Student starting late as breadwinner (6)
I believe the answer is:
earner
'breadwinner' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'student starting late' is the wordplay.
'student' becomes 'learner' (I've seen this before).
'starting late' means to remove the first letter (the word starts later than the beginning).
'learner' with its initial letter removed is 'EARNER'.
'as' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for earner that I've seen before include "One receiving income (for work)" , "Employed person" , "Something bringing in money" , "One who gets money for work" , "One bringing in wage" .)