Higher education administrator vs residence hall director

The differences between higher education administrators and residence hall directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a higher education administrator and a residence hall director. Additionally, a higher education administrator has an average salary of $53,604, which is higher than the $47,193 average annual salary of a residence hall director.

The top three skills for a higher education administrator include syllabus, K-12 and CSU. The most important skills for a residence hall director are residence life, desk assistants, and student development.

Higher education administrator vs residence hall director overview

	Higher Education Administrator	Residence Hall Director
Yearly salary	$53,604	$47,193
Hourly rate	$25.77	$22.69
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	61,760	6,713
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

Higher education administrator vs residence hall director salary

Higher education administrators and residence hall directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Higher Education Administrator	Residence Hall Director
Average salary	$53,604	$47,193
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $81,000	Between $31,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	-	Newark, NJ
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	School of Visual Concepts
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between higher education administrator and residence hall director education

There are a few differences between a higher education administrator and a residence hall director in terms of educational background:

	Higher Education Administrator	Residence Hall Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Higher education administrator vs residence hall director demographics

Here are the differences between higher education administrators' and residence hall directors' demographics:

	Higher Education Administrator	Residence Hall Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 44.0% Female, 56.0%	Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 4.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between higher education administrator and residence hall director duties and responsibilities

Higher education administrator example responsibilities.

Establish operating policies and procedures and attain SNF Medicare certification.
Perform savings/cost analysis for ductless heat pumps, SQL, and ad-hoc queries.
Ensure ethics, compliance with stringent regulations.
Process adds and changes of PC equipment such as desktops and laptops.
Support end-users PC's and other components by phone, email and in-person, support some.
Present findings formally, as PowerPoint presentation to academic peer group

Residence hall director example responsibilities.

Motivate, train and lead a team of nine ministry coordinators.
Develop nightly social programs and weekly educational programs to encourage healthy lifestyle choices and embracement of multicultural diversity.
Direct resident relations by providing oversight of resident retention, leasing and marketing programs.
Cultivate, coordinate, and assist in the development of student leadership and responsibility through programming and direct involvement with students.

Higher education administrator vs residence hall director skills

Common higher education administrator skills

Syllabus, 28%
K-12, 21%
CSU, 14%
Academic Performance, 8%
Mathematics, 6%
Educational Programs, 5%

Common residence hall director skills

Residence Life, 12%
Desk Assistants, 7%
Student Development, 6%
Community Development, 6%
Student Conduct, 4%
Professional Development, 3%

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Higher Education Administrator
Higher Education Administrator vs Residence Hall Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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