Student Employment

Did you know Housing and Residence Life employs over 200 students to work in housing every year?

Desk Assistants are not required to live on campus, but Resident Assistants, Senior Resident Assistants, and Summer Conference Assistants are required. All positions require applicants to maintain good academic standing.

All positions can be found in the Housing Portal, under the "Student Staff" button.

Desk Assistant (DA)

The Housing and Residence Life front Desk Assistant (DA) position consists of working up to 20 hours per week at the information and security desk in the residence halls. Applications are open year-round.

General work responsibilities include:

Facilitating the guest check-in/check-out policy.
Answering the phone.
Other customer service duties.

To be considered for this role, applicants must:

Have a Southern Miss cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.
Be enrolled full-time at Southern Miss.
Be in good standing with the university.

Click here to view the DA job description.

Click here to apply to the DA position.

Resident Assistant (RA)

The Resident Assistant (RA) is a live-in position that requires the RA to reside in his/her area of responsibility. The RA is responsible for maintaining and fostering a community on a floor of 20 - 70 residents. The RA works under the direction of a Residence Life Coordinator (RLC) and is indirectly supervised by the Assistant Director (AD). Applications are open twice/year.

To be considered for this role, applicants must:

Be enrolled full-time.
Have a Southern Miss cumulative GPA of at least 2.50.
Have lived in a residence hall at Southern Miss for a minimum of 2 semesters OR 1 semester with previous RA experience at another institution.
Minimal to no conduct history at time of applying.
For the application process, you will need to submit 2 letters of recommendation (These can be from a housing staff member, university staff member, a faculty member, or any other person that can attest to your work ethic.)

RA benefits include, but not limited to:

RA Scholarship (private room and meal allowance)
Paid up to 10 hours per week working at the front desk.
Leadership, training, and mentoring experience.
Distinct affiliation with a team of student leaders.
Opportunity to help other students grow and shape their college experience.

Click here to view the RA job description.

At this time, RA applications for Fall 2025 - Spring 2026 are now closed.

Senior Resident Assistant (SRA)

The Senior Resident Assistant (SRA) job is a live-in position that requires the SRA to reside in his/her area of responsibility. The SRA assists with the administrative and operational functions for their respective areas, which would include front desk management and administrative responsibilities. In addition, the SRA serves as a resource for the desk assistants and resident assistants within their scope of leadership. The Senior Resident Assistant serves on a weekly duty rotation. The SRA works under the immediate direction of a Residence Life Coordinator (RLC) and is indirectly supervised by an Assistant Director (AD). Applications are open once/year.

To be considered for this role, applicants must:

Have served as a Resident Assistant for at least 1 full academic year and have taken the RA seminar class (UNV 315).
Have a minimum Southern Miss cumulative GPA of 2.80.
Be enrolled full-time.
Minimum to no conduct history.
Have the ability to effectively communicate orally and written.
Potential to become a successful supervisor.

SRA benefits include, but not limited to:

SRA Scholarship (private student apartment and meal allowance)
Paid up to 20 hours per week.
Supervision, leadership, training, and mentoring experience.
Distinct affiliation with a team of student leaders.
Opportunity to help with student development and shape their college experience.

Click here to view the SRA job description.

Check back for when SRA applications go live (it will be sometime in the spring semester)!

Summer Conference Assistant (CA)

The Summer Conference Assistant (CA) job is a live-in position that requires the CA to reside in his/her area of responsibility. The CA is responsible for assisting conference groups while staying on campus for camps and conferences. The CA works under the direction of the HRL Summer Conference Team Residence Life Coordinators (RLCs) and is indirectly supervised by the Assistant Director (AD) of Business Operations. Applications are open once/year.

General work responsibilities include:

Duty/on call responsibilities, including lock outs.
Working at the front desk includes check-ins, check-outs, walkthroughs, temp card audits/inventory.
Occasionally will have the opportunity to work up to 20 hours depending on the camps and conferences schedule.

To be considered for this role, applicants must:

Be enrolled full-time.
Have a Southern Miss cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 or higher.
Have lived in a residence hall at USM.
Have minimal to no conduct history at the time of applying.
Preferred applicants will possess the ability to effectively communicate orally and written, along with critical thinking and customer service skills.

CA benefits include, but not limited to:

CA Scholarship (private room and meal allowance)
Paid up to 10 hours per week working at the front desk.
Leadership, training, customer service and desk operations experience.
Flexible with other summer commitments (i.e. classes, internships, other off-campus jobs).
Distinct affiliation with a team of student leaders.

Click here to view the CA job description

Check back for when CA applications go live (it will be sometime in the spring semester)!

Questions?

If you have any questions about the student employment opportunities we offer, you can contact us by emailing reslifeFREEMississippi or calling 601.266.4783 Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., CST.