diff --git a/script/include/helper_functions.inc.sh b/script/include/helper_functions.inc.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18968aae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/script/include/helper_functions.inc.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# helper_functions.inc.sh: General helper functions
+
+# Check pip to see if the given package is installed
+# (returns 0 if installed, 2 if not installed)
+check_pip_for () {
+  return $(pip list --format=columns --disable-pip-version-check | \
+	  grep -Fe "${1}" >/dev/null 2>&1)
+}