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I don't know how I made it this long without playing ridiculous amounts of tabletop RPGs... when I was about 10 years old the advanced D&D rules came out, but as kids we could never find an "adult" willing to DM for us, and so I set the genre aside completely for almost 30 years until about two months ago. I have since been excited and overwhelmed, and can often be seen sitting alone at a restaurant reading the unwieldy Core Rulebook, oblivious to everything but the endless options and rules.
I have now played three missions total. Imagine that. Literally, I have only played a tabletop RPG 3 times total in my life. I have been a HUGE gamer since I knew what games were, but have focused mostly on video and board games. I am familiar with game structures, with figuring out complex rules and strategies, and most importantly with the golden rule of gaming, which of course is fun.
That said, I wanted to share a few newbie observations that may be of passing interest:
1) The rules are vast and complicated. This goes without saying, but consider those of us that are just starting and do not have numerous other people to help with clarifications and interpretations. For example, a newbie must wade through a good portion of the Core Rulebook before even getting to sections that explain some of the basic game elements... and by that time the new player is somewhere between confused and exhausted.
2) I found that help with basic rules was very hard to come by, and getting someone to verify a character build is nearly impossible. This is ironic because the rules repeatedly suggest "asking your GM". This is great I expect for people that are already established within a gaming group. For newbies or outsiders the resources are distant or otherwise unavailable. The idea may be that there is so much information on the internet and in the books (which is true) that no help is needed... but consider that a newbie often doesn't even know how to ask the right questions, and even if the information is right in the open in some cases the new player cannot see the obvious.
3) There are a great deal of unwritten assumptions about etiquette, most of which are strangely enforced. For instance, the "rules" surrounding asking for certain checks are odd. Over and again, veteran players look exhausted and impatient when any newbie asks for a check that seems ridiculous. That said, I have so far been witness to occasions where the newbie is the only one innocent (?)enough to ask for a check that ultimately leads to completion of a side or faction quest. Notice also that the obvious timing for certain actions and the nuances of how scenarios reveal themselves are completely lost to the new player. Therefore there is a certain amount of anxiety surrounding the competing notions of fitting into the group and being diligent as a character.
4) While limited, my experience has been that "getting into character" is not as common as one would think. Is the game more fun when everyone wears a costume? Maybe, but not necessarily. Is the game more interesting when the characters are not just an assembly of stats and dice rolls? Absolutely. Depending on the crowd, a newbie can easily get sucked into the notion that the object of the game is to kill everything in sight by accumulating stats and skills that make dice rolls more successful, completely forgetting the possibilities of character and fantasy development that make the game so awesome. I was lucky enough to play my last session with someone who was completely in character, and the experience was priceless. This was the first time I saw this, and have vowed to let the stats fall where they may but to let the character live and breathe.
Without doubt I look forward to many more experiences in the future, and look forward to expanding my ability to both enjoy the game and have others enjoy playing with me.
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As far as the rules are concerned, if you're still have trouble with some concepts, I'd like to draw your attention to the Beginner Box. It is specifically designed for those people who are interested in learning but don't have a lot of previous experience to fall back on. The rules are 100% compatible with the core rules (they are the same but some elements have been left out, feat and spell options have been narrowed, plus others I can't think of right now). There are number of helpful posts in the associated form (scroll a bit further in the page I linked above).
As far as point 4, "getting onto character" means different things for different people. In my group, we regularly switch between first and third person description. My wife feels silly doing "voices" and the like and usually plays in third person (though we have caught her saying "I" a few times, and we all lovingly tease her for that--she is a geek, though she doesn't want to admit it)!