shadowzoid

Jesus, dude.. We live in an old folks' world these days. Everyone who is anyone is old as hell, from politics to academia. You should do something about that massive chip on your shoulder/all that insecurity of yours.

I think you'll find a lot of people on these boards who post about how hard it is for them as introverts to speak up in class, teach, present, network with strangers, etc. It's not all that uncommon. It sounds based on others' posts and your post above that the MPP might be a logical next step. I don't think it's that surprising that you didn't get to do data analysis or experiment design if you were only at your job for a few months and with much less training and time on the job than it sounds like the other people had. This seems like a clear case where you need to get more training to get the jobs you want. I still don't think that you're ready for a PhD right now, but a 2-year funded degree that can help you gain at least some of those skills and hopefully also some perspective might not be a bad idea, especially given that you don't have a good job that you enjoy right now. That said, if you start and discover that it's not what you want, you can always reevaluate.
I think a decent goal for the summer could be to learn more about the jobs you want to have and the training they require, then read up on requirements and what your program (and school more generally) can offer, so that once you're there you can do your best to get as much of that relevant training as possible as part of your MPP, and then see how it goes from there with better jobs. Read up on summer internships, opportunities to meet professionals in the field you want to go into, certificates or courses in areas of interest where your program might not be able to directly train you, etc. Part of what you need to do is just grow up -- get a better perspective of what's out there and on being an adult with career aspirations; you'll get that by just putting yourself out there and talking to others in your program. I also think it's a good idea to think of networking as an explicit goal for yourself. I don't think you want to think of it as forcing yourself to be extroverted (but if you ever learn how to do that, let me know, I'd love to find out!); you can be who you are but set yourself a goal of going to at least one professor's office hours a week, or attending one networking event a month, or meeting at least one new student and one new professor at a conference you're attending, etc. Those are attainable goals, and they have the advantage of not forcing you to change who you are. 

Thanks everyone. 
@fuzzylogician i had each of those jobs for 6-8 months. Everyone with jobs at those places I wanted had PhDs. Why wasnt it a no brainer to get a PhD you ask? Well when I researched people on linkedin and stuff, many masters had jobs that sound like stuff I want. 
Also thanks for not attacking me because of my emotional swings. I know we shouldnt take online strangers seriously but your approach really helps me as a real person
@ExponentialDecay i think you misunderstood my intentions. I dont really care about the prestige. If I did, then as you said, I would have just gotten an admin job. Imo administrators possess more social capital and wealth than researchers. I just dont think id enjoy it. Concerning the age thing, thats an attitude I gained from some posts on this forum. And concerning my career, I do not know why I couldnt get a good job with good grades from an elite school. I realize that many people similar to me get these jobs so you can imagine how low my self esteem is

First off, you didn't make a colossal mistake, and you are not doomed to an eternity of whatever it is that you are imagining. For what it's worth, you do not sound ready to do a PhD right now. I don't know enough about the job market in your field to help you decide if you should do your MPP or do something else entirely, but I think a good start is deciding to take this summer as an opportunity to learn about the jobs that are out there in your field, the preparation they require, and what you *think* that you might enjoy. You have at least 2-3 months and that is a lot of time, if you take this seriously. You should really have a much better understanding of that before you continue with any further education. 
Keep in mind that choosing something now does not forever close all other doors, you can change your mind or do something else later. People grow and change and learn they do or don't like their jobs all the time. They also start and stop studying if they discover that what they thought they wanted isn't actually like they imagined. You can also always go back and do a PhD if you find that you need one in order to advance your career a few years down the line. The MPP may not be the most direct (or best, whatever that means) path to a PhD, but I highly doubt it'll make it impossible to go that route. I also doubt that it'll automatically keep you out of top schools. You'll need to write a strong SOP explaining why you want to do a research degree after working in something else for a few years, but this is precisely how real life work experience can help you; it's not impossible. And yes, maybe you'll be older than some other students in your cohort, but first, not everyone will be 22, and second, I don't know why you think being 22 is such an advantage. In this kind of field, having experience -- in terms of both life and work experience -- is a big advantage. You'll need that if you want to finish a PhD. A PhD requires focus and determination. You need to know what you want, which you clearly don't right now. Going for a PhD after a few years of doing a related job, with a clear goal of career advancement in mind, and probably a much better idea of what you'd actually study in school, is a much better idea than going in blind because maybe that could help you get a job that maybe you would like. 
(and I am doing my very best to ignore that comment about being jealous of immigrants who are working a job they don't want to have so that their children can have a better life, and also that other comment about "academics or armchair academics", and believe me, it's hard.)