Gouveia: I currently work for projects in the Defence and Homeland Security industry, primarily dealing with military and governmental authorities.

Márcia Seabra: I'm still working at Critical. I've been working on the same project for a while.

In “Acertar o Rumo”, you have a transformative learning opportunity, organised across three three-month periods covering several units: 

• Java programming
• Operating systems
• Databases
• Computer networks and internet technologies. 

On successfully completing these units, you will receive a degree-level diploma from the University of Coimbra, followed by a paid internship at a company like Critical Software for a period of 12 months.

If you’re up for the challenge, sign up here.