 On leaving education he was employed by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd but, finding himself unsuited to that work, he performed in amateur theatricals in Melbourne and was stage manager for several productions of the Little Theatre Company.In 1932 Joyce entered commercial radio, working in various stations across Australia, and eventually rising to station manager.He could not enlist during World War II because of a childhood injury, so instead he served as an air-raid warden.