Student left, a salaried worker (7)
I believe the answer is:
learner
'student' is the definition.
(someone who is learning)
'salaried worker' is the wordplay.
'salaried' becomes 'l' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'worker' becomes 'earner' (earner is a kind of worker).
'l'+'earner'='LEARNER'
'left a' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for learner that I've seen before include "Tyro" , "Pupil, novice" , "New driver" , "10 [STUDENT], possibly 11 [BOOKISH]" , "A student or beginner" .)