I think you guys are being too hard on poor katjia melnik.

First of all nobody takes an unpaid internship because they have better options but are too stupid to take a paying job with a future over slave labor paid in experience.

Of course an unpaid internship is less than ideal. But this is a less than ideal world.

It sucks ass that companies now realize they have workers by the throat and can demand things like this instead of just straight up offering entry level jobs.

But if that's the reality and Katjia here has a chance to get paid in experience that might help her in the future, it does not help to say that unpaid internships suck. Of course they suck, but if they help you towards a REAL JOB and that's the way things are. You gotta suck it up and think about your future not your pride.

Who's the chump? The one who is too good for the unpaid internship and takes a dead end job? or the one that pays their dues and ends up closer to where they want to be?

Or maybe it's the one who pays their dues and still ends up nowhere. But at least they tried.

Haha, or katjia could be a troll. Who knows?

I started off in Shanghai doing an internship, here's some tips:

DON"T TAKE AN UNPAID INTERNSHIP, this practice is so stupid. What are you, a slave? Demand compensation or leave.

I found a paid internship at lindenbaum.asia.

Whatever internship you're doing, work hard and express early that you're interested in a full-time position.

Have savings. You seriously moved to China with nothing in the bank?

Hostels are cheaper than apartments. You can rent a bed in a hostel for about 1800 RMB a month, and that's a nice hostel. And no 2 month deposit. I liked City Central, near Caoyang Metro.

Get used to rice and eggs, or instant noodles. The little Muslim restaurants decorated in green are your best bet for a cheap meal.

Drink at the Chinese clubs. You're hangovers will be brutal, but the "alcohol" is free.

--Drink Soju, 18 rmb for a decent buzz.

Use credit cards (wisely).

Teach English on the side, or full-time. Your grammar seems decent, you could probably swing it.

Good luck, it's a lot of fun here once you get your feet underneath you.