Residential life director vs residential advisor

The differences between residential life directors and residential advisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a residential life director has an average salary of $62,956, which is higher than the $33,593 average annual salary of a residential advisor.

The top three skills for a residential life director include crisis intervention, student learning and student life. The most important skills for a residential advisor are patrol, substance abuse, and behavior management.

Residential life director vs residential advisor overview

	Residential Life Director	Residential Advisor
Yearly salary	$62,956	$33,593
Hourly rate	$30.27	$16.15
Growth rate	7%	12%
Number of jobs	23,230	47,150
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	26	26
Years of experience	-	-

Residential life director vs residential advisor salary

Residential life directors and residential advisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Residential Life Director	Residential Advisor
Average salary	$62,956	$33,593
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $95,000	Between $25,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	-	Edison, NJ
Highest paying state	-	North Dakota
Best paying company	-	Dynamic Educational Systems, Inc.
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between residential life director and residential advisor education

There are a few differences between a residential life director and a residential advisor in terms of educational background:

	Residential Life Director	Residential Advisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	Johns Hopkins University	Howard University

Residential life director vs residential advisor demographics

Here are the differences between residential life directors' and residential advisors' demographics:

	Residential Life Director	Residential Advisor
Average age	26	26
Gender ratio	Male, 58.3% Female, 41.7%	Male, 42.3% Female, 57.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.4% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.4% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 14.0% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.7% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between residential life director and residential advisor duties and responsibilities

Residential life director example responsibilities.

Manage a residential facility for adolescents with severe autism and psychiatric conditions.
Maintain statistical and directional oversight of the residence life disciplinary system.
Provide clinical oversight of family-centered services that include capacity building, needs assessment, program and policy development and evaluation.
Organize and implement bible studies for teen boys and teen girls.

Residential advisor example responsibilities.

Engage, educate and empower participants to access community base resources in order to achieve greater self-determination, rehabilitation and recovery.
Assist medical and clinical staff who cares for patients admit to a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.
Help with activities of daily life, such as groceries shopping.
Check mail, shopping for groceries and handling and maintaining individual's money.
Provide training and administer first aid and emergency medical procedures, such as CPR.
Lead staff member on cottage and assume cottage manager duties when RAS is not present.

Residential life director vs residential advisor skills

Common residential life director skills

Crisis Intervention, 11%
Student Learning, 8%
Student Life, 8%
Crisis Management, 7%
Student Affairs, 7%
Community Development, 7%

Common residential advisor skills

Patrol, 10%
Substance Abuse, 8%
Behavior Management, 7%
Intellectual Disabilities, 6%
Direct Care, 6%
Independent Living, 5%

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Residential Life Director
Residential Life Director vs Residential Advisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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