James Brown started his working life as an apprentice electrician in steelworks after qualifying at Newcastle University, he worked as an Area Electrical Engineer for ICI. He then joined a large American/Saudi petrochemical company where he was again employed as an engineer responsible for the maintenance of a large crude oil unit. He also worked in Korea on the design of semi-submersible drilling platforms and lectured in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi. Afterwards, he was employed by a university Open Learning Unit where he edited and tutored several courses and authored a variety of course books.