Alexa Harrington wrote an interesting and thought-provoking post at her blog called Educated Nation, discussing the RA position and its increased popularity due to the great compensation in today's poor economy:

It’s amazing what starts to look enticing when the economy is sucking. Nationwide, colleges and universities have reported phenomenal increases in the number of applicants for RA positions. RAs (resident advisors) are the long-suffering, non-freshmen, adult(ish) folks who agree to live in vomit-splattered, high-volume dorms in exchange for free room and board at their institution of higher education.
[...]
During my freshman-year stint in the dorms, it was widely considered among the resident hall population that only an upperclassman with an extreme lack of tuition money would ever consider putting themselves in harm’s way (that would be in the way of a pack of newly-liberated-from-parental-control freshmen) for what is basically a non-paying job that totally wrecks your sleeping and studying schedules.
However, it was also considered by the lot of us that only someone with a higher degree of motivation to become educated than any of us college-fund-having kiddos had would accept such a job. So, while on the one hand we thought of our RAs as an especially cranky variety of fun-hating babysitter, we also had to admit that out of all of us, they were the most willing to do whatever it was going to take to earn a college degree—even put up with our played-out antics (which we thought were phenomenally original, but which the RAs and the janitors always knew exactly how to clean up, thereby calling into question our actual level of inventiveness).

From an insider's perspective, I find it interesting how outsiders — those college students who never contemplated the RA gig — view the position. I think with everything, there are always going to be a variety of opinions based on the personality of your RA. If your RA was a jerk, you're probably not going to think they're particularly valuable in on-campus living communities. On the other hand, if you had a high-energy, motivated RA, you're probably going to have a generally high opinion of the role. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing Alexa (at Educated Nation) wasn't one that had a life-changing relationship with her RA.

Alexa's description of the position is actually more hyperbole than it is fact. Some RAs are initially attracted to the position because of its financial benefits, and perhaps there are more candidates for the positions because of that interest. But as a residence life professional, it's very easy for us to sort out those who are solely motivated by material benefits from those who want to make a difference.

As the housing officer notes in Alexa's post, the RA is grossly underpaid in that the position's extensive compensation will be earned by the middle of the fall semester. It's not just vomit, either. Mediating roommate conflicts, confronting their peers' violations of policy, and the famous "other duties as assigned" are staples of the job, and if someone was hired only interested in reaping the financial reward, we know they'd probably walk out immediately.

One thing Alexa noted that I wholeheartedly agree with is the notion of grudging respect for RAs among students living in residence halls. A student might detest an RA for dispersing two of his/her parties in a semester and turning his/her name into the campus's judicial officer, but I find in my conversations with the student (which follows this referral process), most of these students acknowledge that the RA "was just doing their job," and we have a conversation about what that job entails. I usually come away from the conversation believing that while that student still might not have come to terms with his/her responsibility in a particular incident, he/she does grudgingly respect the RA for dealing with the "drama" that can accompany the gig.

One more comment regarding the output of the position — it's not just drama. Many candidates interviewing for the position, if not there for the room and board, naively proclaim they're there to "help people." (As someone respected in the higher ed field notes, "You can help people at a 7-11.") This is a better answer, though, than the material benefits line. Eventually, successful RAs do help people, but each does it a bit differently. They fine-tune their role with the help of residence life professionals, seizing the aspects of the position that amplify strengths, and challenging themselves to grow in areas of weakness. There are strong event-planners, and those strong with administrative tasks. They will understand at some point, though, that if they're particularly successful, they don't just help people; they change lives. They're the figurative (sometimes literal) arbiters of millions of minutes of life stories that intersect on a common hallway or wing. It might be automatic to focus on the negative aspects of that — illness, conflict, etc. But think about the potential there. The RA that recognizes the influence and opportunity they possess in that setting is the one who is the most successful, and the person who gets all that they can out of the position — not just the room and board.

Last week I had the opportunity to shadow our college president for a day as part of a professional development program on campus.  I've been starting a few blog posts since then in hope of using that experience to talk about some things, but I'm still struggling with the right issues to highlight.  Hopefully it will come to me!

Well, after recovering from the realization that I felt like a complete loser following him around all day…we got down to business.  Here are some take away messages that I took from a most interesting time!

1. Even the college president only has 24 hours in a day available.

Campus activities staff… we like to lament our workload because, let's face it, it's pretty ridiculous.  I'm equally guilty of this and learned a lot from understanding how the president tackles his workload.  Granted, our level of responsibility in campus activities is much more narrow in scope and much less serious in consequence.  However, he does use some techniques I am going to try to utilize.  First, he meets every morning for 15 minutes with his administrative assistant.  Second, he has a 15 minute follow up with his executive assistant at the end of the day. 

