only a tiny minority of researchers get to do that.

most research is lots of work with poor pay, often to the point where are per hour making less than working at a fast food job.

very few researchers are lucky enough to get rewarding work, and hardly anyone gets to do rewarding work that is well-paid.

and most well-paid research even in industry is working for corporations that are seeking to enrich themselves rather than better society. most pharma research goes towards high profit highly specialized drugs, for example, that will mostly only benefit the small slice of society that can afford them.