Yea, I was thinking that, too. I enjoy core mining in my multi-role python, though there could be many better options, it's just what I use - with only 128 cargo space, too. I don't mind, I'm no mega-billionaire and I'd have to put in some time for the FC... but now that is gonna be fun to work towards! And then with an FC, I'm gonna see about maximizing that profit line using that same less than ideal python to continue the fun.
Someone mentioned a ways back the difficulty of finding that one good rock, and ya know, you keep doing it and you start being able to visually ID those worthy of a prospector limpet even when they're showing bright yellow on your scanner... like being able to find those many herbs in the new Red Dead without the sight mode on, it comes in time if you pay close attention... then you just "know" where to find things, or what they look like enough to bother. You get on a roll, and then your only limit is your cargo and how fast you can get back and forth from your newfound gold mine and the selling point. For some people, it boils down to the numbers and watching/reading specific repeatable methods, for others it's all about hands on experience, and for many it's a combination of both.
A game this big, it's no 'cheating' to go online for information, in a sense, this same info would exist in a universe like this anyway, guides on mining, ships, etc. on whatever generation iPad's they got a thousand years later, right? lol