Neil qualified as an archaeologist in 1988,though he has remarked that this was not the most financially rewarding of careers. In the mid-1990s he became a journalist and worked for The Scotsman, The Herald, The Guardian, The Edinburgh Evening News, The Evening Times, The Sun and The Daily Record. For these publications, he mainly wrote general news articles but also specialized in archaeological news. It was revealed during the last episode of the third series of Coast that he had previously been a professional lifeguard.