I will be a junior for the 2017-2018 year, and I have never lived on campus. I really want to become an RA so I can mentor others and be a good example for students, but I am not sure whether the requirements are something I won’t be able to handle. I am currently working an internship (~12 hours), and plan on staying there throughout the duration of my RA position. I also have another job which takes up about 5 hours. The semester I plan on starting being an RA will probably be my most difficult semester, but living on campus would be so much less stressful and tireless for me. For anyone who is an RA, what advice do you have to offer? How did you manage your studying when problems arose? Did it often feel like being an RA is too overwhelming?
It can vary a lot from college to college as different schools require different responsibilities. It can also depend on whether you are an RA in freshman housing or upperclassman housing. Not to punt your questions but getting feedback from current RAs at your college might get you the most accurate information. Typically, RA slots can be nice compensation but are also very competitive to get.
Can you apply to be an RA if you are not currently living on campus? Check your school’s requirements.
My D was an RA and she got a free, single room and a discount on her meal plan. She worked at the volunteer center every semester, sang in an a capella group and, as an education major, was in classroom settings every semester. She loved it. She preferred to work with the international and transfer students and refused the freshmen dorms. She was required to plan activities, either with her floor, or with other floors and/or buildings. She really put a great deal of thought into her activities and her relationships with her residents.
The first year she applied, approximately 135 kids applied for 29 spots.
I was an RA in college, and I worked 10-15 hours a week while I was an RA. It was pretty manageable. I also supervised RAs when I worked as a hall director in graduate school. Many of my RAs had internships or other part-time jobs, usually totaling about 10-15 hours a week. It kind of depends on what other things you have to do - your major, any other extracurriculars, that kind of thing. I think working more than 15 hours a week starts to make things hard.
If you become an RA, maybe you won’t need three jobs - maybe drop the 5-hour one?
And yes, some schools require you to have lived on campus for at least a year before becoming an RA, although not all (I had a friend who commuted for a year or two and then became an RA at NYU). So check that out.
At my school at least being an RA was very flexible so that I could schedule programming, “duty days,” and other events around my schedule, but I agree with @juliet that you may want to look into drop one of your other jobs. Simply because being an RA is a commitment and may conflict with other jobs. For me the most stressful part was dealing with emergency situations because I was a freshman RA and bulletin boards because they take a certain amount of time. Also in many ways being RA is like a 24 hour job because you never know when your residents might need you. The good thing is you get free housing at most schools, and I have found the work to be personally rewarding.
Just saying though: you want to make sure you have enough time to plan activities and build those relationships so you want to be able to build in time to do just that.