Returning in 1762, he was apprenticed at 15 to a surgeon in nearby Alford, but was soon dismissed for bad conduct. He returned to the family farm in disgrace and he was reduced to working as a labourer for his father, enduring this for ten years before finally leaving home in 1772 to become ordained as an Anglican priest at the age of 25. As he afterwards admitted, he went into the ministry for a comfortable career, and did not believe in most of the doctrine he was required to preach.
He left his apprenticeship due to poor conduct and went back to his family farm after being dismissed.  He later became an Anglican priest, but admitted he was motivated by the prospect of a comfortable career rather than genuine belief in the doctrines he preached.