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Residential Advisor

$39,180
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Oversee residents in dorms or group homes, enforce rules, respond to problems, and connect people with support.

Where you work

Dorms and group homes

The hours

Shifts, nights and weekends, on-call

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$39,180
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~17,400
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+4%
About average
Working in the U.S.
91,200
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: Learn on the job.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

CommunicationConflict resolutionPatienceRecordkeeping

The honest take

Live-in or shift support for people in dorms and group homes — meaningful work, often a step toward social services.

Standard Occupational Classification 39-9041. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.