Spot on ! My second and even current(retired) main is MA, and my leveling experience was pretty much the same. Basic gameplay is pretty easy, and it can be recommended to new players due to being decent by only focusing on implants mainly. That teaches you basic principles of this game and leveling for first 130sh levels was fun. Then at 150+ the damage started to fall behind others, and it practically sunked at 200sh, as others here have stated. At ado hecks you can do decently, but at pen/inf mishes, you will suck big time and are practically useless without good setup/twinking. As an MA, you cant heal and you dont have much other stuff to support group except damage.
Levels 200-220 were practically pain, because I was merely a dragged toon in missions, wondering where I could get 1b+ worth of creds to start making my toon even remotely useful. Luckily good org helped me trough it, and got myself a ""decent"" setup too. Then Battlestations were introduced, and I thought "Cool, lets see how pvp works.". And after 300 deaths and like 5 kills I was done. Its even more redicilous than PVM. At endgame, with mediocre(poor) setup, you cant solo any dynas since you cant evade anything, you cant do any damage, and cant heal effectively altough perks help there somewhat. Same points go to PVP side, only there those problems can be multiplied by 10.
What I have been asking for years, as are many other MA:s with PVM(and pvp), is some kind adjustment to the lack of efficiency from late midgame to 220. That doesnt mean "Give all MA:s 1000 new items/buffs/Iwinz-button!!11", but some kind of new scaling of buffs/perks/MA-template to even things out. The difference between fully decked MA and casual leveling MA is H-U-G-E, and that is also one of the problems related to this matter imo, since ppl tend to say "Pffft, I saw this and this MA solo Beast/Towerfield/BS without help, l2p!", and still at the same time casual players suffer even at basic things ingame. One good indication is, that the only subject that is nowadays discussed in MA-forums is S10 twinks. And as someone there cleverly stated;