IMO being a researcher makes sense iff (1) there are unsolved technical or scientific problems that are of
personal interest to you, which is to say that you puzzle over them in your spare time, and (2) you can't possibly solve them without access to university/government resources.
If such a matter exists for you, you might make a very good academic or government lab (e.g. LLNL, Sandia, etc.) researcher. You might make an impact, and it would be worth trying.
If not -- if you're doing it for status, safety, or simply to go through the motions -- it's a damned terrible career, indeed a sort of trap, and you're much better off with your option #2. (In which case, by the way, you can still work on scientific and technical problems in your spare time.)
If such a matter exists for you, you might make a very good academic or government lab (e.g. LLNL, Sandia, etc.) researcher. You might make an impact, and it would be worth trying.
If not -- if you're doing it for status, safety, or simply to go through the motions -- it's a damned terrible career, indeed a sort of trap, and you're much better off with your option #2. (In which case, by the way, you can still work on scientific and technical problems in your spare time.)