I haven't been playing as long as many people here, but the first thing I felt I needed to do was to get the town to look how I wanted. That's probably because I like creating things in games and it also increases my own enjoyment knowing I've put my own stamp on everything. As for my sims if they're not one of the premades or Maxis gallery sims I'll create their main outfit and then do the others as I play, but what sims I use matter less to me than the world itself.
I don't really have any specific career goals unless its for one of the premades, for example I want Jonny Zest to remain as an entertainer but I don't want Nancy as a crimelord when her husband is a detective so usually I make her a politician or put her in the business career. Generally for my own sims I prefer the easy money jobs such as writing or painting but the downside of that is that staying at home causes their social need to drop so I often find the military career a good fit and that was also true for me in Sims 3. When I bought Get Famous on sale I found I really loved the media career and also the acting (haven't had a bug with that yet except one odd costume change).
