welcome! :]
i think starting on easy is fine, if you keep in mind that it really makes the game
a lot easier. i also recommend restarting on normal difficulty soonish, but easy is still a good way to learn the important gameplay elements. and yeah, starting as trader or smuggler is pretty hardmode, although early-game in general is currently more punishing than it should be, especially for new players.
to add to Megas' answer to your industry question: there will be some first industry elements like surveying planets and related skills, but no outpost building yet. the tons of new, procedurally generated star systems will already have purpose for exploration, though.
as for mods, i second Seth's suggestion to start with Steiner Foundation, as it's specifically intended to make the campaign start a bit less punishing.
Starsector+ fixes some of the more glaring balancing issues in vanilla and adds some new skills. and
Ship/Weapon Pack adds a bunch of content that blends in very well with vanilla.
Underworld and
Dynasector also expand the vanilla game very nicely, but they can also make the game a bit more challenging, so you might wanna hold off on using those for now.
i wouldn't recommend adding other big mods immediately though. with vanilla, Ship/Weapon Pack and maybe Underworld, you'll already have tons of ships and weapons to fight and use. adding too much additional stuff right away can make it difficult to remember what all that stuff does. ^^
lastly, if you haven't already, check out
this thread for general modding advice. and if you have any further questions about the game or mods, or just want to chat, there's almost always someone active in our
Discord Fan Chat to talk to.
