As someone new to the game, what’s the best advice for someone that hasn’t played before? I know it takes awhile to play.

There is a podcast called Space Cats Peace Turtles that has an entire episode dedicated to the topic "Lern to learn/ learn to teach TI4". Look it up and listen to it, they have a bunch of really good tips. But most important is that you read the Learn to Play booklet. If you don't have access to the physical LtP it's available for download in PDF Format here on FFGs site.

Whatever else is happening, pay attention to your Command Counters.

Your first game is a learning experience. Expect to do poorly and make decisions that seem smart at the time but later turn out to be bad in the long run. By your second game, you'll have a much better handle on how to play and strategize well.

I would advise that you limit the game as much as possible, traditionally first games of TI with a new group take a stupid amount of time.

I would say, cut Agenda out of the game entirely, play to 7 points instead of 10.