Just starting out - I have a few questions

[DMN]

Sounds like you really want to roll a melee character. Best luck is probably going monk and save a bunch of sellable stuff like bonechips/spiderwebs from your early levels to sell in EC and then get yourself a quivering staff for cheap.

As far as in demand, would probably be best to look towards cleric/enchanter/bard. Bard/enchanter solo much better than the cleric, though end game they aren't as high in demand as the cleric. Cleric can actually solo halfass nuking undead but you may have difficulty finding spots.