 Before he began writing, his checkered career included work on a showboat, hauling sawdust for a lumber mill, harvesting wheat, a position as auditor for the United States Department of Labor, a telephone solicitor, copywriter, and an anti-aircraft fire control instructor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.In 1946, Deal enrolled in the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.While there he published his first short story, "Exodus".