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How to earn your first aUEC

Pick a low-risk way to make money with a starter ship, from delivery and hauling contracts to hand mining and small salvage jobs.

aUEC is the in-game currency. You spend it on ships, components, armor, weapons, fuel and repairs. When you start out, the goal is simple: earn a steady income without risking much of what you have.

Every option below works with a starter ship. Most of them start in the Contract Manager in your mobiGlas (F1).

How contracts work

  • The Offers tab shows verified contracts by default. Unverified offers can be illegal, so be careful with those.
  • Accepted jobs move to the Accepted tab, where you can track them on your map or cancel them.
  • You can share a contract with your party. The reward and reputation are split evenly.
  • Some contracts fail if you die, and some have a time limit, so read the details before you leave.

Finishing contracts also raises your reputation with the company that gave them. Higher reputation unlocks better paid work from that company.

Option 1: Delivery contracts

Delivery jobs ask you to pick up small packages and drop them somewhere else. They are a great way to learn the game, because you practice flying, quantum travel and landing while getting paid.

Covalex is a good company to start with. Its Covalex Local Delivery Route contract has you move three small crates around the ArcCorp area. It pays 15,000 aUEC and gives 500 reputation, but it needs the Jr. Runner rank, which you earn by completing the Covalex evaluation contract first.

  1. Open the Contract Manager and look for a Covalex evaluation or delivery contract.
  2. Accept it and track it so the pickup shows on your HUD.
  3. Fly to the pickup, collect the package and carry it to your ship.
  4. Fly to the drop-off and place the package where the contract marker tells you.
  5. Collect your payment, then pick up the next contract.

Covalex recommends bringing a handheld tractor beam for delivery work. Several delivery contracts can show at once, and taking more than one that goes to the same area saves trips.

Option 2: Hauling contracts

Hauling contracts pay a fixed fee to move cargo, so you never risk your own money buying goods. The cargo is picked up and dropped off with freight elevators. You need enough cargo space for the job and a low enough crime rating to enter the stations involved.

The hauling career starts with the Opportunity for Independent Cargo Hauler contract from Covalex Independent Contractors. Each delivery raises your hauling reputation, which unlocks bigger contracts with Covalex and Ling Family Hauling.

Option 3: Hand mining

You do not need a mining ship to start mining. A multi-tool with the OreBit Mining Attachment can break and collect small deposits such as Aphorite, Dolivine and Hadanite. These show up in caves and on the surface of planets and moons.

  1. Buy a multi-tool and the OreBit attachment. Multi-tools are sold at weapon shops and general stores, and the refinery deck at L1 stations sells mining gear.
  2. A backpack gives you more space to carry what you mine.
  3. Find a small deposit, keep the laser in the green zone until it breaks, then collect the pieces.
  4. Sell what you collect at a trading kiosk.

Pushing the laser into the red zone can make the deposit explode and you lose the minerals. Caves can also hide hostile creatures and other players.

Option 4: Small salvage jobs

A multi-tool with the Cambio-Lite SRT attachment can scrape hulls and fill RMC canisters. You can sell RMC at many commodity kiosks, although not every kiosk buys it. The attachment is sold at Dumper's Depot and Platinum Bay.

Option 5: Trading, once you have savings

Trading means buying goods cheap in one place and selling them for more somewhere else. It needs no reputation, but you spend your own money on the cargo and can lose it if your ship is destroyed. Wait until you have savings you can afford to lose.

Limited time: RSI Discovery Month

Until October 20, 2026, the RSI Discovery Month event adds extra contracts through your mobiGlas. Its Transport path has Ling Family Hauling, Covalex and FTL Courier Service jobs that move goods to the expo platform. These contracts earn event points that unlock rewards.

Quick tips

  • Stick to one company at first. Reputation builds faster and unlocks better paid contracts.
  • Fuel prices went up in patch 4.10, so remember to count refuelling against your profit.
  • aUEC is test currency and can be wiped in a future patch, so spend it and enjoy the game.
  • Never buy aUEC from third parties. It breaks the RSI Terms of Service.