Getting a PhD and working in academics is usually about slowly inching forward our theoretical understanding in an obscure corner of knowledge known to your small circle of a hundred or so fellow academics.

If that is not for you and you get more out of seeing your work affect the real world and/or building things you will see in use than advancing theory, may I recommend looking into engineering, computer/data science, or medicine (MD)? These fields are very flexible and you can lean into the more research oriented side and work in R&D as an engineer/computer scientist or in research/clinical trials as an MD, or even bring those skills fully to an academic setting where they are highly valuable. Additionally, you can much more easily pivot if your desires in life change.

PhD is a big commitment and I just would make sure you understand it is typically hyper focused on advancing very very specific, very niche knowledge that may not ever see real world application in your lifetime, so if you need that part for fulfillment, PhD might not be optimal for you. Coming from someone who spent many years in academics before becoming an R&D engineer at a company, which I love.

I can’t speak personally about the MD experience, but there’s an old saying about the difference in motivation between scientists and engineers which might be helpful:

Scientist: you build in order to learn things

Engineer: you learn in order to build things