Jest - SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier

This worked for my simple set-up:

devDependencies (in package.json):

  "devDependencies": {
      "babel-eslint": "^10.0.3",
      "babel-preset-env": "^1.7.0",
      "jest": "^24.9.0",
      "parcel-bundler": "^1.12.3"
    }

I simply created a babel.config.js as follows:

  // babel.config.js
  module.exports = {
    presets: [
      [
        '@babel/preset-env',
        {
          targets: {
            node: 'current',
          },
        },
      ],
    ],
  };

Note - make sure to clear the cache before running!

Clear cache:

  ./node_modules/.bin/jest --clearCache

Lately I find that I don't need babel-jest at all, and can get by simply with @babel/preset-env, and the following .babelrc:

{
  "env": {
    "test": {
      "presets": [["@babel/preset-env"]]
    }
  }
}