Unfortunately the server that the Munqui Tribe picked has become a bit low population…and there doesn't seem to be many Munquis online either. So after grinding my Jedi consular up to the end of "chapter 1" (level 30 something) I've gone all the way back to my original server, check The Red Eclipse and guild, thumb The Casual Travellers.
Odd that the reason I stopped playing on Red – population – is, in the end, the reason I've gone back to it.
Anyway i'm now back to playing a smuggler, when I left she was about level 19 and not finding it easy. I tried respeccing as DPS but didn't seem to find it any easier. So it was back to healer after spending a level pew-pew-ing.
I don't know what has changed, but it seems a bit easier, nothing like as easy as levelling a consular, but doable.
One thing that did give me some difficulty was getting money for speeder bike training. As a smuggler healer I tend to avoid fights, sneaking everywhere, an unexpected consequence is that I don't pick up a lot of loot…and don't make a lot of money that way. I ended up having to spend time on the "galactic market" selling earpieces. Fortunately I was really lucky, and there was just about nobody selling in the level range I could make, and, because this is a well populated server, there were actually some customers. Also working in my favour – there aren't many earpiece drops.
Playing a smuggler at least gives you some fun responses, unlike Blizzard, Bioware don't seem to think we need much humour in SWTOR. And that made levelling my humourless consular a bit less fun than I'd like. Even his "wiseass" responses came across as more dickish than smart. Smugglers on the other hand do at least really know how to be smartasses and have even been known to crack a joke or two!
Consulars are just so far up themselves they never see the light of day – In my very humble opinion.