New player with (probably stupid) questions

[Raithe000]

I'm going to be playing Pathfinder for the first time tomorrow, and I just want to ask a few noobish questions. I've played 3.5 awhile ago, so not entirely new, but I need a refresher course.

Is the alchemist class, taking the Vivisectionist/Beastmorph archetypes viable as a mid-to-high tier melee attacker? I really like the flavor, but I've been reading tier lists and I'm not sure if this is a good starting point. I like magic using classes and I thought I'd try a sort of gish character, but I'm worried that it won't hold up well.

While we are starting at level 1, I'm not sure of how to build the character as he advances in level. I've got a decent idea about order of feats and discoveries, but I'm not sure how to spend character wealth (assuming GM doesn't just give us specific items). Is there any good guide to what kind of bonuses I should have at approximately what level?

[Dastis]

Vivisectionist alone is enough to make you a perfectly serviceable melee build. Note that most tier lists are based around versatility not power at a specific task. Also depending on your table you may be perfectly able to ignore the tier list

Level 1 you don't have much in the way of building. Grab a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, armor, a few backup weapons, a light source if your race doesn't give darkvision, and whatever cheap gear you think is useful.

Item builds at higher levels tend to be based around the thought "What do I need right now". Been getting hit to much? Grab some AC and healing wands. Worried about a low save? Upgrade your belt/headband/cloak. Not dealing enough damage? We got something for that. There is a guide "Bench Pressing Character creation by the numbers" but be warned it doesn't apply to all tables