She's just trying to 'earn a living'. [=to earn the money needed for food, clothing, etc.]
He will do anything to 'earn his keep'. [=to earn what is needed to support himself]
He 'earned/won his spurs' by doubling the company's profits in the past year.
(..) For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing... ...whose end, both at the first and now, was and is to hold the mirror up to nature To show virtue her earn feature, seem her own image And the very age and body of the time his form and pressure Oh, there be players that I have seen play, (..)2015 Hamlet