What would you recommend someone new to invest in and trade when first starting out? How has the market changed from when you first started out?

Focus on one currency pair or commodity to start. Pick something you are interested in or have some insight on. For example, if you're in Canada you might choose to focus on the USD/CAD pair.

I say stick with the majors: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY

There is the most information out there about these pairs by far.

I would suggest EUR/USD. Would not really recommend doing GBP for a while, seeing as how the politics change in the UK these days, after Brexit.