Yeah, had some bad luck incl. a destructed Astero but made quite a profit. Though, my feeling tells me that the ISK/hr rate is not as I expected after returning to EVE right into the Astero.
I struggle to see any reason to continue riding the Astero instead of “just” a Heron.
Regarding C3’s: After dozens of WH’s (I mean it, a lot of them) I never saw any unguarded sites there to hack. Never. Relying on C3’s unguarded sites seems like wasting time. Went with the Heron to Nullsec and made 120 millions while at the same time, I’d be still hopelessly scanning WH’s in search of rare sites in C3’s. 
What would be the next level after the Astero? Loki for a Minmatar? Is a Loki able to enter more dangerous sites?
Too many questions.