Tech firms hiring ASD people to test software

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I read an article in the newspaper today about how tech companies are looking to hire people on the spectrum to be software testers, it is described as boring, repetitive, detailed work that ASD people would be well suited to do.

This one company is planning to do it in the USA and pay LESS than people in India are paid to do this kind of work. The rationale is something like, well I am doing a 'good deed' and it is costing to me....

I also recently went to an Open House for a program called CIP in Berkeley, it is for young people on the spectrum, a transition program to live independently, get a job or go to College. A gentleman from India was there, he was not there for his son or daughter, he was there because he is recruiting Aspies to do software testing.

I find something offensive about all of this.

Have any of these supposedly well intentioned people considered that just because you are GOOD at something does not mean you ENJOY it?

How does everyone else feel about this?

Would you be thrilled to be hired to be a software tester?

What do you think about getting paid less in the USA versus companies in India that pay $25.00 an hour. The company profiled in the article, and this is California mind you, one of the most expensive states to live in in the country, is planning to offer, $15.00 an hour.

Here is the article in full:

This is the same thread

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt194047.html

So...give the Autistic people crappy pay because that's the only option they have.

I have issues with the pay scale and my biggest question is:

Would you ENJOY this type of work?

Thanks for the link to the other post though...

I think it sounds like a really good idea. Seeing as how lots of times people that are autistic are working minimum wage jobs this is a step up. I recently got a job at walmart which i was really glad I got

I don't think there is enough info to know if I would enjoy it or be fine with it

Software testing is a major part of my job. It can be enjoyable. It can be highly structured with well defined rules when dealing with a regulated environment (FDA, military, etc...). Depending on the location and job market, I have heard non-aspies getting paid between $15-$35 per hour for software testing. It usually depends on the entire skill set though and the test environment (software verification that needs to pass the scrutiny of the FDA or military vs test out this porn web site). The higher your skill set and development skills, the closer to earning software developer pay (can you create a test plan and schedule, can you write defect reports, can you write automated tests, can you perform lower level unit testing, do you understand the underlying technology, can you characterize a defect, or are you simply someone who follows a written script and executes it 15 times against 15 different configurations). Depressed job markets also pay lower. $15/hr is a decent intern pay rate in my area.

The rationale and the putting us in a box, yes, I find that offensive, too.

I do thank noname_ever for sharing some of the upside.

I studied C++ programming from 1998-2000, got pretty good at it, took university classes, had a portfolio of work. But, when looked for a job in 2000, the only thing human resource people looked at was years of corporate experience.

I would take this job (in California) if it were available to me so that I can learn the ins and outs of the business, and if the pay didn't increase, I would branch out on my own and become a competitor. In the Banana Republic of Florida, $25 per hour sounds like great pay, and I would probably stay with the company.

I would love this job. $15 an hour is more than I make as a line cook and I've got about $40k in student loan debt. *(yes I bought into that if I have a culinary degree I'll have a better job, but I have the same job but now at a nice resort instead of a greasy spoon)

Anyway, tell me how to apply.

I risked a truancy conviction in high school paying attention to releases, development cycles, command lines, scripting languages and what have you, computer science sure isn't taken very seriously in U.S. public education. I've been a voluntary open source tester for 7+ years, had months of internship work and still no luck in finding full time jobs. In my case it seems to be a waiting game as I'm 19 and my appearance makes interviews difficult. There's nothing monotonous or repetitive about involved, automated test engineering or development. That is a fault of the aforementioned firm's cubicle farm mentality. Bugs are almost never the same because software is never the same. I had a few months in a telecommuting internship in mobile app development, but despite the obvious allure of working from home or the first grey walled quasi-office that presents itself, I would steer aspies away from picking the low hanging fruit here. I set up thousands of dollars of Linux workstations for my school in exchange for 3 signatures to clear a traffic ticket. My last company endeavored to pay me $1600 for an application worth upwards of $12,000 to their client, and all I wound up with was the development hardware. It's not that I didn't learn anything from that contract job, far from it, but I certainly learned more about people than testing and dev work. I'm still pursuing startup jobs, but giving it a year and considering another year or two of school, because this is a country that scoffs at a quarter of any given person's lifespan spent on their passion.

BE CAREFUL - This must be the only planet in the universe where one can get punished for thoroughly learning something.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

Not sure why a 6 month old thread was resurrected, but there it is lol.

Anyways, I'd look at this as an opportunity. After all, if you work there for a while and are successful with it, it'll allow you to get a higher paying job. I can't imagine a company like this could keep it's best workers around for very long when other jobs will pay them more to jump ship. So it's a potential foot in the door to a higher paying job in the field.

I know a lot about software testing and I dare say aspies and others on the spectrum would be very good at it. However, that should necessitate higher pay not lower.

Software testing requires a very good eye for detail and a very good memory. So yes it is insulting they think they can offer less than the typical rate. It is also breaking equality laws I think.

it doesn't look like they're breaking equality laws

it looks like they're paying anyone that wants to work there the same lower than india wage and offering a special training program for people on the autistic spectrum, facilitating entry for autistics and publicizing along those lines

as opposed to paying a high price and so on and leaving it at that

and the reason they are doing this is because they see opportunity in the fact that many people on the autistic spectrum have difficulty elsewhere, it is *possible* however that they are dealing with the environment of the place in a way that makes it more friendly to people with autism in general, and this in itself definitely counts as a "perk" - if they're doing that

1: find job
2: find job you like
3: find high paying job you like

if you go from 1->2 this counts as an upgrade, because this is targeted, if it's done properly, it will result in an increase of living condition quality for some people on the autistic spectrum which is important

I'd like to know what the benefits package is like, and if they have any special benefits for people with AS.

I work for a company that has a good benefits package. I don't make as much money as some other people in my field in the private sector, but I get much better benefits.