Not a fan of Blender by any means, but what software you referring to when you say "jump through hoops to sub-d something", Morkonan?  I don't know of any program where that is any more difficult than a hotkey or modifier.

I was blowing it out of proportion for illustration, of course. :) Once one learns any program, it's much easier to use. But, learning a program has a great deal to do with it's interface and how intuitive it is. The more intuitive and user-friendly an interface, the faster it can be accessed and meaningfully explored. Blender's interface is far from... intuitive. But, that's also true for some other very powerful modelers. Yet, not all of them are that way.

My point is that for a learning modeler, who has yet to learn the basics of not only "what" but also "why", it's critical that they have easy access to the tools that will demonstrate the principles they need to learn. They must have frequent and easy access in order to practice the skills that will need to become second-nature to them in order to progress, just like anyone else would in any other craft. One of the joys of many modeling programs, even fairly powerful ones, is an intuitive and easy to use interface where most common functions are not buried in "hotkey commands." Sure, for speed and, apparently, industry practice, 3D modeling involves the use of lots and lots of hotkeys... But, hotkeys are not "intuitive." They simply "are" and their use is not as easily interpreted in a point-and-click age. Hotkeys have little association with "whats" and "whys" and are just simple "hows." They're part of an application, not an intrinsic and functional part of the process of "learning", in my opinion.

I don't like Blender. But, that's because I don't know Blender. It's certainly a powerful program with a great many features that relatively few commercial packages include. Certainly, for the price, there is no better program available inasmuch as its capabilities. But, as a "learning tool", I think it leaves a great deal to be desired. It's just not designed to be easily functional when compared with other packages, even those used by some professionals.

My caution was only to note that the frustration that a new modeler may feel can be as much caused by the application they're trying to use as their lack of knowledge. That a person may find one program more difficult to learn than another is a given. But, that one may think that all programs are similarly difficult to learn and, therefore, it must mean that the skill is just as difficult and confusing to learn does not necessarily logically follow - There are many more intuitive and easier to learn 3D modeling applications than Blender. Someone new to 3D modeling may not realize this and, thus, nobody would ever benefit from what their talent, if exercised, could bring, since it was needlessly abandoned in the mires of apprenticeship. :)