Actually, the kind of events that Reaver is talking about
aren't runs - they're side jobs, the typical ones of which are so minimally threatening to even the starting shadowrunner (2x5 or 1x6 in a skill or two) that the runner can - and is - assumed to have been able to do them without any real hassle. They're the game-play 'job' equivalent of putting on your armored jacket, tucking your pistol into your shoulder holster, picking up the basket, and going and washing your clothes in the neighborhood
lavandería. You take reasonable precautions, and you might expend a bit of resources in the doing, but generally there's no real risk for you, and the only bad consequences are you losing a little 'good luck' with the world, or losing a chunk of cash.
Runner Type | Karma-to-Cash | Cash-to-Karma |
Hitter | Bouncing/working the door at a local known-to-be-mob-owned hangout; collecting rents for your building's landlords, and evicting the non-payers | Riding shotgun and bodyguarding the inexpensive food truck guy; paying rent for a couple people who can't afford it themselves this month. |
Hacker | Creating a hack and inserting it into the local food co-op's store to siphon an extra couple of nuyen from each credstick; subcontract for the local utlility to tracking down and shut off illegal taps. | Use your own funds to find and remove the above hack; slice network and subscriber permissions for your neighbors, and set them up with the necessary hardware to use them. |
Driver | Hire on for Barrens Taxi, getting your passengers to their destination by any way necessary; assist developers in chasing squatters out of an area. | Drive your neighbors to their destinations free of charge; help people find new quarters (and help move their stuff) after getting evicted. |
Face | Scalp the tourists at the local poker tables; help a gang to set up a protection racket in your corner of town. | Hold classes on how not to get scalped in basic trading, and go out to film examples, distributing goods afterwards; persuade a gang to lower their 'payment requests' for a while. |
Mastermind | Plan loud, flashy shadowruns for inexperienced poor bastards who want to do it loud and flashy, and sell them a few goodies (with an upcharge) to help them be loud and flashy. | Plan quiet, subtle shadowruns for inexperienced poor bastards who want to be quiet - and buy a few necessities for them to increase their chances of success. |
In the Karma-to-Cash column, you've got all your 'less popular' actions, things that'll make people (or just the universe) dislike you a little more; you're lending your face and reputation to the side of the oppressors (at least for a few days), or doing something with a higher risk of getting someone severely hurt, in order to get some money out of it. In the Cash-to-Karma column, you're using your funds to enable the downtrodden, help them out, or just in general being a good citizen, at the expense of your pocketbook.
Sure, the GM might give an additional bonus or risk-penalty if you build up to a certain point of exchange (10,000¥ or 5 karma, for example) or if you keep doing that sort of thing run after run. Sure, maybe you gain a new contact on that side of the coin (mob soldier, untilities tech, local store owner, whatever), or come to the next meet with your shadowrunning pals a bit knocked around (1-2 boxes of already-had-healing-done physical or stun damage), or get some information that could lead to a shadowrun, or be key in your next adventure. But in general any risk you're running is going to be minimal, and ditto for any extra reward beyond the karma or cash you've gained.