As a professional software developer for more than twenty years, I have chosen a lot of tools. Some say "practice makes perfect," so after a quarter century, I should be pretty good at it. I picked my first development tool in high school. I was using a TRS-80 calculator that came with BASIC, so that ended up becoming my first tool by default. That is the way many of us choose our first tool, simple convenience. I can't say this method hurt me too much, as I sold my first program as a sophomore and took my first development position while still in high school. Sometimes the only tool is the best tool because it is your only option. When this happens, you can be sure you made the right choice.

http://www.realsoftware.com/support/choosingadev.php