Learner not the first person to be paid for work (6)
I believe the answer is:
earner
'learner' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'not the first person to be paid for work' is the wordplay.
'not the first' means to remove the first letter.
'person' becomes 'per' (abbreviation).
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'be paid for work' becomes 'earn' (I've seen this before).
'per' with its initial letter taken off is 'er'.
'er' put after 'earn' is 'EARNER'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for earner that I've seen before include "One in employment" , "Person bringing in" , "Profitable undertaking" , "Money-making activity" , "Cash job" .)