Merited being educated, but not initially (6)
I believe the answer is:
earned
'merited' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'educated but not initially' is the wordplay.
'educated' becomes 'learned' (similar in meaning).
'but not initially' means to remove the first letter.
'learned' with its initial letter taken off is 'EARNED'.
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for earned that I've seen before include "well deserved" , "Merited through work" , "Merited; made" , "Got from paid employment merited" , "Acquired through work or effort" .)