Well, this might be a long post, so.. I won't give you a potato if you read until the end. Reminder, this is just for complete newbies, so there might be some obvious info here. Here I go!
1. Make the most of your protected 5 hours
Try earning a gun, armor, and ammo before your 5 hours run out! This will give you a cutting edge after. Try to buy the SG556. It's a low costing gun, and deals 18 damage!
2. If you are doing a job, focus on it, and prepare.
Nothing is permanent, and so are your tools. I recommend picking trash, if you like to explore and such. But the most useful job in my opinion is digging for shells, start out by buying 3 shovels, and that's enough to make you more than 1k in Era, and remember to strafe (1) and dig in a straight line to make it easier to collect. Occasionally, there will be a shell cluster that would need Digging TNT to separate, so buy some!
3. Make some friends!
Era isn't all about killing people, being the best, and such. It's also about socializing and teamwork! This is why gangs have been implemented, Era isn't a job, it's a game, so have fun!
Kudos, newbie. (If a phrase/word is bold, it is pretty important!)