def get_output_dir(job_homedir=None):
    '''
    :param job_homedir: explicit value for home directory, used for testing purposes
    :rtype: string
    :returns: path to output directory

    Returns the output directory, where all outputs are created, and
    uploaded from
    '''
    if job_homedir is not None:
        home_dir = job_homedir
    else:
        home_dir = environ.get('HOME')
    odir = os.path.join(home_dir, 'out')
    return odir