Remember the unpaid internship at the U.N. CharityBuzz listed that was going for $22,000? Sarah Kendzior now has a piece about it on Al Jazeera, and the U.N. is saying it didn't know anything about it.

So how does a student or recent graduate know when to cut her losses and walk away from a situation where she's being treated unfairly, and when to suck it up and take on the grunt work and extra responsibilities with a smile, because the experience is worth it?

My high school's motto was, "I set before thee an open door." So, in the spirit of seizing opportunities, students were required to complete an internship project during our junior year.

I’d take a year off from school and work as an unpaid intern. A year and a half later, though, I still can’t answer the biggest question behind that gamble: Were the unpaid internships worthwhile?

And Sarah Kendzior, anthropologist and columnist for Al Jazeera, is into it. Just beyond. Over the moon.

My internship was with a literacy nonprofit in Central London. I worked four and a half days a week, which was a real adjustment for my undergrad self, especially since before I left I was working in a supermarket deli. It was my first time working in an office for more than a summer break.

Most people spend hours pouring over Craigslist, LinkedIn, and other job listing sites trying to find an internship. I found mine riding the train.

How to be a little bit of an adult for a little of time.

My duties as an apprentice were exactly the same as regular staff, only I didn’t count as coverage. Coverage is the ratio of staff to campers needed at all times, and it is a Big Deal. Not counting as coverage essentially meant I could never be left alone with campers, which was frustrating. But I learned a lot about working through frustration, working with children, working with my fellow staff, and especially how it feels to work for free.

Last summer, I worked in the library at Elections Canada. I got the job through FSWEP, the Federal Student Work Experience Program, which allows college students in Canada to get paid work experience through short contracts in the Federal Government of Canada.