If you're an undergraduate biology major, this might sound a lot like you: terminally strapped for cash, wrestling with lab contraptions long after the business majors have called it a day, doggedly wading through arcane terminology, and unmarketable without x more years of graduate or medical school. If so, you're likely to come face to face with the grim reality put to me so poignantly by a loved one on the day of my graduation: "So, what are you gonna do with your life!?"

Fortunately, I had set out on a quest to head off the panic. With impeccable timing, a spokesperson from the National Institutes of Health arrived during my senior year at the University of New Mexico to inform students of a great opportunity offered by the NIH to fledgling researchers like me. It turned out that I wasn't the only one looking to explore what NIH postbaccalaureate Greg Suares calls "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of life in research before sentencing myself to grad school.

With aspiring scientists like us in mind, Deputy Director for Intramural Research Michael Gottesman instituted the NIH postbaccalaureate fellowship in 1994. Since then, it has paved the way for students on the graduate- or medical-school track to experiment with daily life as a researcher while residing at one of the world's premier institutions for biomedical investigation.

A one- to two-year program, the postbac fellowship affords a unique opportunity to be more than just a spare pair of technical hands. The concepts of "training" and "mentoring" are central to the program's mission, and are key to its success. Being at the bottom of the totem pole, postbacs will likely be delegated some extra grunt work. Nevertheless, postbac fellows command respect and can expect to walk away from the program able to think more critically about biological questions.

So why waste any time before diving into your graduate or medical career? Generally, an undergraduate biology program hurriedly glosses over subjects ranging from biogeography to histology and ethnobotany to parasitology. Lab courses usually introduce students to formulaic experiments with predetermined results. At some point during a senior year packed with upper-level courses, GRE preparation, grad-school applications, a job, and, perhaps, a life, you may realize that you have reservations about committing four to eight years and 50-plus hours per week to a narrow field of graduate research.

The postbac program aims to provide a holistic research experience that gives you a taste of what to expect from life as a scientist. Most students soon determine whether research is gratifying and compelling enough to enable them to survive years of tedious graduate work. Research is highly repetitive, requires a gigantic investment of time and energy with little short-term reward, and is fiercely competitive. It won't take long to know if you're in it for the long haul, and you'll be forever grateful for the chance to figure that out on this side of the graduate school hurdle. As a mentor once told me, "If it doesn't teach you what you want to do with your life, it will certainly teach you what you don't want to do."

After learning the ropes associated with the lab, most postbacs will take charge of an independent research project while collaborating with a mentor. Mentors are either senior postdoctoral fellows who've agreed to take on a student or they are principal investigators. With more than 350 postbacs at NIH, reports on mentors run the gamut, from exceptional teachers to nonentities. How hands-on the mentor-student relationship is depends upon the mentor's accessibility and the level of experience of the postbac.

While individual experiences vary from lab to lab and from institute to institute, successful partnerships seem to result from a combination of vigilant mentoring and enthusiastic trainees. Rumors exist of students sentenced to sequencing gels day after day, but I've heard of no such cases. One success story comes from Juan Batlle, a University of Pennsylvania med student and former postbac in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), who declared that he would be willing to donate a kidney to his beloved PI, Karl Pfeifer. Batlle says Pfeifer was "always available," "loved teaching," and focused on the quality of the learning experience instead of on the amount of work a student produced.

Pfeifer was equally enthusiastic about his postbacs, who bring a refreshing perspective to his lab with their "more idealistic" outlooks. He noted that he often observes students in the program making the switch from the "passive" learning characteristic of college to a more proactive, self-motivated approach. Pfeifer also remarked that for postbacs without a stellar track record, the program offers an opportunity to strengthen their experience and enhance their chances for acceptance into top grad schools.

Daily life for a postbac varies with the individual. Those aspiring to medical school may perform clinical trials based on novel cancer therapies. Those in developmental-biology research may trace genes that orchestrate early developmental pathways of the pituitary gland. Still others may compare the brain morphologies of alcohol abusers. All postbacs learn that research demands a commitment well beyond the requirements of a nine-to-five job. When incubating cells beckon you in on Saturday morning, you come. Some postbacs may even have the opportunity to carry a project to fruition and coauthor a manuscript for publication.

Being a scientist entails much more than following a protocol. At a recent postbac gathering, Gottesman stressed the value of learning to recognize good science when you see it. He emphasized the importance of familiarizing yourself with the relevant literature, since not everything that is printed in a journal is scientifically accurate. To this end, he pointed out that the numerous journal clubs, informal and formal presentations, and seminars available to postbacs serve to round out life at the NIH.

While the program is now well established, it wasn't long ago that postbacs dwelled unrecognized in institutes across the NIH campus. Writing in the NIH Catalyst, former postbac Lee Mack characterized them as once feeling "a bit alone in the shark tanks." In the fall of 1997, a few curious and entrepreneurial postbacs banded together to unite their fellow lab rats. Their efforts led to the first formal postbac gathering, headed by the Office of Education, and served to form a community of postbacs that is teeming with enthusiasm. They have since initiated mock interviews for potential grad or med students, panel discussions on careers in science, happy hours, embassy tours, softball leagues, and more.

A favorite perk for most postbacs is the privilege of working in a hotbed of biomedical research, where you can catch talks by luminaries such as Senator John Glenn, James Watson, and numerous other science notables. But because of the overwhelming number of postdoctoral fellows and the lack of a graduate-student community at NIH, postbacs oftentimes endure the eye-glazing, nap-inducing experience of sitting through lectures that are far over their heads. To counteract these doldrums, a postbac committee now hosts a monthly lecture series, with PIs from diverse backgrounds as speakers, which is fine-tuned to the postbac audience. Likewise, a seminar series provides an opportunity for postbacs to practice presenting their work to their peers.

Postbacs earn the equivalent of an average grad-school stipend, i.e., low enough to meet the poverty-level income on their tax forms. While it won't pay for college loans or a ski trip, it provides a reasonable standard of living in the Washington, D.C., area. After all, if it paid much more, postbacs might never make it to grad school.

Life as a postbac can be compared to performing a novel scientific experiment: the actual outcome may be very different from the predicted result. You may follow the protocol from step A through Z, or be lured off the beaten path by unexpected developments. For instance, postbac Greg Suares discovered unforeseen rewards in research. "I once thought that observable benefits on a clinical level could only be obtained through an M.D. program. I've learned that research can make a potentially greater contribution, even if it might be years down the road."

Students may apply to the program up to 12 months after receiving an undergraduate degree. One approach is to list the institutes for which you would like to be considered - this works best for those with broad research interests. The applicant's file is circulated among those institutes for up to a year, and PIs with available positions contact the applicant directly (usually within a few months of submission.)

Those with a more narrowly defined research interest can directly contact the PI of a specific lab to inquire about available postbac positions. Information can be found at the NIH research laboratory list and the listing of individual institute and centers intramural programs. You must still file an application, but this approach can help shorten the process. This type of networking can leave a lasting impression and is an invaluable skill.

As for me, I'm keeping my hand in research while pursuing my passion for science writing on the side. I've chosen to work in a marine-biology lab at the University of Southern California, but have opted out of graduate school for the time being. Whichever path an NIH postbac chooses, chances are he'll follow it with more conviction.