The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word EARNER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
A
R
N
E
R
More clues leading to the result EARNER
- Person longing — not the first — for something profitable
- Coin collector student relieved of capital
- Source of income apprentice's first lacking
- Trainee's heading off for a profitable job
- Lucrative job student won't start
- One longing to get rid of York’s premier brass maker
- Profitable job student hasn’t started
- Apprentice not starting profitable activity
- Top student to get nice little job
- Lucrative work student left out
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Lucrative work" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lucrative work = earner.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does EARNER mean?
EARNER noun- One who earns money.
- A profitable product or scheme.