I completed a web development bootcamp in 2024 after leaving an unfinished physics engineering degree. Since I couldn't find a role with only bootcamp projects, I started freelancing to build real experience. Over the past two years, I've delivered client work using Next.js, GSAP, SvelteKit, WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace. Most of my work has been front end, and I'm also building a personal full-stack project to keep improving.
I'd now like to join a development team so I can learn faster and have more financial stability. I've applied to agencies, startups, and larger companies, but in the last six months I've found only a few genuinely junior openings. Most listings ask for senior-level experience, although I sometimes apply anyway.
For people who successfully moved from freelancing into a team role, how did you present your freelance work to employers? Did companies treat it as professional experience, or did you need to reframe it? Did applying for mid-level positions work better than focusing only on junior roles? I'd also like to know whether people typically found these opportunities through job listings, networking, subcontracting, or contracts that later became permanent.
2 Answers
Present the work as contract engineering or consulting rather than leaving it as a vague “freelancer” entry. Use a title such as Frontend Engineer, Contract. Describe the clients, your responsibilities, and how you worked with designers, product managers, or other developers when that applies.
The strongest resume bullets will focus on outcomes and complexity, not just the tools. For example, instead of saying you built a Next.js site, explain that you delivered an e-commerce frontend integrated with Shopify and improved measurable performance or conversion results. That makes the experience easier for hiring managers to compare with an in-house role.
Two years of shipped client work is valuable experience, so I wouldn’t automatically treat the missing degree as the main problem. Put each substantial project on your resume like a real contract engagement, with dates, scope, technologies, and results. Agencies in particular may appreciate that you already know how to deliver for clients.
It can also be worth applying to some mid-level roles instead of limiting yourself to junior listings. The junior market is extremely crowded, while your client-facing experience may make you more useful than someone who has only completed coursework. Networking, agency partnerships, and short-term contracts can be just as important as public job postings.
I agree that the freelance work should be treated as professional experience. The important part is being specific about what you owned, how independently you worked, and what changed for the client—not simply listing a collection of frameworks.