At this point, a "corpo (net) ninja" with both some techie and solo elements (remember, seamless class system!) seems like a thrilling experience for me.
I realize the core game will generally put us in the shoes of an 'aspiring mercenary' - so obviously, the game will be defined to fit that narrative. What does it mean? In a nutshell, you will not play a rich person. Maybe you can become rich in the material sense or powerful in the way of who you know, but you won't live a "high life" like the elite of the city, is what I mean, with a big HQ, an army of goons and so on. At the same time you won't play an average person of NC going about their daily lives, nor a bum.
But aspiring merc or not, I'll try to go as close to corpos and certain other factions as possible and fill out a niche, roughly like Meredith. A field agent or supporter of sorts. For me, I always like to weave in some immersion. Others just want to play a game and have a good run, but I always liked to weave in a bit of personal lore or immerse myself in games I play, and I'll do the same here.
For those who consider this odd or alien-ish, think about it like this way: Have you ever seen a really good movie? That made you sink into your seats, figuratively? That really grabbed and interested you? Almost drew you into the world, plot, narrative, story, setting?
Yeah, it's like that playing such games. I think: If you really think about it, (almost) everyone likes a bit of immersion. Some more, some less.
Frankly, if I can end up on the good or trusted side of major factions later on as ex-corpo or then practically 'active corpo' (whether there is a membership card or not, perhaps irrelevant), have good ties to people and access to certain places others can't get into and amassed a certain social and material wealth and skillsets while enjoying the city, I'll be happy.