Am i Wrong though?

[Psycho Cracker]

Trying to gain federation rank for FGS

[smartroad]

I gave up with missions for the Major Powers. I don't want a Corvette that much, my Conda will do nicely

[Psycho Cracker]

I gave up with missions for the Major Powers. I don't want a Corvette that much, my Conda will do nicely

i love my anaconda and compared to the Corvette i think it's a win. Hull is thicker and the jumps are longer. i just really like the FDS FAS and FGS and i especially want the FGS because it can launch fighters and it's a capable combat vessel. the anaconda is fantastic but being so big is a hassle when my buddies are all so small. i have to go to other system to get repairs.

[Relix Typhon]

Depends on your play style. If you are determined to be in the corvette, then yes you will have to grind.
I on the other hand enjoy mixing it up, so although it'll take me much longer to earn rank (and I haven't even started imperial one yet) I'm less likely to get bored.

Also, make sure you are at least friendly with the feds and the further the mission is from the point of origin (in LY not LS) the better the increase in rank.

Then there's charity missions in Tun but I've not bothered with that workaround.

[CMDR Abil Midena]

Anything can be a grind if you make it so.
I picked two nearby systems that I could flip to Fed by working for the minor factions there. That meant I did everything in the game you can do to support that (missions, trade, bounty farming, war, etc). The rank came as a by-product, and it was fun.
However, if you sit down one day, and decide you need to rank up because reasons, yes, that's going to feel grindy.