LoRs - academic vs non-academic?

[OldOldMan]

Hey everybody! Looking to hear some advice from somebody who knows about this. I will keep this short. 

I'm one of those students who realized halfway through a masters in economics that I wanted a career in sociology. I managed to finish that masters nonetheless with a good GPA and owing to various reasons, I had to take up a job right after I finished. 3 years later, I am free to pursue my dreams again. I took the GRE and got a 166Q/163V, 5.5 W which I am told is decent enough. 

I really want to apply for a PhD but since that time, I have not been in touch with my uni professors and when I requested a letter, they said that they would not be as detailed as one would like. I have some great references (people I have worked and researched with, albeit not in academia, more of a professional nature) but they are non-academics. I understand I am an unconventional candidate but how much would the lack of academic referees be held against me? And what would this mean for my chances at a school?

Any help would be really really appreciated. 

[_kita]

Even in professional programs, the suggestion is usually 2 academic, 1 professional reference. Universities that allow professional references usually still require 1-2 academic. They need someone who can speak to your ability to manage the academic curriculum Maybe ask your academic references if they want a copy of your resume, transcripts, etc. Did you happen to do any individual projects with any of the professors, work for them, etc.? That would also help with reminding them and strengthen the letters.

You may also want to see if any of your professional references have academic ties (do they teach classes, partner with a higher education research center, etc), that would help you out a lot. My last round of applications, I technically used 1 academic, 1 quasi-academic, and 1 professional with academic connections:

1.  The regional director at my company- who also taught classes at another university part-time
2. My boss as a GA for the Psychology department. He wasn't my professor, but I asked him to speak to my teaching and statistics skills
3. The director of my counseling department who I did an independent study under

Consider people in your life and see if there's any creative overlap that you can draw on.