For what it's worth, I dropped out of a top CS program a couple years ago and never looked back. I am much happier now.
I've always wanted to do research, but I eventually came to see academia as a life with little to recommend it. Professors spend most of their time teaching, advising, writing grants, speaking, doing grunt work---not a lot of room for deep thought. And as a result of the publish-or-perish system, much of the work being done has no lasting consequence; I found this demoralizing.
I don't know if this rings true to your experience, but if it does, and you're seriously unhappy, consider quitting while you're ahead. One day there may come a time when you feel that if you quit you're a failure.
As for doing research on one's own, all I can say is that I'm trying to do some. I feel more inspired than I did in grad school, where my first thought was always "will this get me a publication?" On the other hand, I'm not producing anything publishable, so you be the judge. I do from time to time wonder if this makes me a crank, but my opinion is that you're not a crank until you're pleading with people to take you seriously.
I highly recommend the book Disciplined Minds by Jeff Schmidt, which helped give me some perspective when I was making my decision.
I've always wanted to do research, but I eventually came to see academia as a life with little to recommend it. Professors spend most of their time teaching, advising, writing grants, speaking, doing grunt work---not a lot of room for deep thought. And as a result of the publish-or-perish system, much of the work being done has no lasting consequence; I found this demoralizing.
I don't know if this rings true to your experience, but if it does, and you're seriously unhappy, consider quitting while you're ahead. One day there may come a time when you feel that if you quit you're a failure.
As for doing research on one's own, all I can say is that I'm trying to do some. I feel more inspired than I did in grad school, where my first thought was always "will this get me a publication?" On the other hand, I'm not producing anything publishable, so you be the judge. I do from time to time wonder if this makes me a crank, but my opinion is that you're not a crank until you're pleading with people to take you seriously.
I highly recommend the book Disciplined Minds by Jeff Schmidt, which helped give me some perspective when I was making my decision.