Transferring from PhD to Professional Program

[gradone]

I just finished up my first year in a PhD program (one of the "softer" social sciences) and I'm experiencing an extremely strong desire to do something practical with my life. I've also realized that I don't like the culture in academia and want to be in a more positive, professional environment. I'm considering getting an MS in foreign service or possibly an MBA. I have some experience in international development that would be useful but I'm wondering if I would be better off getting some more work experience instead of transferring straight into another PhD program. The one disadvantage I see to applying straight to a professional program is that I don't want to make the mistake again of ending up in a field that is much different than I expected. My main concern with getting a job first is that it might take me so long to get a job relevant to the field that I want to go into that I would have been better of going back to school first.

I don't feel like I have a good relationship with my department right now and I don't think that they would be supported if I decided to leave the program. Would I be better of applying to other programs behind my department's back (i.e. by using letter of recommendation letters from college) or should I be upfront about it?

Also: Also, I have another year of funding. Any ideas on what I should do in the mean time? I have a year left of department funding. How bad would it be if I used this year to take more professional courses? Would that come across as a two-faced? What if I started applying for jobs during the school year? I'm trying to think of any retaliation by my department that could have a negative impact on a future career outside of academia if I chose to do this.

I would love to hear from people who have been through this and how they handled this!