學而優則仕

one who is successful in one's studies, can become an official (idiom)

to learn / to study / to imitate / science / -ology

and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)

excellent / superior

(conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but / then / standard / norm / principle / to imitate / to follow / classifier for written items

(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then / (bound form) standard; norm / (bound form) principle / (literary) to imitate; to follow / classifier for written items

to serve as an official / an official / the two chess pieces in Chinese chess guarding the "general" or "king" 將|将[jiang4]