This article is aimed at stimulating discussion on pedagogical approaches to interpreter training. It examines certain exceptional situations where professional conference interpreters agree to perform simultaneous interpreting in substandard interpreter booths or other substandard working conditions of varying degrees, e.g. when working at governmental level. Interpretation courses, therefore, should allow time for discussions of such situations and of acceptable scenarios of work in substandard conditions, in order to prepare novice interpreters for real-life interpreting assignments where working conditions are non-negotiable and quitting is not an option to be considered