Here is what I would recommend: Get student version of 3DS Max/Maya to use for learning, then when a contract lands, rent the software (Max (maybe Maya too) and Adobe apps). Tack on the cost of the rental into your fee... Rent as long as you are doing the contract.
Suggesting torrent use is really against our policies here at Polycount, so please, lets not go down that road. There are a good deal of free alternatives, like blender, gimp, etc Autodesk also offers some student licensees as well, which should be totally valid for anything but paid work. I'm not sure what sort of…