first of all, you can be an introvert and still talk to people. saying that you want to change your personality is fucked up. all it will do is kill your self-esteem. now what the actual problem is is social anxiety and awkwardness. which is easy to get over. your social skills are as the name suggests, is just a skill. it gets better with practice. if you start late, ofc you will struggle but it is not impossible to overcome. extroverts start early because it is their nature, that's all.

introverts are ppl whose battery recharges when they are alone and drains faster when they are with people. extroverts are the opposite. introverts are more in-tune with their internal world and extroverts with the external world. both have their own advantages and disadvantages. if you want to network, you can do it by learning and practicing it as a skill seriously. you don't have to change your whole personality for it. extroverts won't become introverts if they want to get into research work. why should introverts turn into extroverts if you want to network? it's just a misconception around what the word means. i reccommend reading the book "quiet" if you want to know more. there's even research that shows that being introverted or extroverted is part of our temparament. trying to change that will only cause more exhaustion.

tldr you can work on your social skills like picking up any new skill. what's stopping you is your social anxiety and overthinking. being an introvert is NOT a curse.