34-year-old quit her 6-figure tech job to go to pastry school in France: ‘What would I want to be doing that would bring me joy?'Valerie Valcourt is living what some might consider the dream life: The 34-year-old former executive assistant quit her tech job over a year ago and now makes pastries in the South of France.
She'd always wanted to go to culinary school abroad and, after some online research, submitted her application to a French school on a whim. She got accepted in October 2020 and resigned from her day job soon after. But, she now admits, she wasn't ready to make such a big life change. She officially moved to France in January 2023 and began her accelerated three-month program of intensive pastry courses and French lessons, followed by a four-month internship. All in, she paid about 10,000 euros for tuition and another 1,800 euros for housing.Valcourt sailed through classes. Her first internship got extended to six months, and then she got hired to work full time as a pastry assistant at the restaurant Maison Chabran in Pont-de-l'Isere, France.
While she and her French colleagues work hard, Valcourt says she's surprised by their mentality around rest. She feels fortunate her school and employers have helped her with the necessary visas to stay in the country, and she currently has a permanent employment contract with her company, which employs many foreign and seasonal workers.These days, Valcourt often hears from other corporate U.S. workers who want to quit and start a new career.
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Source: NBCLA - 🏆 319. / 59 Read more »