Always a hot topic, training and knowledge to advance you career. is it worth it, probably if you are full time employee. If you have a career ladder you can climb, then it will help without question.

As a contractor/freelancer/consultant, no i dont think so. having a masters degree doesnt really help. training courses give you knowedge but no client will employ you to build a datawarehouse, if your only experience was a course on datawarehousing. some clients mention that they want certification which I dont have, but I am still interviewed for those positions.

So I think there is a point for keeping your knowledge current and trying to get ahead but how you achieve it, is an individual thing.