Career
Residential advisors
Support residents in dorms, group homes and shelters.
$42,240
Median pay
+3.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
16,500
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Communicate with other staff to resolve problems with individual students.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Speaking, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $42,240 a year and 16,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- College Student Counseling and Personnel ServicesCIP 13.1102
- Student Counseling and Personnel Services, OtherCIP 13.1199
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Social and Community Service Managers$80,390 · +7.2%
- Rehabilitation Counselors$46,850 · +2.2%
- First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers$48,590 · +6.3%
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers$59,550 · +4.4%
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors$64,330 · +2.9%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.