What I did myself was choose mining/blacksmithing, took smithing until I made Geen Iron Hauberk (which I'm still wearing at 38 and it's fine) and then dropped to pick up Engineering. To me, the equipement upgrades were coming fast until I got some gold together to start buying better upgrades. By the time I started to get a regular income, I found that lack of any ranged options at this level was starting to bug me - I solo alot. Since it's easy to wipe-out +4 lvls meleeing, pulling items didn't need to do alot of damage at first I figured, just get the attention of 1 mob at a time.
So far, I think I found a great balance. The equipement I needed most, as fast as it was changing, for very little cash outlay. Now it's about toys and fun, and engineering is all about that! Just don't expect to make any money at it. I easily got it to 225, but let it stall, cuz I can't decide which route, gnomish or goblin, will be better in the end (or more fun!) But its all about fitting your choice to your playstyle, so no answer can be really wrong. I still go into fits thinking about how great enchanting would be for later in the game.