Presumably, there are interesting skills and experiences obtained from this project which can be applied to future projects or leveraged for a better / higher-p

Presumably, there are interesting skills and experiences obtained from this project which can be applied to future projects or leveraged for a better / higher-paid day job. If the time investment is being valued at $60/hr, it's only fair to perform a valuation on the incremental training as well. This seems like a case where the numbers are easily skewed in either direction to fit a desired narrative. Still, I acknowledge that it's very hard to spend a year of your life on something and only end up with $700 in-pocket.