Every time I meet someone who complains about the price of Adobe Photoshop, my answer is the same: Do you really need it? That goes for students and professionals alike out there.
Photoshop is expensive. It’s a sophisticated software, after all. The regular license costs around $699; standard educational copies go for $199. Either way you cut it, that’s going to put a dent on your pocket.
However, the real question is, do you really need Photoshop? If you are an aspiring designer or digital artist, then you definitely need a graphic software. With Photoshop being the industry-bearer, it’s natural to want to use it. However, you don’t have to. If you really can’t afford the Adobe title, there are tons of competent free and cheap alternatives out there. While they won’t have the full range of features that Photoshop does, we doubt you’ll need most of those extras in your jobs as a startup freelancer anyway. Once you get enough money where spending for Adobe’s premium title won’t hurt, then get Photoshop.
If you’re not going into graphic design and merely want to use Photoshop to play with your pictures, then dealing with the issue of price is even sillier. It could be too expensive for something you’ll use sparingly for fun, so why bother? As we said above, get one of the cheaper alternatives and use that for your graphic needs.