EVE Online's mission grind is the most readily available, inexhaustible resource, especially for players that aren't part of one of the mega-alliances. Ten Ton Hammer Contributing Writer, Space Junkie, explains the benefits and methods, here.

Pilots grind missions to increase their standings, to get mission rewards, to accrue loyalty points that may be spent at that corporation's loyalty point store, to pick up loot and salvage wrecks during the course of the missions, and to gain access to perks that come with high corporation or faction standings.

Read about it here.