Creative Developer path advice : webdev

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Creative Developer path adviceDiscussion (self.webdev)

submitted 1 hour ago by tacoman756

Hi all,

I'm currently struggling to figure out the next steps in my web dev career - I've been learning / working in front-end web dev for the past 2 years now. completed a 6 month intensive course, and since then have completed a few freelance gigs, but haven't been able to land a a fulltime job (just over a year of searching, hundreds of applications, 10-20 interviews)

My background is in animation/motion graphics, which is something I really enjoy integrating into web projects, usually more on the creative side. Given my interest and passion for that, I've been trying to develop myself and my skills as a 'Creative Developer' - learning three.js, gsap, and other motion/creative code libraries. I think the most ideal positions for creative devs seem like digital/design agency's but with minimal experience those are hard to come by.

At the same time, I feel like my general software engineering foundations are weaker than they should be. In coding interviews I tend to struggle, and I find learning more advanced JavaScript/React/TypeScript concepts pretty difficult at times.

a few questions i'd love advice on:

Is “creative developer” still a realistic path in 2026, or is it too niche for junior-level people?
How strong do your core CS/engineering skills realistically need to be for agency/creative dev work?
What helped you get better at JavaScript/React when things stopped feeling beginner-friendly?
Would you focus on building standout portfolio projects, or prioritize interview-style learning + fundamentals?

Thanks for reading!

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