I was an RA back in the Stone Age. We actually received a stipend that was equal to the cost of housing….plus a teeny bit more. We also got a nice single room.
This is a JOB. If someone is doing it solely for the free room or whatever…they should not do the job.
The RA is the first go to person for all things needing to be resolved on the floor…between roommates or other students. Sometimes it’s not fun being the mediator.
On my floor, we had a pyromaniac…and yes, she set fire to part Of the floor three times before she was found out. All three in the middle of the night. Part of my responsibility was to make sure no one was in their rooms before I left my floor…I was not in danger but it was no fun knocking on all doors or opening them if no one answered (we had keys to all the rooms). In a couple of instances, smoke damage was extensive and I had students sleeping on the floor in my room for days.
It’s a great job if you understand that there is a significant amount of responsibility with it.