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What Did Steve Jobs Tell Susan Kare About Twiddling Bits?

Steve Jobs told Susan Kare she would twiddle bits for the rest of her life and never make more than $20,000, when she could be the creative director of a Fortune 500 company, on the idea that NeXT would become one. She had followed him there after Apple. What she had learned was that she would rather twiddle bits. Those were his exact words. She would rather do that than be a manager. The phrase still sits in her head, and she can hear him say it. She does make more than $20,000.

She worked at NeXT, then took a shot at working independently for a couple of decades. The plan was to try it for a year and, with no clients, get a job. It worked out. Full-time work and independent work each carry different advantages.

Grokipedia·Susan Kare·Steve Jobs

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Twiddling Bits with Susan Kare ·

First of Kind

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