The Pro's and Con's of Professional Development

I counted up the bills and I have spend over $2000 this year in developing myself professionally. This doesn't include any university courses or anything really that is tax deductable for someone working for a employer. I have mentioned a few times in my ramblings that I am a public servant, but today I am going to confess that this takes the form of being an adult education teacher within the public school system. As I have developed an interest in online learning (and some fun opportunities-right people, right time-have popped up), I have invested over $2000 this year to become more "computer literate and tech savy". The good news is that my generous employer has refunded just over $700 of this to me in the form of professional development funding. The bad news is that I have sucked up the cost for the other $1300. This brings me to an important question: should I be doing this? I have a solid emergency fund, no debt (I am a renter), and a well hammered out financial plan.Yet, I wonder if I am going to see an economic payback for this outlay. I have a vague dream in my head that I am going to one day early retire and work for myself, so this online learning training seems in line with my long range goals. I have spent a lot of time (and as we already mentioned, money) on this training.What do people think? Does it make sense? I know that I need to start tracking not only the money spent but also the hours invested in this little dalliance to determine if it is time well spent. If I take home $40,000 after taxes and my employer pays into my retirement fund (defined pension plan= between $300 a month for life if I quit tommorrow and up to $1600 a month if I hang in for another 13 years), how much would I have to earn on the side to justify this expenditure which will probably remain fairly constant for the next 3 to 5 years? I am training in html and Moodle for those who want to offer any comments about my posts. P.s My salary is common knowledge and available to anyone with an internet connection, so don't think that I am oversharing.