Is there any way to assess how strong an enemy is compared to me? Both in space and on ground I can't figure out if I am going up against a tough opponent or not.

if you click on the enemy at the top center of the screen will be the enemy's information. A red number is higher than your level, iirc enemies lower than your level will be shown as a negative number.

When you select an NPC, you can see several bars ("rank pips") that dictate how powerful it is. One pip is easy, two is medium, three is hard, four is very hard. Most of the time, four pips means you can't defeat it on your own, so you'll need the help of either your Boffs or other players/NPCs.

For example, this one has two pips, meaning it's medium difficulty.

Hope that helps.

I noticed those rank pips but I wasn't sure if it directly related to my current rank or was cumulative. Thanks for the info, now I know!

Except that in that image, it's also 21 levels below you, meaning it's super duper easy. I think the number of levels higher / lower is far more indicative of difficulty.

The names are also good indicators: frigates are easier than cruisers in space, for example, and on the ground they often go by straight ranks: ensign, lieutenant, etc.

Well, usually they will be at 0, in which case they'll be medium. They don't usually stray above or below the player's level unless they're doing a DSE.

There is a sticky in this forum called Arm Thyself - A guide to Ground Combat.

It was extremely helpful to me