Career Explorer Personal care
Grows with AI
Residential advisors
Coordinate activities in resident facilities in secondary school and college dormitories, group homes, or similar establishments. Order supplies and determine need for maintenance, repairs, and furnishings. May maintain household records and assign rooms. May assist residents with problem solving or refer them to counseling resources.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 63% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.5% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and ethical judgement.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $42,240
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.5%
- Openings a year
- 16,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 94,100
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Coordinate with others to resolve problems
- Monitor individual behavior or performance
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Supervise personnel activities
- Develop educational programs, plans, or procedures
- Escort others
What the work looks like
- 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.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Psychiatric aidesHuman edge, steady, Index 86, +1.9%
- Health technologists and technicians, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 64, +5.9%
- Social and human service assistantsGrows with AI, Index 78, +7.4%
- Community health workersGrows with AI, Index 80, +12.7%
Also known as: Residence Hall Director, Residence Life Director, Resident Assistant, Resident Director, Hall Coordinator, Residence Director, Residence Life Coordinator, Resident Advisor.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.