Should Your Student Become a Resident Assistant?

One of the first people your student will meet in college is likely to be a resident assistant. And your first reactions might be: what do these resident assistants do, and should my student try to become one?

What a Resident Assistant Does

Resident Assistants or RAs, serve as upperclass guides to the campus. Resident Assistants help your student adjust to campus and make the most of their college career. This is particularly important for first-year students. One of their responsibilities is developing activities on the floor that students can attend. These programs might be social in nature, or might directly address academics. For example, an RA might help students create study groups to help them prepare for a test. Resident Assistants may also invite health educators to speak to students on their floor about the dangers of binge drinking.

Resident Assistants also serve as informal advisors to students. Some students come to college and are painfully shy. RAs notice this and help connect these quieter students to the floor or to other activities, so they don’t feel lost on campus. We also ask resident assistants to be leaders on campus, supporting education and positive student engagement. The resident assistant position is central to a school’s education and social environment.

What The Job Takes

To be a good resident assistant, students should be prepared to listen—a lot—to the concerns of other students. For students who are already empathetic like that, this job is great. They should also be able to plan activities, as resident assistants are required to plan activities of all kinds for their residents. Being well-organized is another plus.

The job also takes something of a thick skin—or the willingness to develop one. Being an RA requires the ability to enforce rules with peers, and also working long hours in the evening or on call. In fact, many students see RAs primarily as enforcers—someone hired by the residence life department to maintain the rules—rather than as someone who is there to help them. And to be honest, some Resident Assistants view their work that way. Those RAs often don’t like the job very much.

The long hours RAs spend includes walking rounds in the residence hall late at night to ensure resident safety and security. RAs also typically hold office hours in the residence hall office. And while none of these tasks are particularly tough, they do take time and energy from other pursuits, including their academics.

Benefits and Downsides

The RA job has some nice perks. RAs usually get a single room: if your student wants a single, that’s one way to get it! Resident Assistants also receive compensation, often in the form of reduced room fees. Many schools used to offer free room and board, but that’s less common today with rising costs. Still, as an RA, they’ll be ahead of the game financially. And because of the need to manage their academics and a demanding job at the same time, resident assistants learn valuable time management skills.

Mind you, the job is not for everyone. The hours are long, many resident assistants aren’t respected by their peers, and their grades may suffer because of the workload. RAs may also—paradoxically—have fewer choices for living. For example, they may ask to be the RA in the townhouse complex of their school, but instead find themselves placed with sophomores. And those students may not give a hoot about listening to an RA after their first year in school. And don’t even think about dividing the number of hours worked by the amount of compensation they receive. There isn’t enough money for it to be worthwhile if that’s why they want the job.

Career Development for Resident Assistants

One benefit of the RA position that is seldom talked about is how the job supports the students’ career development. For example, resident assistants learn excellent skills in communication but and in how to “read the room.” Also, given their role in conflict resolution, RAs are often able to prevent conflict and help others work through conflict in ways that other undergraduates can’t. And because they often guide students to seek help when they need it, they are more likely to seek help themselves. Employers appreciate this attitude, especially with new hires.

Should Your Student Apply to be a Resident Assistant?

This is the time of year when schools recruit RAs for the following year. Ask your student: does the job interest them, and if so, why? Make sure they know that the job is both challenging and rewarding. These leadership positions are coveted on campus, and because they are difficult, employers know that former resident assistants have developed skills in negotiation, leadership and decision making that other students may have not. I’d say, have them give it a shot! And if they’re not chosen to be a resident assistant, they should consider other paraprofessional opportunities for students on campus. Many of them can also be stepping stones to long-term success after college.