Enjoying the game so far...but I feel a little lost! What are priorities for new pilots?

I've taken the advice of the beginner guides and I'm running through the tutorial career missions. Some of the industrial ones require several hours wait time for production plants to be available (although I'm probably doing things the hard way.) In the mean time I've been mining to pass the time.

Any suggestions on what I should doing? Or just keep plugging through these missions?

Thanks in advance!