My professional masters required me to actually do things at work, things that I wouldn't have done otherwise, and write about it, and turn it into a project etc.
Sure academics with academic Masters degrees look down on them, but then there are a lot of people, like you, who recognize that academic achievement is not an indicator of being able to get things done.
These professional masters are an ideal middle ground.
To be honest though, if I could have gotten interesting real world experience in the field I was interested in, I probably would not have considered the degree, but it was a chicken and egg situation for me unfortunately. In order to get a job where I could get experience, I had to have experience. So I started the degree, then switched to a job that was half way towards the area I wanted, and because I needed to do a project my employers were more willing to let me take on some work in the interesting area I wanted to work in. By the end of it, I had both real world experience, and a degree recognizing that experience. Without starting that course I still don't see how I could have broken in to either area.