The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 plus 6 letter word CHEQUERED CAREER
C
H
E
Q
U
E
R
E
D
C
A
R
E
E
R
More clues leading to the result CHEQUERED CAREER
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "had good and bad times" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case had good and bad times = chequered career.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.