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Residential Advisor

$42,240
median / year
$29,870 – $61,060
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

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

You may also see this posted as: Residence Hall Director, Residence Life Director, Resident Assistant, Resident Director, Hall Coordinator, Residence Director.

Where you work

Dorms and group homes

The hours

Shifts, nights and weekends, on-call

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Communicate with other staff to resolve problems with individual students.
  • Observe students to detect and report unusual behavior.
  • Supervise, train, and evaluate residence hall staff, including resident assistants, participants in work-study programs, and other student workers.
  • Provide emergency first aid and summon medical assistance when necessary.
  • Make regular rounds to ensure that residents and areas are safe and secure.

Good fit if you like…

Social

helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

O*NET job zone 3 of 5

Medium preparation—often vocational training, an associate degree, or substantial experience—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilityCooperationEmpathySocial Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Microsoft Office softwareGoogle DocsMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Word

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$42,240
per year
Hourly median
$20.31
per hour
What most earn
$29,870–$61,060
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~17,400
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+3.8%
About average
Working in the U.S.
84,760
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.

BLS estimates 2.2% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: Learn on the job.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.

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.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

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 and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.