@piersyf: I try not to be a sheep. I too was trained on a mac in school, but my mac died not too long after leaving school and I haven't been able to afford another since. Mac and Adobe pretty much have a permanent grip on the art schools. I use all my software on a custom-built PC and have no problems with Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc. 

I do try to learn other lesser-known software when I have the time and interest, but it does me no good when I'm trying to find real work in the industry, as I'm trying to do now. Mention GIMP or Blender at one of these job interviews and they're likely to just laugh you out the door. Or smile and nod silently as they move on to the next portfolio and I definitely don't need that. 

I started learning digital painting several years ago on Jasc Paintshop Pro (I think Corel owns it now), and I had one class in film school that used GIMP - simply because they weren't budgeted for Photoshop and it was only used for one small project. I continued working (and fighting) with GIMP until I got into Animation and had to start using Photoshop on a regular basis. It's always been much faster to learn and much easier to work with than GIMP, at least in my opinion, which is why I prefer it, on top of being a standard. But as Moriador points out, it doesn't matter what software you prefer to use, or what your moral reasons for or against it are, if you don't use the software your potential boss/client requires, then you're S.O.L. There's enough competition and someone else will be along in 1.5 seconds or less that can meet that client or bosses needs. Run with the big dogs or stay on the porch is really what it all boils down to. 

@moriador: Autodesk does have subscription to all their software too, along with cloud features and training/support - their entertainment creation suite (Maya, 3DS, SoftImage, MotionBuilder & Mudbox), is $340/mo., $855 quarterly or $2,730/yr, but they also still have the option of buying a license outright, at $6,825. You still have to pay for ugrades with that tho, which is another $4K. At least with the sub, all upgrades are included as long as you continue the sub.