{"id":264446,"date":"2026-06-12T14:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/264446\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:26:08","slug":"i-felt-unfulfilled-woman-ditches-250000-tech-job-to-open-matcha-cafe-in-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/264446\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I felt unfulfilled’: Woman ditches $250,000 tech job to open matcha cafe in Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"

A high-paying tech career in New York <\/a>is often seen as a dream job. But for 29-year-old Michelle Yeung, the reality eventually felt hollow despite the impressive paycheck. After earning nearly $250,000 a year as a software engineer, she decided to walk away from stability and start over with a matcha cafe in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\"AA software engineer left a $250,000 job in tech to open a matcha cafe. (CNBC)<\/p>\n

According to CNBC Make It<\/a>, Yeung said that even though her salary allowed her to live comfortably, she began feeling increasingly disconnected from her work. \u201cIt felt like fake work,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat am I really doing this for?\u201d That sense of detachment slowly pushed her to rethink what she wanted from her career and life.<\/p>\n

From high salary to a search for meaning<\/p>\n

Yeung\u2019s early career in tech brought rapid financial growth. She started with a compensation package of around $160,000 after graduating from the University of Washington, which later rose significantly as she progressed in her role. But the emotional satisfaction didn\u2019t grow alongside her income.<\/p>\n

(Also Read: \u20b91,000 to cheer up Bengaluru vegetable vendor”>\u2018She looked sad\u2019: US vlogger buys one karela for \u20b91,000 to cheer up Bengaluru vegetable vendor<\/a>)<\/p>\n

She admitted that money was a strong motivator in the beginning, especially given her upbringing. \u201cFor as long as I could remember, financial stability was the ultimate goal,\u201d she said, recalling a childhood shaped by limited resources and careful spending. However, the comfort of financial<\/a> success eventually gave way to dissatisfaction with the nature of her work.<\/p>\n

Building matcha house from scratch<\/p>\n

The idea for her cafe came during casual matcha outings in New York, where she noticed a gap in the market. This observation, combined with her growing desire for change, led her to seriously explore opening her own space dedicated to the drink she loved.<\/p>\n

Before quitting her job, Yeung prepared extensively. She travelled to Japan to study matcha, worked early morning shifts at Starbucks to understand cafe operations, and saved aggressively to build a financial cushion. She also invested over $150,000 of her own money into launching \u201cMatcha House,\u201d which opened in 2025 in Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side.<\/p>\n

The journey was far from smooth. From contractor delays to last-minute setbacks, Yeung relied heavily on friends and family to bring the cafe to life. Despite the challenges, she remained committed to building something of her own.<\/p>\n

A new life, lower pay but higher satisfaction<\/p>\n

Today, Yeung earns significantly less than she did in tech, paying herself roughly $33,000 annually. Her lifestyle has also become more modest, with reduced expenses and a focus on running the business sustainably.<\/p>\n

Despite the financial trade-off, she says the change has been worth it. The cafe now employs around 10 part-time staff and is on track to be profitable in its first year. While she works long hours, Yeung says the emotional payoff is far greater than her previous job.<\/p>\n

(Also Read: Man rescues 3-year-old from window ledge in London, credits cricket skills in India for timely catch<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u201cMy life is less about how much money<\/a> I\u2019m making right now and more about what I\u2019m doing every day,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the end of the day, I just feel happy about what I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A high-paying tech career in New York is often seen as a dream job. But for 29-year-old Michelle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[102466,78893,102463,75,84,83,102465,9,24,63,102464],"class_list":["post-264446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-career-change","tag-financial-stability","tag-high-paying-tech-career","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-matcha-cafe","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-software-engineer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}