It also can be easier or harder depending on what race you opt to start with. I would strongly suggest the TEC.

The game also doesn't have the benefit of a single player campaign to slowly ease you into the game mechanics. That's going to make the learning curve a bit steeper for me. It'll probably take a few games before I really feel like I know what I'm doing.

You should really read this post if you haven't already:
https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=402&aid=174536#1443153

I had the same problems, but there's a couple of things which can help:

Build a capital shipyard ASAP. The first capital ship is free, and it's more than a match for anything the AI can throw at you for some time. It'll take most neutrals (especially the ones around neutral/unclaimed gravity wells) alone, and doing so helps boost it's experience.
Economy wise it's usually a shortage of a single resource that's the problem. Most of the time I end up with barely any metal, but an overabundance of crystal. If you get this situation, dump your excess onto the black market and use the credits to increase the bounty on your opponents. Knowing how to lower your own bounty helps - a few spare scouts sent to their deaths in a Pirate base system is a callous but effective method of reducing the bounty on your own head before the pirates attack. Coincidentally, right after a pirate attack is also the best time to send in your own fleet to mop up, alternatively you can be sneaky and send in some siege frigates to hit at the same time as the pirates. Hopefully, the pirates will keep the system defences occupied while your frigates glass the planet, just be careful not to end up on the pirates menu too.