Computer software jobs

AS the movement of technology jobs to India recently gained attention in the press, Brian Pinkus began worrying about the name of his business--Outsource Testing Inc.

The Covina company tests software that companies have developed for internal and external use, making sure there are no bugs or flaws. Although the work is done within U.S. borders, Pinkus realized the word "outsource" was gaining a stigma.

"I thought about changing it, but outsourcing is what we do," said Pinkus, who is founder and chief executive. "We want people to know what we do."

After the loss of so many jobs in the tech bust of 2000-2001, companies have come under fire for exporting software development and other tasks to lower-priced labor markets. According to a Forrester Research Inc. projection--recently revised upward--this foreign outsourcing trend will result in 830,000 jobs moving offshore by the end of 2005. The backlash has gained attention in Washington, where numerous proposals are afloat to stem the loss of U.S. jobs.

While not directly responsible for any foreign outsourcing, Outsource Testing has in fact benefited from the trend.

"Our business has doubled in the last year," Pinkus said. "A lot of times companies will have the development done overseas and then have us come in and make sure it's done right. They're finding out it's not as high quality as they thought it might be."

Typically, the Outsource Testing employees will go into a client's offices and test the software there. That's not possible to do if the testing is also outsourced overseas, Pinkus said.

There are also other drawbacks to having labor done abroad. "There are cultural differences. These people are smart and educated, but there's a laid-back attitude, and as a tester, you are expected not to trust anything," he said.

Large clients

Many of the companies that require outsourced software testing are large ones, including America Online Inc., Allstate Corp., Xerox Corp., Pfizer Inc. and Computer Associates International, although smaller ones are expected to use them more and more.

"The main thing about testing that is enjoyable is coming into a situation, thinking about it a different way from developers, and finding a major flaw," Pinkus said. "It's amazing as a small business to walk into a major company and know they're relying on you."

Pinkus remembers one client had already released a version of software that would quit installing on Macintosh computers. Outsource Testing quickly found the error, and saved the company a good chunk of change in customer retention and technical support costs.

"When they call us, the company is usually six months behind and they have to get the project done, and they have a big convention coming up next week," Pinkus said. "And a company that relies on the system for their main business can't take the chance that it might shut down."

Pinkus, who regularly monitors listings for needed software testers to gauge demand, said the number of listings on some Web sites has jumped from 15 a day in February to 60 a day in May.

George Cook, who works independently as a software tester and has been involved with Outsource Testing projects, said he's also seeing a pickup in the amount of jobs available, as companies like the idea of temporarily hiring outsiders to test their products.

"Companies don't want to hire full-time people, so more and more contractors have been used," Cook said.

Lucrative business

Pinkus has been a programming nut since he was a kid. He started playing with computers at the age of 10, when his family got a Commodore 64. At 12, he started writing programs, such as math games.

At the same time, he inherited an entrepreneurial spirit from his dad, who started a series of restaurants and pizza joints in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Pinkus knew the fickle restaurant business wasn't for him, and went the computer science route instead, going to California State University, Long Beach, and working at Earthlink Inc. as a technical support supervisor. But he found that testing software on the side was lucrative and he quit college his junior year to pursue it full-time.

"It hasn't hurt me so far," Pinkus said.

He started as a contractor to companies such as Teradyne Inc., getting work through recruiting agencies. But he found that the recruiters often had little technical knowledge and provided poor fits between client companies and software testers.

"They were more about finding out if you could talk the talk, and then once you got the job, you would never hear from them again," Pinkus said.

Pinkus used contacts he had built at Earthlink to start up his own business in 1996. He grew it by building strong relationships with clients and thoroughly testing out the independent contractors who've worked for him.

"If I see a person sitting in their chair and not doing their job, I'll get rid of them," he said. "That's my reputation, and if that person messes up, it could cost me my whole relationship with the client."

PROFILE

Outsource Testing Inc. Year Founded: 1996

Core Business: Testing software developed by corporate clients

Revenues in 2002: $500,000

Revenues in 2003: $600,000

Employees in 2002: 3

Employees in 2003: 4

Goal: Continue helping companies deliver quality software

Driving Force: Hunting down flaws in software that other people may have overlooked