If you are wanting to make it as a designer in this world there are a handful of must have software packages (in my opinion) Below is a list a several applications that a design should not go with out:
Adobe Design Suite
Photoshop
Illustrator
indesign
Dreamweaver
Acrobat Pro
Bridge
Flash
Other helpful software may include:
Quark Express
iWork
Keynote
Numbers
Pages
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