Which Primary Skills Did You Pick and Why?

[Arwyn]

When I made my first NE and begin to level her, when I asked in Chat what was a good and easy skill to make gold a really helpful person replied that skinning was the skill to get because of all the dead animals left from other players. So I picked it up and just like they said the skill really helped me make gold either by selling at the AH or to vendors when I didn't feel like going to the AH.
It was only after that I reached 60 that I went back and picked up Leatherworking so I could help make items for the guild I was in at the time and for my rogue I was working on. (And who is sadly still back on Skywall stuck at level 12.) And later with my Tauren I gave her skinning and herbalism to help make extra gold either selling at the AH or to vendors.

[Vephriel]

I've never been very good at levelling professions to be honest. It's only recently (read: the last month) that I actually sat down and power-levelled mining/engineering on Vephriel. My boyfriend was always the one who focused on professions, and truthfully he just sort of gave me gold so I never worried about it much. xD Plus I hated the prospect of going back and doing one from scratch, so most of the time I just sat there with some half-levelled profession and ignored it.

Anyways, usually when I start new alts (especially where it's a new server and I have no cash supply), I'll do mining along with something else as mining seems to be the quickest/easiest way to make a lot of money if you dedicate some time to it.

[Sarayana]

I started a hunter on some random realm on my husband's account back when I first tried WoW. She was a skinner/leatherworker, and I hated LWing. I couldn't get enough skins to level it! So when I rolled Sara, when I got my own account and TBC, I went with mining/JC (who doesn't like a little bling, I ask?). When I hit 70, I went with engi/JC because of the gadgets. I was leveling another toon, which was mining/skinning, so ore would come, right? Then wrath hit and I was kicking myself over the massive amounts of gold I wasn't making from ore and bars. So now Sara's going back to mining/JC and my other miner is an engineer and will pick up herbalism as soon as Sara's mining is maxed. Makes no sense, I know. *shrug*

[kairii]

leveling get gather skills skinning/mining if you can make a alt character and mail it all the jewels etc to it so you can save up a little and when you get to 80 dailies make enough gold so you can take a crafting prof.

jewelcrafting +34 agi gems need i say more?
Leatherworking 150 ap on bracers


though you could take herbing/skinning

Inscribtion shoulder enchant with 120 ap and 15 crit

[VelkynKarma]

First thing I really leveled fully was mining/JCing on my rogue, Saor. Keep in mind, this was a brand new toon on a brand new server, so I had literally nothing. JCing is NOT an especially forgiving profession when it comes to making money, since you dont' really reap the rewards until about 400 points in, and it costs a lot to get there.

Now, of course, I collect quite a bit of cash from just randomly cutting and selling epic gems. It is quite nice to get 250G+ with a single sale.

~VelkynKarma

[Sarayana]

JCing is NOT an especially forgiving profession when it comes to making money

Preaching to the choir... /cry

[Dulanie]

Some proffesions are expencive to level such as enchanting or engineering, but on the flip side every proffesion can make you a ton of gold. If you are looking for the most $ then you should check out your realm's AH to see what the gather items are selling for since the price varies from server to server. I one realm Titansteel is going for 130g on another 75g. All depends on the realm's economy, and what trade skills are prevolent.

[Jakjak]

Skinning/LW on my main, because I got greedy when I saw all those carcasses lying around, and I figured making my own gear would be practical. Skinning levels obscenely fast, but LW takes a lot of work after level 30 or so.

By now, I've made alts who do mining/BS, mining/JC, herb/alchemy, and tailor/enchant. Totally for my main too, although they'll make stuff on the side for extra cash. All but the tailor are hunters (tailor's a mage).

Most of them fish too.

My new blood elf Niky couldn't be bothered with skinning animals because it's too messy, so he picked tailer/enchant so he could make fabulous clothes for himself. However, I'm thinking of switching Enchanting to Herbalism for a while, just to make money.

[Epicfail]

Herb/Alch. and not just because flasks run 40G a piece + on my server.

Endless Mana pots - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43570
Endless Health pots - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43569
Flask of the North - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=47499

All of the above are non-consumable and can be used every minute (or once during a fight).

Transmute - Titanium
Transmute - Cardinal Ruby (and other epic gems)

There is no delay on transmuting titanium anymore, so 8x Saronite bars make just as good of a Titanium Bar as one you mined/smelted yourself. Transmuting gems preocupies my daily cooldowns.

Crazy Alchemist Pots - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40077
Guru Elixirs - http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40076

I mention the above potion/elixir because of how easy the mats are to come by and how amazingly powerful they can be when used by an alchemist.

Alchy is easy to level if you farm herbal a bit. Its not the normal mats that are hard to come by or all that expensive as much as that pesky frost lotus that keeps prices high.

My alt druid is a Chanter/JCer, which I leveled up together (farmed half the mats and AHed the rest). I'll echo that JC is a costly one to level, but the benefits are awesome and at the end game, you'll always have gems to cut/sell on the AH.

My wife is a miner, she sends lots of ore to my JCer.
My JCer prospects ore into greens/blues/epic gems.
My JCer Icy Prisms green gems into blue gems
My Alchemist combines the blue gems with elementals to make epic gems.
My JCer cuts the epic gems and sells them for leet profits.
Life is good.
In that order.