I spent so much time cramming stuff into my brain while trying to survive in academia that until now I haven't really had time to think about the big picture.

I completely understand and sympathize with that feeling. I am about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in chemistry, and it was not until earlier this semester that I began to realize that I still don't know what type of career path I want to pursue after doing graduate work in operations research, given that I am somewhat more inclined to go to graduate school than I am to go directly into industry.