Need Advice - ER Candidate, unsure of MSF or not

Graduated from a non-target with a shite GPA (2.8) last December. Have been trying to find a career in Equity Research since graduation and have unfortunately not found anything yet. I have pretty good networking skills and have also been creating sample research reports to accompany my resume. I was doing well in a couple of interviews and made it to the final interview for two firms, both were delayed due to Coronavirus. Since COVID has been around I unfortunately have not been getting anywhere near the same amount of interviews I was getting earlier in the year. I am growing fearful of the current gap in my resume (only 6 months right now) beginning to impact my job prospects, which were severely limited to begin with. I am exploring other opportunities as well, and considering going to get my MSF. I would aim for a top 15-25 graduate program, and would plan to get my MBA later regardless if I pursue a MSF or not. Another option I have is to start applying to jobs for non-ER positions (Financial Analyst, Portfolio Analyst, Etc) and just wait for the MBA and then try to go hard and rebrand myself at a top 20 MBA program. I still have a small handful of ER interviews coming up, and would be making my decision based of off those interviews. So essentially I am wondering if I should take a job that is not ideal and get the MBA later, or should I just get the MSF now, then work and applying to an MBA later? It seems like a waste of money, but I am scared of taking a Financial Analyst role and have difficulty lateral out of it, since I want to work in buyside research (Mutual, Hedge Fund) long-term. Let me know opinions and thoughts.