I am currently a sophomore and a first-year resident assistant. I applied to become an RA in the spring of my freshman year, and needless to say, it has been an interesting ride. If you do choose to apply, good for you! However, there are a few key things to keep in mind about the role: what to expect, what you might not expect at all and the kind of personality that tends to thrive in this position.

For those of you who don’t really know what an RA is, we’re student workers who live in the dorms. Typically, most of what we do involves making rounds to check on residents at night, answering calls when residents need something, handling conflict and writing reports on sexual assault, noise violations, etc. Occasionally, we host community events as well.

Here are some of my pros you should consider: you might become best friends with your coworkers. I’ve made a lot of great friends on my RA team, and that has made the role much more rewarding than I expected. 

This job is also a great resume builder. It showcases leadership, perseverance, management skills and the ability to work as a team during serious situations. It also teaches you life skills regarding safety, like what to do in medical emergencies. 

As an RA, you help build a community for students, coworkers and yourself. You learn how to provide a safe space, which is incredibly fulfilling. Of course, one of the biggest benefits is free room and board — at least for the next academic year, before some of the role’s requirements change.

Zachery Woodruff, a University of Oregon sophomore and first-year RA at Carson Hall, shared some of the benefits that have been impactful for him.

“I’m a music education major, so having the privilege to develop interpersonal relationships with my residents and create an environment that empowers everyone is both relevant and incredibly useful to my future endeavors. The RA role encourages me to actively seek and embody the change I want to bring to the community,” Woodruff said.

“We’ve had a lot of workshops on resume writing, securing jobs and even giving ‘passion talks’ about things we love,” Woodruff said. “The emphasis is always on connection, and I feel very fortunate to have such a great, friendly team where we all work well together.”

These have all been true for me as well. Honestly, the job teaches you how to build different kinds of supportive communities. But, just like with every job, there are cons you have to consider.

“There are many times you’ll see things you don’t want to see, a lot of writing Incident Reports at 3 a.m. and a lot of days spent recovering from the sleep debt. It’s quintessential to the safety of the residents, which is awesome, but also why it’s so challenging,” Woodruff said.

Samuel Bertholf, a UO sophomore and an RA working in Barnhart Hall, came into the job during winter term. The adjustment was a little different than some of the RAs who had already been working in the dorms since September. 

“RAs often have to deal with mentally and emotionally taxing events and it can, at times, be difficult to deal with,” Bertholf said. 

“I also find myself with less free time, and occasionally have to cancel plans with friends because I cannot request time off, or I am on-call that evening. The ‘no days off’ mentality can sometimes be daunting, as I live where I work, and vice versa,” Bertholf said. 

There were nights when I was writing Incident Reports until 3:30 a.m. I’ve had to deal with paramedics and police officers due to student mental health concerns. I’ve written Title IX reports. I’ve spent hours creating door decorations and posters, only to have them taken down by residents throughout the year.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this job requires a certain personality type. When I say this, I mean you often need to have a lot of empathy, patience, understanding and the ability to keep your thoughts to yourself at times. I struggle with patience, so in frustrating situations with residents, I really had to reset my mindset.

There were also times when I struggled to keep my cool, especially when residents were being loud right outside my door at 2 a.m. while I was trying to sleep.

I struggled to set boundaries with some residents in the building, especially when the issues seemed minimal. Sometimes I wasn’t in the best headspace to deal with certain situations, but I would respond anyway, even when I wasn’t on call. Some residents would share information I didn’t need to know, which caused conflict.

“Organization, communication and time management are musts. The safety of the community and your residents rests in how quickly and accurately you both address and report situations as they arise. What you say and what you write is what prompts action to be taken or neglected,” Woodruff said.

At the end of the day, does the good outweigh the bad? 

I would say yes. I think other RAs would agree. There are plenty of stressful situations that occur, but there are equally as many rewarding opportunities as well. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.