Do I HAVE to buy Photoshop?
Adobe Creative Cloud comes with a 7 day trial so that you can get a feel for it before committing.
But unlike wireframing tools, Photoshop probably WILL be an eventual requirement for your web design career. (Although Sketch is a popular alternative!) The good news is that Creative Cloud is now a subscription service that costs between $30-50/month instead of ye olde school bulk software that would’ve set you back almost a grand. So hopefully that price tag is a bit easier to swallow when you DO decide to shell out the cash.
A few people have filled out the form on the Adobe website and were approved for an educational discount. We don't have a partnership with Adobe and we're not an accredited institution (one of their requirements), so we can't guarantee a discount for you, but you can fill out their online form when signing up with our address:
http://www.adobe.com/
Skillcrush
PO Box 1172
New York, New York
10159
Although Photoshop is at the moment the industry standard (which I would recommend you check out eventually), you can get by with some other programs for the time being! Take a look at this article we've written as a guide to FREE alternatives to Photoshop:
5 Totally Free Photoshop Alternatives
Just know that we do not have instruction for these in our blueprint, you will need to find tutorials to guide you if you're stuck.