The most important thing about you at any given time is of course, your ship. Your success in a given career depends on the sort of ship you buy, particularly when you're just starting out. Depending on whether you want to ferry passengers, or fight pirates on the rim, your ship selection will vary, as there are few ships truly good at everything. This guide should help you with your decision.
Early Ships
When you first begin your career as a pilot, whatever else it is you might wish to do, your selection of ships will be limited severely by your probable financial situation: you simply don't have enough cash for a very big ship. Thus, in your first few months of space you'll be limited to light fighters and their ilk. Most people will want to stick to the largest ship they can afford regardless of their intended profession, meaning such ships as the Eagle series or the Saker. There is little use in buying small military class fighters since they don't have enough space to make you any money or to mount any significant armament. I can imagine military couriers taking such a ship, but they are only marginally faster than their larger brethren. The best bet for your first major upgrade will probably be the Sidewinder or the Merlin which are both fast and deadly craft, as well as good stepping stones to larger craft. From there. you'll probably move up to the Krait, Gecko, or Spar.
Fast & Deadly Ships
Once you have made a decent amount of money from cargo hauling, military missions, and so on, you will probably be looking to upgrade from your tiny ship to a larger one. Those who stick strictly to trading missions in mildly safe systems may wish to invest in an adder, as it has a decent amount of cargo space presuming you go easy on the weaponry. However, for everyone who doesn't enjoy trading runs in Sol (and who has the cash), I cannot recommend anything more than the Viper. The Viper is one sleek machine that will take you anywhere and get you back in one piece. It's ideal for anyone pursuing a military career, bounty hunting, or assassinations. Just fit one with a class 3 military drive (which will take a lot of cash), a standard 1MW beam laser, and a single shield generator and you'll be ready for action. The only problem with the Viper is its inability to carry a larger laser and still remain a speedy, well equipped ship. As an upgrade from the Viper, I recommend the Moray wholeheartedly. Finding one might take some time, but it will be well worth it: that extra ten tons of space will allows you to keep everything you had in your Viper but with a 4MW beam instead of a 1MW, a laser cooling booster, and an extra shield generator (or some other extras). With the Moray you'll be able to take on just about any enemy and still complete most any military deadline.
If, however, you'd like a bit more space than a fully outfitted Viper or Moray can provide, and don't mind sacrificing some speed, a Cobra might be just what you're looking for. The Cobra MKI for gives you 10 tons of space over the Viper which could easily be used to fit a few additional extras or for hauling some cargo. Likewise, the MKIII gives 10 tons over the Moray, and even more if you install a military drive, which should be plenty of space for cargo. Basically, if you're looking to do military runs, bounty hunting, and the occasional assassination, go for a Viper and then a Moray (or skip the Viper if you can) with class 3 military drives in them. If, on the other hand, you'd like to do a bit of trading while still remaining deadly and fairly fast, go for a Cobra instead.
