The Owls ding 80 - then proceed to get annihilated in arena

[Ualaa]

Losing 10 games a week, still earns you some points.
Until you're geared or skilled enough to win some games, or until arena is more balanced away from everyone bursting insanely quick, points about the only commodity that makes arena worthwhile.

Sure, you'll eventually need a rating of "xx" to get your gear, but at least you'll have a lot of points to spend.
If you're fairly certain you're undergeared and will be losing anyway, the queue and don't enter is faster and still gets you the points.

[Stabface]

I've found you can often buy the crafted blues for less than mat cost, since people are skilling up by making them and just dump it on the AH. Might change next patch with Dream Shards going up in price but we'll see...

[BobGnarly]

On JCing. I'm not sure I'd PL it up just to make cash. I'm already seeing a huge decrease in demand for the eyes (boy did I milk that early on ;b), and the market for desirable cuts is starting to get pretty crowded. Maybe your server is diff, check the AH, but it's starting to saturate here. And it's pretty expensive to level because you need a lot of pre-BC gems that aren't very plentiful any more (which means that even if you can find them on AH, they cost TONs).

Having said that, I am going to PL my main (a mage) in JC. It's gonna cost me, but I just think it's the best profession all around now. There will always be a little money in it and the self-only stuff is pretty good. Tailoring has really left me flat to be honest.

Leatherworking isn't hard to PL, but boy does it cost. You need a LOT of thick and rugged leather, and much like the JC gems, the few people who are producing it definitely know what they want for it. I wouldn't recommend leveling it if your only reason is to make some gear. Just find a LW and make a deal since you'll be wanting quite a bit.

[puppychow]

Also another reason why its really a good idea to have mining, skinning, herbalism on characters when you START your team, and level it as you level up. I have every prof except BS/eng at nearly max level and its hardly cost me anything since I gather all the mats as I level, and I powerlevel profs every time my bags get full. Its great, since I can make JC cuts myself, enchants, leg tailor patterns, LW patches, etc without having to find someone in trade or pay outrageous prices in the AH.

I actually regret not having a BS since eternal belt buckles are very nice to have, but paying 40-60g per one in the AH isn't too bad every time I upgrade.

[Owltoid]

I'm a little burned out after leveling to 80 and am currently just trying to maximize my fun until I'm ready to start grinding in some fashion. So, my bank is just supporting repair bills and small purchases for the time being. I'm not doing dailys (even though I know I'll need my shoulder rep) and instead just doing some BGs and instances with friends. I doubt I'll eat away my gold too quickly and I'm sure I'll be ready to start grinding in a week or two.