It can be daunting to start, hopefully the following will also help (along with the other tips here).

Firstly, there is a lot of good info here;
http://www.gog.com/forum/arcanum_of_steamworks_and_magick_obscura/good_build_for_a_beginner_to_arcanum

This is a fairly good comprehensive guide too;
http://www.the-spoiler.com/RPG/Troika.games/arcanum.1/stevearc.html

And finally, there are quite a few different FAQs to found at;
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/914155-arcanum-of-steamworks-and-magick-obscura/faqs

Hopefully some of these will help to make Arcanum less confusing. Good luck and let us know how you get on :)

I would set aside an hour to read through the manual. I found it very helpful.