Ka cika wannan magana: Joyce ya fito ne daga iyalin masu aikin jirgin ruwa kuma ya soma aikinsa a matsayin matukin jirgin ruwa a shekara ta 1891. Kwarewar Antarctic ya fara shekaru 10 bayan haka, lokacin da ya shiga Scott's Discovery Expedition a matsayin Able Seaman. A cikin 1907 Shackleton ya ɗauki Joyce don kula da karnuka da sledges a kan
Ƙungiyar Nimrod. Daga baya Joyce ya shiga cikin irin wannan damar don Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition a 1911, amma ya bar aikin kafin ya tashi zuwa Antarctic. A cikin 1914 Shackleton ya ɗauki Joyce don ƙungiyar Ross Sea; duk da jaruntakarsa wannan yawon shakatawa ya nuna ƙarshen haɗin Joyce tare da Antarctic, da kuma aikin bincikensa, kodayake ya yi ƙoƙari sau da yawa don shiga wasu tafiye-tafiye.