That's my experience too.

As a student, I didn't really buy the "piracy increases sales" studies, since I went from buying one thing a year to zero. Clearly, sales were lost.

As an adult, I can casually swipe my credit card and buy similar things on a whim. How much less I bought as a student is a rounding error.

Most people or organizations are either rich enough to not bother with piracy, or poor enough not to buy especially much in the first place.

I'll mention this is doubly true with industrial software. Ain't no way an individual will drop $5k on a CAD program. On the other hand, ain't no way a serious business will pirate a $5k CAD program. Having people know how to use your tools, though, drives sales.