Regardless of your major, you are probably looking frantically for some type of experience in your field before graduation. Internships can be very competitive and, paid or unpaid, you would probably be happy enough just getting hired. But if you are working overtime for no pay, is the experience truly valuable?

Former Harper’s Bazaar intern Xuedan “Diana” Wang doesn’t think so, and neither do we.

Wang, 28, is an Ohio State University graduate with a degree in strategic communications pursuing a job in the fashion industry. She is suing the magazine’s publisher, Hearst Corporation, for minimum wage and overtime pay after reportedly working at least 40 –– sometimes even 55 –– hours a week without pay.

Can you imagine? Most people who work more than 40 hours receive a paycheck and an additional bonus for working overtime.

According to the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act, a company can legally offer unpaid internships as long as they are educational and beneficial for the intern, not necessarily for the employer.

Unfortunately, because of this agreement it is essentially up to the employer to treat the intern fairly. This includes resisting the urge to exploit the intern’s free labor — which is exactly why Wang is suing Harper’s.

We at the Tribune believe that internships are meant to be mutually beneficial for both parties, especially regarding unpaid positions. An internship provides the opportunity for the intern to gain valuable work experience while the employer can avoid paying a full-time staff member.

If employers expect unpaid interns to work more hours than a full-time employee who receives benefits, then they probably deserve a lawsuit.

Not only are interns like Wang overworked, underpaid and underappreciated, but they are also forced to sacrifice other aspects of their life. For students, this typically takes away time for studying, having social life and the mythological concept of “relaxing.” The majority of college students don’t have enough time or money to devote their lives to a temporary position, even if they do receive a great letter of recommendation.

Any intern, paid or unpaid, must ask themselves if the experience is really worth the time and effort. It is no secret that interns can easily be treated unjustly, but it is a necessary sacrifice many students make – an investment for the future.

The truth is, not all students can afford to devote so many hours to an internship in addition to school, especially if they are not being rewarded financially.

It is very possible that a student from a lower socioeconomic status would not be able to afford a prestigious internship because its time commitment or lack of pay. The majority of internships are often exclusive to urban areas, further limiting the chance some people have in securing job experience prior to graduating.

With the professional world constantly growing more competitive, having an internship is almost mandatory to secure a specialized career. We believe that as a student, an internship should be supplemental to your full-time job of furthering your education. If you’re devoting over 20 hours to an internship, you should at least be earning some sort of stipend.

We are not saying that all bosses will turn your internship into a nightmare. However, it would surely be more enjoyable if you were getting some money for your hard work.

According to the lawsuit, there are hundreds of other unpaid interns like Wang at Hearst. If she wins this lawsuit, like we assume (and hope), it will be a victory among interns everywhere.

Xuedan Wang: on behalf of all the Marquette student interns who will have lower stress levels and bigger wallets if you win this lawsuit, thank you.