No, I don't plan on making a career out of it. That wasn't really what I was asking.

I wasn't really posting this to help me make a decision. I have my mind set on GIMP. It's naturally more appealing to me because, like I said, it's freely available and I could always potentially have access to it if need be. Thus the knowledge and ability to use it are more pragmatically valuable than the ability to use Photoshop.

But I'm only wondering how it actually compares to Photoshop. Is there truly a gap in quality between them? Is there a noticeable difference? I guess you would say so based on your answer. What exactly is worse about it? or is it only considered worse to use because Photoshop is the expected and required standard to use in a professional setting?