However, what you call "nitty gritty of writing essays" is there for a reason: to streamline the communication and acknowledge the contributions of others. As long as you are not inventing something unseen before, you just cannot "do research" without also doing those things.
Academic knowledge is but a tiny fraction of the knowledge that is discovered every day. Most of it is far from the public eye, being discovered and applied in all different kind of workplaces all over the world. Maybe that knowledge is not "fancy" enough for the academically minded, but it is the knowledge that propels the world forward.
Peer-review is important. I know it is not working great, but it is working to some degree.
I think academic publishing is not in a good place right now and should be improved, but I don't personally see any problem with the concept. Thank you for your insights on the matter.
However, I've also seen independent researchers (Smith Research, Doe Consulting) and undergraduates publish and present work at technical conferences and workshops. There is usually no requirement for an academic or large company affiliation, or a graduate degree.
What is required, as you indicate, is a carefully written academic paper that presents a clearly identified (and "novel") contribution to the field, clear explanation with convincing evaluation, and adequate review of, comparison with, and citation of prior work, in the preferred writing and publication style.
If you're not used to this kind of writing, you might want to see if you can get help from someone who is.