My fleet choices are mainly based on how MMO's usually start up. This one is going to be a bit different since there are no levels, but the internet community is usually pretty reliable when it comes to overall behavior. The way I see it, the first few weeks, at least, are going to be an absolute shit storm. In the entire lifetime of Star Citizen, there will never be a more bloody time than at the very beginning.
People will still be figuring out the permadeath thing, including CIG. Most people will underestimate it and take on activities that can only be described as suicidal. There will be massive balance issues. Trade routes will be exploited. Pirates will be fucking everywhere. Everyone will be stealing everything and the entire universe will be one hot mess for a little while. Every boundary and limit that CIG places in the game will be tested, thoroughly.
So with that said, there will also be a huge potential for profit. There will be a lack of balance in the commerce side of things as well. Some activities will turn out to be far more profitable based on investment/profit ratios. Trade routes will be tested on a massive scale as people bust out their Hull D and Es on the first day. Everyone is going to cram random goods in their ships and fly them all over trying to make their first handful of space bucks. Some will be very profitable, and some will not be worth the cost of fuel.
If I were to make a prediction, I would imagine the vast majority will try trade as their first profession. The second most popular one will be exploring. So those two will probably be faced with massive amounts of competition. I would imagine there will be a couple of professions that will stand out though. The first one that I am counting on, is fuel. I have a StarG that will likely see quite a bit of flight in the first two weeks. Everyone needs fuel. In between fuel runs though, I will probably be switching between a few other ships. The first being one of my explorers and the second will be my Reclaimer.
With all the bloodshed in the first few weeks, there will likely be more destroyed ships than any other time in the entirety of SC's life. It will never be more hazardous than these first few weeks and people will not respect the insurance/permadeath mechanics. So, they will die. They will die alot and their ships will be destroyed on cool-down. At least, they will at the beginning.
So, I will be more than happy to go on fuel runs for both myself and Test. However, between these runs, I will be pulling in that sweet, sweet salvage money from all the unbelievable amounts of carnage that the first few weeks will bring. I suspect that both of these activities will be wildly profitable at the very beginning.
Or, I could be completely wrong and miss out on all the trade and exploration money...