How To Become A Resident Advisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a resident advisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Resident assistants are enrolled students of universities and colleges who live on campus. They are responsible for helping their peers to get comfortable in their student residences and contribute to organizing community life on campus. They give a hand with studying and make sure everyone in the residence feels safe. Resident assistants will be the ones notified upon emergencies, and they are there to resolve any personal problem as well.

In most cases, as a resident assistant or RA, you will receive a discount or full waiver on your housing fees. It is a rewarding job that will allow you to make many connections during your studies. It might be a bit challenging to make time for your duties while not neglecting your studies, and sometimes you have to deal with serious problems like drugs, conflicts, or even violence.

Still, it is a great way to make the best of your college years while saving money on housing.

ScoreResident AdvisorUS Average

Salary

2.0

Avg. Salary $25,324

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.4

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.99%

Asian 7.61%

Black or African American 15.33%

Hispanic or Latino 15.04%

Unknown 6.02%

White 55.01%

Gender

female 54.67%

male 45.33%

Age - 21

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 21

Stress level

8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a resident advisor

Explore resident advisor education requirements

Most common resident advisor degrees

Bachelor's

74.4 %

Associate

8.9 %

High School Diploma

7.7 %

Start to develop specific resident advisor skills

Skills	Percentages
Residential Life	20.22%
Crisis Management	7.76%
Incident Reports	6.23%
Mental Health	5.47%
Conflict Resolution	4.30%

Complete relevant resident advisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New resident advisors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a resident advisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real resident advisor resumes.

Research resident advisor duties and responsibilities

Engage, educate and empower participants to access community base resources in order to achieve greater self-determination, rehabilitation and recovery.
Train in emergency situations including CPR certification.
Act immediately and appropriately in an emergency situation, including calling emergency units and administering CPR or first aid.
Engage, educate and empower participants to access community base resources in order to achieve greater self-determination, rehabilitation and recovery.

Prepare your resident advisor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your resident advisor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a resident advisor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable resident advisor resume templates

Build a professional resident advisor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your resident advisor resume.