I presented my home diy research and got an opportunity for a 6 month research with unlimited funding in an IT lab so I thought why not? Free stuff’s good. Publishing was secondary for me.
I could have kept the job at the end but I fully agree with you. Academia somehow turned curiosity into a competitive pay-to-win club of and I don’t like it 
While structure and rigor is necessary I don’t think a system from the 1800s is relevant today.