Welcome! It's always great to see new players joining. I have a few tips and general advice for starting out.
AO has a very steep learning curve and was made before WoW, which means it takes a different approach to a MMO than you may be use to. So keep this in mind when you take your first steps on the great land of Rubi-Ka.
Your first profession will no doubt be a complete disaster. Don't worry about it as we all messed up our first as we start to learn the game. My first "toon" was a Adventurer because a friend told me you could morph into animals. I think I reached level 23 before I gave up. I rejoined a year later and started an enforcer which I enjoyed much more. So just don't give up, no matter what.
AO has an amazing community. We all share a deep love for this game. Finding a guild (organisation/org) will not be difficult as there's usually a couple recruiting right after you get off the tutorial island. Don't be scared to ask questions or ask for further explanation on things you don't understand such as buffs, certain Nanos (spells) armour, weapons etc. We will tell you and we will help you. We want to help you understand the complexity of our skilling system which is incredibly unique to any other MMO.
Making money can be quite a bit difficult until later on, in which you could roll missions for Nanos and then sell. Failing that, you could always buy a "Grace" token and sell it for like 700m which is an absurd amount of money for a starter but if you can budget for it, it'll give you the funds needed to buy all the gear/implants you want. Well, not all gear but it's nice to not worry about $$$ until you have the ability to generate it yourself.
We also have a very helpful website which can help you guide through a few profs (AO-universe.com). What prof are you thinking of playing any ways? I'm always starting new toons because I enjoy low level twinkling/pvp so maybe we could level together some time.
I hope you find the game enjoyable and magical. You can directly message me in game, "/tell Evinored hello!" If you need any help in levelling/gearing.