The jetpack it a whole new world. Being able to pick locks is kina a must too. Persuasion is definitely one you'll want to invest in if you want to just talk people into doing whatever you want shy of shooting themselves in the face.

I wish there were a fast sit down stand up perk or a dock and board perk

I think the persuasion skill is really useful through out the gameplay, espacially at the beginning. you can gain time and save ammo. Security and wealth were useful to have. A point in boost pack is fun too. I did not invest in exploring or crafting since I didn't engage much in them. Later, investing in pure DPS was profitable too (ballisitc/energy, pistol/rifle, etc). If ship building is your thing, piloting and ship design later on is also nice.

Whichever perks you like, try to go broad, rather than deep, into any skill group. Not only is each perk level gated by its own skill test, but many skill benefits (like ship building) are level gated. And the best perks in each skill group require multiple levels of perk investment in previous skill group tiers. If you choose a selection of lower level perks from each group, you are always making progress on something, and never waiting for a single perk to be available.

I’ve leaned heavily into the ship piloting and building part of the tree. Who doesn’t want to build and pilot a big ass battlecruiser? Also, JETPACKS!

Piloting, persuation and safecracking. Extra carry weight sure is handy as well.

Started a new character recently, boostpack 4 by level 4. It’s such a game changer, and you get to RP as a boost assault soldier (which btw is wildly effective, just grab a shotgun and go wild).

Get a broad spread of basics early. There's a lit of Bethesda things you need to pay points for so get them, theft, stealth, pilot, targeting, boost, a couple of combat skills, maybe welless. Then start adding based on RP and what you want to do better.