What to expect.

Straight noob, first of all. Been playing for about three weeks with my N/E, and have reached lv 16, and I do in fact like the game and how it works. I'm a big fan of RPGs and always have been, but my MMORPG experience has been limited over the years by a crappy connection and uncool computers. So what should I expect to get out of this game? I have grasped the basics and done some epic runs (epic runs in my nooby eyes, that is), but give me some timeframes? How long is it going to take me to get anywhere decent, stockpile some gold, get some decent gear, do some decent stuff? I've been playing daily, keep that in mind, with lack of better things to do, I'm in an outpatient rehab program and I am often bored between the hours of 4PM-bed. I know it's impossible to really predict, but from personal experience, what should I expect to get out of this game, both personally and gameplay/character wise?

as far as lvl, gold, armor, and items this really depends on what campaigns you have. in prof you dont get to lvl20(max) till 3/4 of the way through the game while in factions you get to lvl20 after about 2 missions out of 13. nightfall falls between but closer to factions than prof. same for mony more in fac than prof and NF in between. the only way to make real "stockpiles" of gold in this game in a timely maner without just refusing to buy anything is to farm. if you are just starting out i would go to pvxwiki.com and look at some of the farming builds there.
pm me in game if you have any other questions or if you need help. always willing to help new players
my ign is Vanir vor

I shall second what branamanWEAK said. As thy is still level 16 and has not gotten out of thy Tutorial. I shall help you lose the diaper mortal. As I to, like to feed on new players.
But do not fear, I type like this on guru to celebrate the coming of the almighty Halloween.

Whisper Zodiac Ele in game, I'll shall assist until your demise.

Beware new players, Halloween torments your soul.

Don't scare away the newbs, precious few we get any more.

A lot of what you get out of the game depends upon what you want out of the game. There is years worth of things to do if you want, but many people these days seem to want to rip through the game as fast as possible and amass large piles of (imaginary) gold.
If you enjoy exploring, questing, and doing missions/dungeons, you can expect to do a lot of it. If you want to "beat" the game as fast as possible, you can do that too.