Where do I even begin? what even is this?

Im assuming I need to be apart of TA common market if anyone can accept me? I cant buy anything or build anything. Im glad I didnt have to pay upfront for a TA world lol.

How do I do anything? What do I do?

I had same problem and no easy explanations. First use the space center to send good front your other countries to end shortages. Then use the of population in TA booster, it's free, then as soon as you end loosing population start building one corporation by one. You need to improve education, it seems you need to by school by contracts, I still haven't got any. It is very slow. But it has been very profitable to me just moving cheap goods from a world and selling them expensive in another