here is my suggestion, its what im doing on my alt....
slicing, bioana, scav, arch, are some examples of crew skills that you Dont have to run misisons.
follow me here..... grab 3 skills that you can loot nodes on planets, ....
Fill up your cargobay with all your resources....
ok so you've been on a couple planets, lootin all the nodes you find... i see several ways this can be good.. you haven't spent a dime on missions..
1 you can select to sell your resources... some from 150 to 800 to 2000 or more per unit.
2 Slicing is pure money... at higher level planets you can make bank without doing missions.
3 horde your resources and when you hit 50.. and have 5 comps you can send on missions drop a skill and pick up a crafting one... you can bang out 400 in 2 days easy... and hopefully you already have the resources (cargo bay) and money to do it..
Take all the missions you can , and even planet bonus missions when your done with that planet can make you money. the lewt you get, upgrade your comp and yourself... use planet comms to upgrade your armor.... Run FP's ... can get good armor from those as you level...
also JOIN a Guild.... even if casual.... guilds can help you Level, provide mats, or even craft items for you , if you provide mats.... guilds can be a great resource, but remember to contribute to your guild .... i dont craft... i hate it. I horde resources, but give free to members if they need it... thats how i contribute....
good luck
(edited) looks like me and the above poster had the same idea, at same time