2.  Journaling and notes go a long way

He writes for about fifteen minutes at the end of the day to record observations, information he learns about people, etc. and has a good contact file with these notes.  This file is accessible to him and his administrative assistant for future meeting preparation.  This way, when he is likely to reconnect with the same person he can be reminded of details.

3.  Give some thought to meetings and what you can contribute

He shared a focus on looking at how he spends his time in meetings and whether he's there for symbolic reasons (because the president should be there to make it important) or whether he's the best person to personally contribute to the conversation. 

4.  Be "in the moment" when you are spending time with people.

It was amazing to watch how much respect for his time was offered to him because of his position of leadership.  Yet, I meet so many people who are very willing to sap my time into oblivion. I'm going to find ways to focus on making the most of small amounts of time by being more "in the moment" when conversations are happening.  I think when we schedule 1 hour meetings for something that may take 15 minutes, there is a tendency to waste some time.

There are a lot of struggles we face in campus activities to balance it all.  Managing the balance of administrative and student advising roles, trying to be a contributing "college citizen" and supporting other campus events, demands of supervision, managing crisis of the day.. it's all a big puzzle.  But, I figure if the president can do it, then I can too.  I'll post more about my "principal for a day" experience, but I'm interested first in time management strategies.

During this busy time of the academic year, what do you think we all can learn from those who manage executive positions?  We all don't have battalions of staff at our beck and call, but there are ways to translate the executive lifestyle into snippets that can be useful in our world.

Any tips to share?

On his seminal album Bulk, Jack Logan paints lyrical
pictures of everyday people doing everyday things…working, living, dying, and
relating to one another. I’ve always found wisdom and inspiration in music, so
as I contemplate what it means to be a mid-career professional, I can relate
especially to the subject of his song “15 years in Indiana.” I don’t live in Indiana, nor am I a
cocktail waitress, but it’s easy to relate to the idea of someone contemplating
their place in life during everyday breaks and routines. The waitress in the
song is at times bored, disappointed with her life, and tired of people and
routines, but in the end, she thinks on the stories she could tell, and she’s
laughing.

I imagine we all have those introspective moments, where
life circumstances cause us to question our motivations and wonder “What the
hell am I doing here?” and “Where am I going in my life and my career?” When we
are lucky, other circumstances intervene, to remind us of our motivations and
sense of purpose. Hopefully, this will lead to personal discoveries and some
ideas about how to apply the answers we find toward new directions in our
careers and lives.

Over the past few years, I’ve become a father to two
children, learned that I have a progressive neurological disorder, and turned
40, so pondering life and my place in it has been a constant preoccupation. I
don’t look at myself the same way I did before. Being a dad has given me a more
personal stake in what kind of world I leave for my children, and to consider how
my work in Student Affairs will contribute to that world. Learning to deal with
a disability and understanding how it will eventually affect my ability to do
my job and take care of my family has been daunting, but it has also given me
some great context in life, and a sense of purpose toward managing it the best
I can, and making the best of my time and abilities now. I am getting better at
choosing how I spend my time and energy. Turning 40 has been interesting, in
that I’ve always thought I would see it as “downhill from here,” but these
days, I see myself more like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill, and trying
not to get run over by it as it rolls back down.

When I get to feeling this way, I find it’s useful to ask
better questions, like “Why did I get into this field in the first place?,” “Why
have I stayed?” and “Where do I want to go from here?” In my case, I joined the
field because I was kind of a screw-up in college, and I found my way with the
help of student affairs professionals at my alma mater (Clemson). I stay for
the students and young professionals I have helped along the way, and who are
often kind enough to come back when they are alumni to see me, usually at the
times of year I need it most. I stay because I believe this is what I am meant
to do, at least for now.

Where am I going? Ideally, wherever I choose to go.
Practically, though, the circumstances that life has dealt me have limited some
options, and I realize that you have to choose from what is actually in front
of you. This requires looking at your life, your career and your motivations.
Remembering the reasons I chose this field, the people I have helped (and who
have helped me) and constantly asking “what should I be doing next?” is what
keeps me going. At the end of it all, I hope to find myself smiling at memories
I’ve built, laughing about the good times, and remembering that no matter what
brought me here, it was worth it. I’d love to read perspectives of other
student affairs professionals about what drives them to continue in the field,
and how they manage the different stages of their careers.