The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 2 plus 3 plus 6 letter word JACK OF ALL TRADES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
J
A
C
K
O
F
A
L
L
T
R
A
D
E
S
More clues leading to the result JACK OF ALL TRADES
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Sailor qualified as tinker, tailor, soldier etc?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case sailor qualified as tinker, tailor, soldier etc? = jack of all trades.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.
Crossword Answer definitions
JACK OF ALL TRADES noun- One competent in many endeavors, especially one who excels in none of them.