You might want shield busters as well, stunpulse's, debilatators, etc... It is best to put these in a separate weapons group if they travel at a different speed. How far you have to lead your target is determined by speed so by mixing different weapons they won all hit when you fire unless someone is sitting still or heading directly towards or away from you. Of course the closer the speeds are the more likely they will all hit depending on the size of the target.
Memorize the rules and learn all you can about roleplay, and you'll do just fine here. Keep in mind that this is neither a private nor, far more importantly, a PvP server. Discovery RP 24/7, am I right? It's not just a snazzy heading. I'd advise you to adjust rapidly; otherwise, welcome aboard and have fun.
People have said this already but if you want to make money easily I would suggest trading. Mining can be good too but in my experiance trading usually comes out on top in income. But the tradeoff is that it gets boring as hell.
Also if you want to trade make sure you emphasize the pirating and trading rules when going through the extensive list. These are what really matter to you as a trader....obviously:P.