I'd like to chime in here a bit as I think I can add to the conversation. I've read most of the posts up until the last half of the final page, because frankly, I didn't want to wade through it all. The OP that says Ops are fine and then says they need work is rather... Well, silly. It's true that you can perform well, I have 2 going on 3 50s, and I still play my Operative as my main, I hit Battlemaster and I have all but a couple pieces of gear, I know what big numbers look like and I know how to **** people in group fights.
Unfortunately, tanks exist in this game and any team well organized can put a stop to a nasty operative ruining their healer, you can say all you want that you just have to know what you're doing, but the fact of the matter is an Operative healer is put to waste by the other two healers. If you are on a Trooper/Bounty Hunter healer with guard and a tank who knows how to taunt you, you are NOT killing it, not without help from other classes who can do a lot more about the situation than you could ever hope to do. You have no knock backs or pulls, you cannot interrupt a bounty hunter who has his shield up and you have no reliable way to CC someone out side of flash bang.
As a burst DPS attacking a heavy armored and guarded target, you are grinding your dick on sandpaper. I agree with the person (Who I cannot recall the name of) that has been supplying a vast and abundant amount of counter points to you because he understands the games balance. You cannot say Operatives are fine because there is a ton of evidence to say otherwise.
The most glaring aspect of this? The fact that the population of operatives and scoundrels have dropped IMMENSELY (at least on my server). You can argue about skill all you want but good game balance does not alienate it's players from playing a class because it's "too hard".
Even as a burst damage, we're not that great anymore because our damage goes down significantly ever patch, who's to say you'll be hitting anywhere near as hard as you do now in the next big patch? You have nothing to make up for it in any other spec either. Operative PvP healing is a decent support at best, you have no "Oh ****!" buttons, and saying that surgical probe is the best instant heal in the game is a far cry from solving any problems. As a lethality sec Operative you do a pretty decent amount of damage (It can be rather consistent too), that is, until you run out of energy as you inevitably will. Not to mention you have almost 0 survivability.
Let me just say that I will agree that you CAN do things as an operative, and that it's even fun to do those things (especially if you are a good player). The problem is that EVERYBODY else will outshine you, they have more survivability than you do, and they have more utility than you do. Some can even stealth like you can, so you aren't even unique in any way. Do NOT say that operatives are fine, because they are not.
I've been playing games as long as you guys have almost, and I've witnessed the highs and lows of all the MMOs in balance and imbalance and I've enjoyed them in all variants of balance, and I still do. However, because you are having fun, does not mean that it is right. Bioware has made it very clear that they want you to play Sorcerer because they do, and that they don't want you to play Operatives because they don't care to deal with the whining.