I Quit My Tech Job In The U.S. — Now I Earn $30K Baking Pastries In France

Valerie Valcourt, 34, earns $30,000 a year as a pastry assistant in Tournon-sur-Rhône, a village in eastern France. She moved from the U.S. to France in 2022 to attend pastry school.

This is an installment of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which profiles people across the globe and details how they earn, spend and save their money.

Produced and Edited by: Valentina Duarte
Managing Producer: Beatriz Bajuelos
Supervising Producer: Jessica Leibowitz
Camera: Luis Carballo
Animator: Elham Ataeiazar
Reporter: Jennifer Liu
Additional Footage: Valerie Valcourt

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I Quit My Tech Job In The U.S. — Now I Earn $30K Baking Pastries In France | Millennial Money

[RebelRouserEsq]

I love that they included the fact that she had to go back to work and try a second time! The plan hit a snag but she didn’t quit!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[_lembo_]

Only one life to live. Congrats on actually LIVING it and taking a chance.

[isha]

I'm so happy her. She genuinely looks happier and feels better. She's living a more fuller life in South of France. It's never too late to take a risk and do something you love. ❤😊😊

[NgocTran-cfwp]

It’s hard to leave a cushioned job to go into baking or culinary. I left my career of being an architect of 10 years to become a chef owner. 5 years since and I would never go back to a desk job. Live your dream girl! Congratulations ❤

[Chhime-fbld]

Val is the best.! We worked together during our internship in Grignan.! So happy for her.! She deserves all the good things 💛💛💛

This is my friend!!! She’s the best!!🥰🥰🥰🥰

[onceuponanexploration]

Some jobs are so miserable that it is not worth another day of your life.

[starryburst]

Her voice sounds so lovely to the ear.

[jasonforester]

I wonder how long it takes for certain people that watch these videos of other people moving abroad showing off the cost of food and how drastically different it is, for them to realize that the cost of food and other services here in the U.S. has far more to do with greed than it does with inflation.

[gloria]

I don't know if you will see this but thank you so much for sharing your story. I am going through radiation for a brain tumor and if the treatment doesn't work, I will need to make the most of my time. Thank you for helping me realize that sometimes you need to take that chance and it might end up being more happier and worth it than you ever imagined. Off to Italy I go! ❤

[BlitzOfTheReich]

$30k in the French countryside is like $70 or $80k in the US. She does seem to spend a lot for where she lives. A single person should be able to live off of $1, 500.

[MoorishBrooklyn]

Man! Shout out to her for having a plan and taking the leap. When things had a bad start the first time, she readjusted, knew what to do the next and time and executed. She also found her happy place.

[JFKenji]

You go girl!
So touching to see that you’re thriving here
Bienvenue en France 🇫🇷

[nsaffini]

I love her way of talking. She’s so soft spoken and her voice is soothing.

[susiebear]

It's like a wealth of stress was lifted off of her. I am feeling this living here in the u. S all they want is worker bee slaves

[keithmutamba]

She earns less than she would in the USA but living is cheaper where she is. She can live better than most Americans

[mikebostic]

Many stories of people leaving the US for a better life overseas. Good for them, I hope everything works out for her.

[TheModernInvestor]

4:50, people in the US are always aghast when they find out that starting vacation time for the year in other parts of the world is 4-5 weeks minimum, and only increases the longer you stay at a job.

[editorjohn]

It's common knowledge that most Americans are happier when they move abroad

[cdnpacker]

Valerie, if you read this, I'm so happy for you!