I would say it is a combination of both - I felt the exact same way when I started.
The unlocks come pretty quickly, and once you get that first weapon upgrade I found that helps out a lot. If you are trying to shoot someone that is a high level, keep in mind that they may have body armor upgrades that make them harder to kill.
It took me a few hours of play to get where I actually could shoot people and kill them. I'm only a level 9 now and I think I'm on pretty even playing ground with even he high level folks. Don't worry, it gets better.![]()