Okay, I'm a bit tired with all the negatives answers that pop up as soon as someone express some frustration.
Even if said with some anger, all what the OP say is true, from the point of view of a beginner.
Simple things like putting all pips into engines and boosting two or three times before engaging SC seem evident, but to figure them out you have to either come to this forum and do an extensive search, or do a lot of trial and errors, loosing a lot of money on the way.
Also many alpha backers have completely lost touch with reality in regards to how to learn combat. I've seen some "beginners tips" that are nothing more than death traps. Things like "go the federation distress signal" or "do the combat zones". those are the best way to get killed over and over when you try to learn, because as soon as you choose a side, someone will come kill you. Yes, you can sometimes avoid that by choosing carefully your position before setting a faction, but that never last long. A player will always kill you.
The only relatively safe way to make money is the extraction zones, but those are also the most crash prone, and the targets have a good chance of disappearing into SC before your puny laser take them out.
All of this add to a really frustrating game for a beginner. I played Alpha 1.1 before the beta, I've been to wave 8 of incursion without too much trouble, and I'm still most of the times overwhelmed. My balance is currently at an all time high of 7000 credits...
But...
I love the feeling you get when you finally start to gain a few credits. A punishing game can be really rewarding, when it is fair. And from a beginner point of view, the beta is no yet there. Which is ok, this is still a work in progress, and it's probably more important to balance the game for advanced player first.
This explains why a lot of newcomers feel that they fail so miserably. And I think we should find some way to help rather than automatically bashing (even if their posts are sometimes a bit harsh toward the game).
To the OP, I hope you'll stick with the game, it's really worth it, even with all the frustration. What worked for me is that I just let go of my fear of loosing money and did a bunch of "suicide runs" to the extraction zones. Even in a bare sidewinder with a single pulse laser, the combat is fantastic, and you can learn a lot while killing a few NPC cobras (I find them easier than the sidewinders, but your mileage may vary).