EDIT: WHOOPS, NECRO REPLY! It's okay, though I'll still keep the following here in case it helps other new players.
Was going to buy a fuel scoop but it was bloody expensive - especially for a noob with 1000 credits in the bank.
Go to the Nav Buoy (Or whatever it is called); I think pretty much every system has one. Then hang out scanning ships as they warp in. Assuming you are still flying the Sidewinder with stock gear, when one pops up as "wanted", DO NOT ATTACK IT, YET! Follow it around at a decent distance (500m-1000m) and wait for the system security forces to attack first (they loiter around, but ya have to wait for them to notice the 'wanted' guy), then join in the fight--you'll get some credit for helping with the kill. The reason you don't attack it first is because, as a new player, you ship might not be enough to take it out. Watching the patrols fight the criminal lets you build experience in risk evaluation.
Once you have saved up enough for gimbled turrets, slap those puppies on & head back to Nav Buoy. Continue making money as before, but now you are saving up for a Criminal Warrant Scanner (approx 10k). This module will maximize the bounty payout for criminals. Once you have that, assign it to a secondary fire, and use it on the criminal at the beginning of combat (hold the button for 10 secs, until the "cone meter" thingy fills up). Here is a YouTube video detailing the process I took. Worked great.
...and don't watch AdoredTV's ED youtube videos; detailed as they are, and well-intended, they didn't work for me and led me to literally climb the wall with nerdrage thinking there was something wrong with me. Maybe his vids are out of date, and of course your mileage may vary, but Troa's video, above, worked great for me, so why risk it? Maybe AdoredTV's other vids are good, but not the newbie playlist (for me).
There you have it.
No delivery missions for endless searches for resources that you can't afford, yet.
No illegal cargo to risk getting caught with. (above video, SOME of that, but I didn't follow that)
No figuring out the weird ass trade route thing.
Just low-level NPC bounty hunting.
Oh, and play in Solo at first until you are comfortable with the controls, and knowing which risks you can take intelligently.
If you get interdicted often, try approaching destinations from the "top" or "bottom" instead of flying along the plane of the solar system. Also, I think (someone correct me if I am wrong) when you do get interdicted, you can just throttle down to zero to "submit" and this will minimize your drive's cooldown letting you warp again asap--otherwise it'll take a good minute or so, as I recall.
At any rate, I hope this helps, and good luck!
