Looking for Guidance in Selecting First Class to Take to Artisan

So I have been gradually working on leveling up and gearing out my crafting, with the plan to continue to advancing one through Artisan, Supra, and whatever happens beyond that. Close to being 50 on all 8 crafts, and I'm almost done fully melding the accessory items used by all classes.

I find myself at the point where I need to pick one class to focus getting a full set of melds on, but I'm having trouble reaching that decision. I was hoping I can ping some of the more advanced crafters for guidance with this decision. I know a lot of this will come down to personal preference and the state of any given server's playerbase and economy. Really, I looking for some helpful things to think about and consider when making this choice, as well as anything I should be looking for/watching on the market.

I guess my ultimate goal would be to work towards advancing a craft that would ultimately help me take some of the other classes to artisan and up down the road. So I guess I'd be looking for the crafting class that would help with gil earning (for getting additional melds, crafting ingredients, and potential new gear in the future) as well as providing other benefits. I know cooking provides a potential easier route to obtaining the artisan classes for desynth; my main issue there is that I haven't really enjoyed cooking as I've leveled the class up. I'll probably work on it later, but I don't think I want it to be my first (maybe second).

I'd appreciate any advice people can share. I know the decision ultimately comes down to me, but I tend to over think things and getting outside recommendations tend to help get me to finally reach a decision.

As a side note, I'd be interested to hear how people went about earning gil when they first got started with doing serious crafting. I tend to do roulettes, challenge logs, dailies, maps, and try to keep a steady supply of items for sale. I've made an okay amount since I've started focusing on making gil to support crafting (3.5 mil), but I see a lot of people talk about being able to make much more in less time. Again, I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but any general advice would be most welcome.

Thanks all!

I got to my artisan spectacles with my culinarian without melding most of the gear. With this setup I made 10 HQ Spicy Tomato Relish out of 11 attempts. (With a macro even)

I had the following gear:

(All HQ)
Cul Hat - No melds (Since upgraded to Spectacles)
Cul Apron - Craft +6, Craft +6
Cul Mitts - No melds
Dodore Belt - Control +3, CP +3, Control +2, Craft +3
Cul Trousers - No melds
Cul Gaiters - No melds
Mil Cul Knife - No melds
Rose Gold Choker - Control +4, CP +3, CP +3, Craft +4
Mosshorn Earrings - Control +4, CP +3, CP +3, Craft +4
Mil Wristlets - Control +4, CP +3, CP +3, Craft +4
Aetheryte Ring - Control +4, CP +3, Craft +4
Aetheryte Ring - Control +4, CP +3, Craft +4

(cont.)

I started by making my patricians clothing and getting a few high crafters in my FC to make me the dodore and jewelry. After melds this was enough to start making the job-based clothing myself without fails with only a few of the mats being HQ.

Also, I waited until I had all my classes to 50 to do it. The additional powers you gain are amazingly strong when used together.

Plus I used a spreadsheet to compute the best macro based on how many CPs I had available - Link

Oh, I did use HQ mats for the Spicy Relish, that should be noted. I might not have needed to, but it seemed safer.

Good luck.

As for Gil earning, make a character on Excalibur and send me a tell, I'll give you my secrets. ;)

Appreciate the info Lasivian, and the time you took to write it out.

I'm pretty familiar with the general steps to getting the Artisan glasses and tools.

What I'm trying to figure out is which of the 8 crafting classes is a good fit for me to get to 3 star/artisan level first, hopefully picking one that is a mix of a class I enjoy and providing the benefit of helping me get other classes to that level. I'm reaching that point with my materia melding that the only pieces left are class specific.

I may take you up on that offer to talk to you on Excalibur. Thanks again!

Things to consider
1) Will you be getting max melds? With the new Ixali gloves you can make 3* Recipes (if you don't care about HQ, IE furniture) without the Artisan Tool, in addition if you plan on getting a supra you can skip the tool entirely.
2) Do you know what you will make after you get the Artisan tool? You don't unlock new recipes aside from the two master books. Everything you see is what you can make, if you don't see anything you want to craft right now, your Artisan Tool is vanity.
3) Have you been leveling Desynth? You will need some 3* Craft(s) to support desynth.
4) Do you have too much time on your hands? If yes, you can have a collection of tools for your armory and vanity is awesome.

I would recommend CUL because it is super cheap and a good learning experience. Do yourself a favor and don't buy the HQ tomatoes. This is probably the first really difficult craft in the game, and it is a really good learning experience.

I did Goldsmith first because it was my best equipped class. Also because I have mining and botany 50.

The cheap ones are Culinarian and Alchemy.

I started in 1.xx so how I first made gil is irrelevant. I started a character on Jenova and she makes a decent living scalping.