I took Graphics back at school and actually did quite well in it to say the least, gained some valuable skills in using PS as well as a hefty amount of knowledge concerning product design, add on the fact that I did an extended IT course and you could say that I spent pretty much half my time at school on the computer, image editing and what not.
Unfortunately since I haven't taken up any type of work in that area I have lost a fair amount of the know-how I once had, which is a shame I suppose but I still regularly do some image/gif editing on the side every now and then. Recently I've been trying to wrap my head around colouring black and white images (World War photographs etc.)
I mainly use a fairly outdated piece of software, Macromedia Adobe Fireworks 8. I do have Ps but I find it hard to drag myself away from Fireworks at times, a bit of stubborn of me.
I use a combo of mouse and tablet. I have a Wacom Intuos, before you ask, no, I can't draw for shit but it really helps when it comes to touching up stuff and dealing with intricate work.
So yeah that's my experience