Perth FIFO worker Alex Schubach reveals the massive change he made after leaving mining industry

He went from earning almost $300,000 a year in FIFO to working at a Japanese pub for $13 an hour — and Alex Schubach says he’s the happiest he’s ever been.

The Perth man spent ten years in WA’s FIFO industry, primarily employed as an electrician, working for gas and green energy companies.

He spent his 20s as a contractor completing long swing shifts, where he said he would spend up to six weeks at a time on mining sites across WA.

“I worked hard, played hard and I just loved being a specialist technician,” he said.

After spending years climbing the ranks at a range of big companies like Tesla and Fortescue, Mr Schubach’s world was turned upside down in 2024 when his role was suddenly made redundant.

“It was a bit sad for sure, as I had dedicated my career at that point to working fly-in-fly-out,” he told PerthNow.

“I had really believed and dedicated myself to it.”

After ending his time in FIFO, the former tradie took the “once-in-a-lifetime” chance to spend the remainder of the year travelling the globe and immersing himself in international cultures.

When he returned to Perth in early 2025, Mr Schubach said he realised he needed to do something more permanent with his life.

“I just thought ‘I’ve got to get out of here’ — not because I didn’t love WA, I absolutely do, but I really had to make a change,” he said.

Reflecting on his life, he realised he wanted to take a leap and pursue his passion: Japanese food and culture.

“It sounds cliché but I asked myself: Who am I? What do I want to contribute to the world? Do I want to keep working in FIFO or mining?,” he said.

“I came to realise I wanted to bring people together with food and culture — I spent almost four years operating a farmer’s market stall across Perth for Japanese street food in my spare time, and I really just felt such a pure joy during it.”

The 32-year-old sold all of his belongings and moved his life to Japan to pursue his passion.

The Perth man got a job working in a Tokyo bar while he navigated the legal bureaucracy involved in starting a tourist business on the island nation.

He revealed the dramatic lifestyle change from FIFO worker to expat was “humbling” for him, but stressed that the transition to living in Japan had been exceedingly positive.

“I went from earning $299,000 a year in 2024 to making $13 an hour working at a bar,” he said.

“I’m sleeping on the floor of my house in Japan, but I don’t feel like a lesser version of myself compared to when I was living on the beach in Swanbourne making these stupid amounts of money.

“It’s still a humbling experience however, going from not worrying about money to having to put (finances) in a different bucket in your mind.”

After 11 months, Mr Schubach was finally approved to open his tour company — and Welcome to JPN was born.

Almost five months after launching, the WA-bred tour operator said his business had been “super successful” and completely transformed his life.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been — I introduce Japan and Tokyo to people all over the world every day,” he said.

“There’s a level of deep joy that I feel within myself because I’m doing what I’m really passionate about, and I wasn’t in Perth.”

His business began by offering tourists walking tours around Tokyo, but has since expanded into food tours and even visits to izakayas — a type of Japanese pub.

“Due to extremely high popular demand, we’ve started running the food tours each morning and each night,” he told PerthNow.

“I absolutely love eating food, sharing food with people, and cooking food for people — so I’ve added my connection to food to the business.”

All the money Mr Schubach has earned from Welcome to JPN has been put right back in his business as he continues to grow his company.

While he loves his life in Japan, the tour guide said he still looks back on his FIFO memories very fondly and was grateful for what his ten years in the industry had helped him learn.

“FIFO was always really enjoyable for me — I loved being at camp, I loved training, and it wasn’t ever isolating to me,” he said.

Mr Schubach told PerthNow that he hoped his tale of success would help those in the FIFO industry who are considering a change but are battling with the infamous “golden handcuffs” — a term coined to describe workers who feel trapped in high-paying jobs, due to their financial commitments.

“Big mining companies will pay boys and girls a lot of money to kind of forget their dreams and ambitions,” he said.

“Perth is amazing, so is working in mining — but if you have dreams outside of them, back yourself and go get it because it’s such an amazing thing to do what you’re passionate about.”